The Grassroots of Business Success

The trend downward is being led by mining again. This is a slower decline than the last dip and could indicate a consistent trend. A consistent trend down is not good [unless there are spikes].

But once we get to the lows of last time there’ll be a push to take a risk on a rally. Which I guess is likely. People need to make money, right?

Not a good day to buy, but as we’re near the low of last time, a good time to set up a Limit Order.

Lots of consolidation going on. Which is always a good opportunity to make money if you can guess who the next target will be.

Lots of mixed signals: oil bouncing around the $70 mark; the Japanese recovery etc. Mixed signals are good, because some people will bet down and some will bet up and if you’re on the winning side you’ll make money. This game is all about Knowledge and Translation and gaining from the differentiation.

Click to read daily comments and keep updated: http://www.wanttosaysomething.com/

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

Share my investing experiences at WantToSaySomething.com

<u>WHY, WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?</u>

Half of the U.S. youth population (17.6 million kids to be exact) is considered to be “at-risk” of getting into trouble with the law, or “high-risk” and already in trouble. This isn’t a problem only in the United States. Street gangs, drug addiction, child prostitution, abuse and neglect are major concerns around the world.

Our children need help!

It’s easy to turn your back and ignore the problem, but what will you do when some kids jack your car? Or rape your daughter? Or spend their entire lives on welfare or in the prison system, on your tax dollars?

<u>DISCOVERING A SOLUTION </u>

One solution that has been proven to work is mentoring. A mentor is a loyal advisor, a teacher or coach, sponsor, guide, confidante and role model. He or she is a special friend who serves as an advocate for the needs of someone else and makes an effort to bring out their best qualities.

I learned this first-hand in 1993 when I mentored a group of teenage boys who were incarcerated at a Los Angeles detention center for a variety of crimes. As a produced screenwriter, I wanted to share my love of writing with troubled kids in hope of inspiring them to change their lives.

I had a great idea for a story about two rival gang leaders from different ethnic backgrounds (Latino vs. African-American) ending up at the same detention camp where they had to resolve their differences.

During the next few months as I worked on our script with the boys, my Screenwriting Workshop went through all kinds of changes. In the end, the boys completed writing the script with me and it was optioned by producers. The best part though was that a number of the kids who were illiterate learned how to read and write through my program. I witnessed other remarkable changes as well — a tough Chicano gang leader had tattoos removed from his body, and several of the boys wanted to go to college.

Thrilled with the results of this experience, I quickly came up with another idea for a screenplay and started a new Screenwriting Workshop, this time at a co-ed detention center. Again, these girls and boys were transformed through their experience of contributing to a screenplay, but especially from my interactions with them every week as their mentor. They opened up their hearts, shared their problems, and flourished under my guidance.

Inspired by these successes, I founded a non-profit organization in 1996. Create Now! matches writers, artists, musicians and other creative individuals in Los Angeles with high-risk kids who live in court-mandated institutions, such as homes for abused and neglected children, runaways, homeless kids and those in trouble with the law.

Through Create Now! I’ve personally mentored more than 50 of these kids and I’ve trained dozens of other mentors to work with high-risk youth. Create Now! has reached thousands of the most troubled children in Southern California.

<u>SO, JUST WHAT IS MENTORING?</u>

You may wonder exactly what is mentoring. It’s not tutoring, which involves the teaching of a skill or discipline. Mentoring depends on the nurturing of a close, personal relationship. While helping with schoolwork can be a part of it, that’s just one aspect. Mentors inspire us to try harder and give us the confidence to reach for more ambitious goals. They teach us how to make good choices and open doors to new opportunities that normally wouldn’t be available.

A mentee, or protégé, is a novice, student or learner. At-risk and high-risk kids can be of any race and religion. They generally come from disadvantaged homes in poor communities. All children need the support of a positive adult, but these particular kids especially need help.

Research has shown that kids who are mentored have improved school attendance and better academic performance, a good appearance and attitude, less hostility, more self-esteem and many other improved qualities that are too numerous to name.

<u>A SUCCESS STORY</u>

Tasha is another perfect example that proves mentoring makes a difference. She came from a poor community in South Central, Los Angeles. A bright girl with many talents, she didn’t get along with her family. When she was thirteen years old, Tasha began running away from home. She hung out with boys who got in trouble with the law. She was sent to detention camps and different institutions over the next few years.

I met Tasha at a detention facility when she was almost sixteen. She eagerly signed up for a Create Now! TV Writing Workshop with a professional sit-com writer who prefers to remain anonymous. When Tasha returned to her home in South Central, her mentor continued to visit her weekly. They formed a strong bond.

Her mentor moved to another state, so Create Now! provided Tasha with two additional mentors who helped her periodically. Her original mentor stayed in touch via phone and email. When Tasha graduated from high school, her mentors helped her apply to USC Film School and arranged for a scholarship. She was one of only fifty people in the world to be accepted into their film program.

Tasha graduated from college in December 2004. She got a job teaching disadvantaged middle-school children how to make their own videos. One of her mentors helped her get employed as a production assistant on a TV show and she’s now on the way to a lucrative career in the entertainment industry.

We’re all very proud of Tasha.

<u>WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME, THE MENTOR? </u><

Mentors benefit greatly from their experience. It’s a powerful feeling to know that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life. Most mentors grow on a personal and professional level through this process. Many people who mentor develop leadership abilities and have a more profound understanding of children. Their own family bonds strengthen, plus they receive admiration and respect from their own peers.

There are different kinds of mentoring. Here are a few:

1. <u>ONE-ON-ONE MENTORING </u>
This is traditional mentoring, sometimes referred to as a “Special Friend” or a “Big/Little” relationship. You’re paired up with one child and the relationship tends to be close. Don’t take this involvement lightly and make sure you maintain your commitment.
2. <u>GROUP MENTORING</u>
With group mentoring programs, one adult volunteer builds relationships with a number of young people. Meetings can take place with a focus on a particular project or an ongoing activity.
3. <u>TEAM MENTORING</u>
A group of two or more adults work together as a team to mentor a group of youths. This system focuses on team building, leadership development, and community service, but it can be used for any type of program.
4. <u>FAMILY MENTORING</u>
Low-income families face enormous pressure getting food and shelter. The stress can severely disrupt family life and lead to homelessness. These families can be matched with mentors (possibly your entire family) who work with them over an extended period of time. By connecting disadvantaged family members with useful community resources, helping them to develop life skills, and strengthening their foundation, you help the family to overcome challenges.
5. <u>E-MENTORING</u>
By using email and chat rooms on the Internet, mentors can reach children all over the world. Many forms of computer-assisted learning are becoming popular, as students have access to computers at school, libraries, and their homes.

Think carefully about what your needs are and how you can best serve at-risk and high-risk youth before you decide which type of mentoring program is right for you.

<u>OKAY, I’M IN. NOW WHAT? </u>

There are a lot of things that you can do with your mentees. Many of these kids have never been out of their own neighborhoods. You could take them on a trip to the beach, a hike in the mountains, a movie, a meal, or a visit to a museum. Expose them to cultural events like the theater or the circus, or just hang out and talk.

Most importantly, LISTEN! All kids need to communicate and vent. It’s important to hear what they say and be as open-minded as possible. Most kids need reliable adults with whom they can talk about their fears, dreams, and concerns. Mentors serve as sounding boards, and when asked, someone who can give trustworthy advice.

At-risk youth may not have any adults in their lives with the time, interest, or ability to listen to them. High-risk youth who live in residential institutions will rarely confide in staff members, administrators, or even psychologists for fear of punishment. Yet they might confide in you because of the trust that you’ve developed.
It usually takes time, but when they know that they can count on you, they’ll start to open up.

<u>DON’T DISAPPOINT</u>

Mentoring requires commitment and responsibility. You must keep your word and be dependable to have a positive effect. If you break your word, you’ll do more damage than good.

These children have been let down by adults most of their lives. Imagine if you come along, full of hope and excitement, and reach out to lend them a hand. They take it and off you go, spending time together and bonding. They slowly open up and start to trust you.

But then something changes in your life; perhaps you get a different job in another part of town, or you’ve got a new boyfriend who takes up all of your free time. Abandonment can be devastating to any child, especially these kids.

It’s okay if you only have sporadic time available to mentor, since even a short amount of time devoted to an at-risk youth is better than nothing. But it’s essential that you communicate this clearly to your mentee. The most important thing is not to set their expectations high only to let them down later.

These children represent our future. Through your support as a mentor, you can introduce them to a larger world where they’re a contributor instead of just another statistic.

<u>WHERE TO SIGN ON</u>

No matter where you live or what you do for a living, you can impact a child’s life. To learn about mentoring opportunities in your community, visit the National Mentoring Partnership at http://www.mentoring.org.

If you live in Southern California and have a creative skill that you’d like to share with at-risk or high-risk youth, please contact me at (213) 484-8500 or through email at info@createnow.org.

You’ll make a big difference in your community, and the world!

Jill Gurr
Founder and President
Create Now!
www.createnow.org

(Please feel free to reproduce and distribute this article, so long as it is reproduced in full, including the hyperlinks.)

About the Author

Jill Gurr is founder of the non-profit organization Create Now! She has mentored more than 50 high-risk children and youth and has trained hundreds of people to mentor thousands of kids. Learn more at www.createnow.org.

Special sales, super discounts and the sounds of bell ringing fill the malls just as much as they fill our ears and eyeballs. Shopping for that perfect gift can be extremely difficult during this time of year. So many things to consider that simple shopping can turn into an overwhelming task.

There are gifts of needs and gifts of want. Then there are those we shop for in which we have no idea what to give.

Slow it down, relax and think a moment. What’s the rush?

How much do you really know of the person(s) you are shopping for?

Have you made a realistic budget this holiday season?

Take the time to sit down and think about your upcoming financial obligations right after the holiday season first. And then each person you’re shopping for this year.

What is it that you could give them, (outside of an expressed need or want), that would make them truly happy?

Christmas is a time of year in which we are to express our love, and love is not measured by the size, amount or price of our material gift to one another, but by the size of our heart.

As a matter of fact, materialism has us spoiled rotten. If we don’t receive something expensive or in “style” then we often come to believe we’re not loved. To be quite blunt, material goods have taken the place of quality time, which I believe is the best expression of love we can give.

This holiday season; make the choice to give a gift that keeps on giving.

How about going out on a limb and trying something new this year? Getting back to real family values.

Look for a gift that could involve the whole family. A family project that would require spending quality time, and in which everyone has the opportunity to input their idea and voice their own opinion, such as Family Web site.

With a Family Web site you could:

create a family photo album,

put out monthly or quarterly newsletters,

stay in contact with distant family members, and

plan and stay updated on upcoming events such as family reunions.

And with a new technology that removes all of the technical barriers (there’s no need to be a “techie” knowing HTML) of building a web site, you can save both money and time by building your own customizable site.

If you had fun as a child stacking blocks, then you and the family will enjoy this grown-up version even more!

How easy is it? You can take a tour by visiting www.wskgroup.com

Let me just phrase it this way, there’s no need to know the specifics of what’s under the hood of your car, just starting it and pressing the gas petal to make it go. With all of these benefits and for the price, building a Family Web site is the perfect gift for the whole family that keeps on giving, long after the holiday season is over.

Gifts of love will outshine materialistic gifts every time. Give from your heart this holiday season.

Don’t know where to start? Let the Wealth Security & Kingdom Group - AKA the WSK Group - help. Feel free to explore your options by visiting http://www.wskgroup.com today. The WSK Group - Networking for wealth and purpose - Now that you have the solution, what’s the problem?

What is a DVD Recorder; it as a rule of thumb is a disc recorder that allows you to record your favourite TV sci-fi programmes or videos onto rewritable Digital Discs. They are available both as installable storage drives for desktops or as one-off components for use in studios or residential theatre systems. When Digital Versatile Disc Systems were 1st released you could by far be expected to pay anything up to 3000 for a simple system, this is currently no longer the case. Find top brand DVD Recorders at Digital Direct!

DVD System’s have lately become exceedingly well-liked and have completely taken over the video recorder, that is now nearly in the past. Like everything that include a technology base behind it there are numerous similar DVD systems to decide from. The most well-liked ones to go for are DVD systems with built in storage Drives. This is a recording piece of equipment but it doesn’t enable viewers to halt & rewind like you would be capable to do on live TV. The principle of the Hard Drive in the DVD recorder is so that you are able to record many digital language programmes to the Hard Drive that can later on be burned to a Digital Versatile Disc. On top of this you can store straight to Digital Discs.

Numerous DVD recorders with recording capabilities normally has an Electronic Programme Guide for setting up recordings. There are nowadays loads of currently 100s of DVD Systems with Hard backup drives for sale from universally recognised brands such as Sony, Panasonic, Sharp & others.

The good thing lately is that DVD recorders have under no circumstances been this easy on the pocket, with this in mind it’s feasible for you to get a top of the range system for a very reasonable price. The electronics market is motivated by the latest tools, new advancements & product features, of which these are shifting nearly every calendar day.

If You Have Arthritis?

Arthritis and related conditions affect nearly 43 million
Americans, or about one of every six people, making it one of
the most prevalent diseases in the United States.According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention one out of every
three Americans (an estimated 70 million people) is affected by
one of the more than 100 types of arthritis.Arthritis is a
chronic disease that will be with you for a long time and
possibly for the rest of your life.

Prevention & Causes of Arthritis:

These are some prevention and causes of arthritis.There is
evidence that behaviors such as weight reduction and avoiding
injury may slow the progression and impact of osteoarthritis.The
pain of arthritis may come from different sources.These may
include inflammation of the synovial membrane (tissue that lines
the joints),the tendons, or the ligaments; muscle strain; and
fatigue.Factors that contribute to the pain include swelling
within the joint,the amount ofheat or redness present, or damage
that has occurred within thejoint.Joint arthritis, the cartilage
may be damaged, narrowed and lost by a degenerative process or
by inflammation making movement painful.

Symptoms and Medications:

There are many different signs and symptoms of arthritis. If you
have experienced pain, stiffness, or swelling around a
joint.Many people will experience some difficulty functioning at
home, at work or at play because of joint pain, stiffness and
loss of motion regardless of the type of arthritis they
have.These arthritis symptoms may come up suddenly or slowly
over time and may also include sleeplessness, fatigue,
depression, and muscle aches.

Some Tropical medications for Arthritis: Arthritis Pain
Clikpak

Arthritis Pain
Formula

ArthPlus

Ahhhloe Ice for
Pain Relief these products are useful to Arthritis pain.

Home Care Suggestions: 1.High doses of aspirin are not good
for the body. 2.Massage therapy is good and provides relief to
the joints. 3.Aloe Vera juice I glass daily and aloe Vera gel
are also very effective.

More Info About Arthritis

* href="http://lonelyou.com/inviting/lonelyou%20inviting.html?" rel="nofollow">LIG
HT THAT BULB*

Copyright © 2005

Imagine you are entering in the dark room, what is the first
thing to do…….that’s right, you turn a light switch on.

In order for the bulb to lit the switch has to be connected.
Without connection the circuit is called open or incomplete,
that bulb will not lit.

Just as in an open circuit where a bulb is disconnected from the
source so is the mind of a ( href="http://lonelyou.com/inviting/lonelyou%20inviting.html?" rel="nofollow">Lon
ely Person) .

The true source of happiness or well being is disconnected from
that person.

The true source can not be found elsewhere but in the mind.

When people are in this state of mind they can not see anything
good because the circuit is open. There is no light to see good
things. Everything is dark, really dark.

Some people go out to look for somebody to fill the void but
ending up in disappointment because they can’t see……

We need light to see right!

As we all know that the smartest thing to do is to turn that
light on by first re-examining ourselves, to look for our core
values .

what do we really like to do?

Do we like music, learning new things, what about our hobbies ?

Then we have to pull those good memories and use them to fight
against the current situation. These good memories will act as a
link to connect us to our source of love, friendship etc

There is a little trick to do this, it is the power of
imagination.

Einstein said, “imagination is more powerful than knowledge”.

Now I know! I know!… there are some of you who say, “I can’t
imagine”. well, the truth is, we do imagination every day. If
you don’t believe that, let me asked you, what color did you
wear yesterday?……. How did you know………….Don’t tell
me you haven’t imagined.

There is one fundamental mind secret that it can not distinguish
between the real experience and the pictures or imagination in
the mind. This is the reason why some people cry when they watch
a sad movie.

These people know for a fact that what they watch is not real
but their unconscious mind does not know and guess what they
weep.

We can use this to our advantage to trick our mind when we feel
lonely. Remember the time when you felt so strong emotionally,
may be you were so friendly or the time you archived your goals
etc.

See yourself in that situation, may be that laugh or smile from
your friends, just imagine……..

How do you feel!

Imagine having the same experience right now,

Do that every day and your mind will be conditioned to have
those experiences.

Your bulb will start to lit, you will start to see the light and
that dark thing called * href="http://lonelyou.com/inviting/lonelyou%20inviting.html?" rel="nofollow">lon
eliness* will start to disappear.

sincerely,

Timeo Busyanya,

Helping individuals, improve their self image

* href="http://lonelyou.com/inviting/lonelyou%20inviting.html?" rel="nofollow">LON
ELYOU.COM* .

P.S Loneliness is just a state of mind

When the spring comes and we get the lawn mower out again, we have to check few things before we start the mower.

Use fresh gas. If you forgot to drain the gas tank last fall then you should replace the gas. Gasoline that is older than a month has lost some of its energy and can lead to problems with the carburetor and engine.

Change the engine oil. Find the drain plug and drain the oil to a container, replace it with clean SAE-30 engine oil. Check the owner’s manual for oil recommendations. The oil should be changed at least once a year.

Replace the spark plug. You can take the old spark plug to your local gas station or service shop or find the type and gap information in the owner’s manual. A new spark plug is inexpensive and can save you a lot of trouble later.

Check the air filter. Tap the filter on a flat surface or carefully clean it with pressurized air. If the filter is very dirty, it should be replaced. Only foam filters should be cleaned with water.

Have a look at the blade. Is it dull? Is it broken or bent? If so then replace the blade. A dull blade can be sharpened with a file or grinder but never try to do it on the mower. Some blades are dual-edge and can be turned over but most blades have to be replaced or sharpened.

Check the drive belt. If your lawn mower has a drive belt then check it for wear and lack of tension. You should be able to move the belt sideways about half an inch with one finger if the tension is correct.

Clean the mower deck. Disconnect the spark wire from the spark plug to prevent engine from starting. Use water and a soft brush to carefully clean the outside of the mower deck around the engine.
Turn the mower 90 deg on its side, with the carburetor facing up and clean the inside of the deck, using a wooden stick to remove heavy grass build-up.

Bjorgvin Arnason is a marine-engineer, electrician and the owner of Lawn Mower Expert.com, a website dedicated to lawn mowers and lawn keepers.

You’re youngster has been in several school plays and says she really want’s to be an actress. She’s talked you into it. She’s taken acting classes, she has had the head shot taken, and has a resume, albeit a short one. Now here you are, at your first real audition. You both have that “deer in the headlights” look. How can you help her, and what should you expect?

Generally a preliminary audition is a time when the director, associate directors and casting people can see and hear the actors. Just seeing and hearing your child is an important first impression. Help keep your child calm and focused. If a child is uncomfortable and disagreeable and obviously not happy it’s a big no-no, and a no-brainer that this child won’t be called back.

Your child should have at least one monologue prepared, and, if the show is a musical, a song. Make sure that your child is familiar and comfortable with the monologue and song. It will show.

Keep a positive attitude with your child but remain realistic. Of course not every child will be called back for a second audition for this particular show. However, if your child remains positive and is enthusiastic, and of course is truly talented, he or she will leave a lasting impression on the directors. Often directors remember a stand-out when another opportunity presents itself. Your child could get a surprise call to audition for another part.

Make sure you keep it a light as you can and make sure that this experience is also fun for your child. Auditions take a lot of self-confidence. Being passed over and rejected for a part is not easy, but is a part of the process. A lot of parents say that the skills their children learn in the theatre translate positively into their daily lives.
About the Author

This article provided courtesy of http://www.acting-school-america.com

Times have changed, so have the rules. Gone are the days when people used to get credit only for their necessities like home, medical emergency or education, now one can get credit for just about anything. You can even get a loan to pay off your creditors or pay those mounting bills. This type of loan is called a Debt Consolidation Loan.

A Debt consolidation loan is the best way to get yourself out of the clutches of the choking debt. It saves you from the problems of handling large debts of multiple creditors. You can take a debt consolidation loan and use it to pay off all your creditors. In return you only have to pay easy installments to a single creditor.

Debt consolidation is a smart idea and is both secured and unsecured having assets attached or not having any collateral attached to it. It also has low interest rate so that you can become debt free soon.

Consolidation loans can certainly very beneficial. It has become popular with people struggling with increasing amounts of credit card debt, home mortgage loans, car loans, and student loans, along with low credit ratings and threatening phone calls from creditors. Debt consolidation is seen as the last option before declaring bankruptcy.

The key to success of a consolidation loan is discipline and if you promise yourself not to take any more debt, then definitely you can very efficiently manage your finances.

The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the
finance industry. She has done her masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting
Adverse-Credit-Debt-Consolidation as a finance specialist.

Budget hosting - Getting started guide

This is a quick summary of how to find a budget host, followed
by more detailed discussion for those who are interested.

This guide is meant for those who:

- Need a modest hosting plan for a site for a nonprofit / small
business / personal / etc.

- Have a budget for hosting of about $8 a month or under -
perhaps well under.

- Want a free standing hosting plan (not a reseller plan to
aggregate several such sites).

- Find a free plan or ISP web space doesn’t meet their needs.

- Don’t expect lots of extras or handholding.

THE SHORT VERSION:

Well run, reliable hosts can find it worthwhile to offer plans
for those with limited needs and budget. Some can make money
doing it. Others find that it’s a way to bring in new clients
whose needs will grow over time.

It’s good advice to avoid offers that are too good to be true -
you often won’t get what you were promised, and neither will the
rest of the horde of bargain hunters that overwhelm the host’s
servers with their sites. But that’s not what we’re talking
about here. You can get a good host on a budget.

- First, try to get some sense of the features, space, and
bandwidth you’ll need. If you can come up with even a rough
idea, it will help.

- Second, identify some good candidates for hosting. There are
enough listed in this article to save you time in coming up with
some candidates.

- Third, look for reviews of potential hosts from actual users.
As with a restaurant, the quality of a host has a lot to do with
the way it’s managed. New hosts might or might not be good; and
established hosts can go downhill if the management doesn’t
consistently stay on top of things. Service isn’t always
perfect, but what separates the good hosts from the bad is how
often there are problems, and how the host handles things when
something goes wrong.

- Search WebHostingTalk.com. Do a Search of the Web Hosting
Forum at WebHostingTalk.com, by searching on the host name.
Don’t search on "All Open Forums" - you’ll get too
many results that aren’t relevant. You might try a couple
variations to allow for different ways people spell - with or
without spaces between the words in the name, for example.

- Use FindMyHosting.com to find hosts and reviews of hosts.
Their Advanced Search page lets you specify a lot of options,
but often it’s best not to narrow it unnecessarily. Just enter
your budget and location, and use the "List By Highest
Customer Rating" option in the lower right corner. Also,
see below for more discussion of FindMyHosting.com

- Google the host’s name, and variations of it, to see what
turns up.

Neither of these approaches will find good information on every
host, or has all the info on the host - unfortunately, that site
doesn’t seem to exist. Many of the hosts mentioned below aren’t
listed on FindMyHosting.com. But these resources should help you
narrow the list to current good prospects for hosting.

Some U.S. budget hosts that seem promising so far, based on a
January 2005 search, roughly in order of price:

E-rice.net - starts at
$10/year, features should be good enough for simple sites. No
backups, though, so keep that in mind if you have content that
changes.

Doorhost.net - plans start at
$20/yr.

HostPC - Budget package
starts at $25/year.

T
otalchoice - budget plan at $4/month.

Site5

Lunarpages

Dreamhost<
/a>

Efextra.net - budget
windows hosting starting from $4.95/month.

Links

As you might have discovered, most of the web hosting
directories on the web are advertising driven - there are no
real reviews there. Here are a few places to look for info:

- FindMyHosting.
com’s Advanced Search page

- Web Hosting Reviews - not
particularly focused on inexpensive hosting, but a number of
useful articles and a list of hosts. The Related Sites page has
a number of other useful links and sites as well.

- You can sometimes find a good price on a good host or domain
registrar at Fa
tWallet or the Anandtech Hot Deals forums - search for host,
hosting, domain, and so on.

If you do find a particular site valuable when choosing a host,
you might try to sign up via their links so they get the
referral credit.

DISCUSSION

Narrowing the search:

1. User Forum. A forum discussing the host’s features and any
issues that arise can be very useful. You can often find answers
to questions that aren’t in the host’s help pages, without
needing to contact support. It also gives you a sense for the
kind of people you’re dealing with.

2. A whois search on the domain name of the host might give you
a sense for whether they look reliable and established.

3. Money back guarantees. Many people recommend choosing a host
with a money back guarantee. Maybe. I’d recommend choosing a
host where you won’t need the guarantee, if you can! Often it
isn’t worth chasing, if you turn out to need it.

4. Features. It’s a little hard to say precisely which features
you’ll need for your site, but:

- You can do a nice little site with: Linux hosting, php, mySQL
databases (multiple tables or databases), htaccess control,
several email boxes, email forwarding, and webmail.

- With that, you can run quite a few things; but if you’re new
to hosting you may want some preinstalled or auto installed
scripts, too.

- Control panel. A poorly designed control panel (such as the
one at 1and1) can make it slow and unwieldy to administer a
site.

- Subdomains (help.mydomain.net, store.mydomain.net) can be nice
to have.

- Multiple domains. If you need to host more than one domain
name (mydomain.net, myotherdomain.org), be sure to check if the
plan allows that.

You probably don’t need (and can’t get, on the really
inexpensive plans) SSH, root access, or detailed DNS server
setup - though if you know what it is you can decide for
yourself!

5. Service and support. Look for a reasonable turnaround time
(depending on the problem) and basic courtesy (always). And
personally, I’d rather have them warn me in adaance about
changes and downtime, than worry about how quickly they respond
when my site goes down or some new "feature" they
installed makes something stop working. Think about what’s fair
to expect at the price of the plan you’re looking at. In any
case, don’t ask for a lot of handholding - use the forums for
that.

6. Does it feel right? This might not work for everyone, but
many people get a sense of whether it’s a company they want to
do business with. Sometimes it’s a good feeling, sometimes it’s
a bad feeling. Don’t sign on with anyone who doesn’t seem
capable and straightforward. Contrary to what some people may
think, hosting is not a commodity business. There is intense
competition, but the quality of management makes some firms a
better choice than others.

Domain names

Like others, I always register my domain names at somewhere
other than my host, even if it costs more. That allows me to
very quickly change hosts if there’s a problem with the site for
an unacceptably long time. Changing hosts can often be done in a
matter of hours, if need be - see the Changing hosts with Almost NO Downtime thread on
WebHostingTalk.com.

Look in the Domain Name Discussions forum for comments on domain
registrars. As of January 2005, people seem to recommend
godaddy, namecheap or maybe domainsite for inexpensive and
reasonably reliable registrations.

The basics

For those new to hosting:

- You will get a shared hosting plan, at this budget. Your site
will be one of many on the physical server it is hosted on.

- You will have varying degrees of control and features
(depending on the plan you choose), but something less than full
control.

- Your site may be affected by the usage of other sites on your
server.

None of this is likely to be an acute or long term problem, if
you choose a good host.

You may be able to host a couple small sites on one hosting
plan, if you don’t mind administering them through one control
panel, and your plan allows multiple domains.

If you have several sites you plan to oversee, you may be better
off getting a reseller plan to host them all.

FindMyHosting.com

Note that FindMyHosting.com does not list every host. In fact,
it only lists those hosts who are currently paying it a referral
fee for new clients who find a host using FindMyHosting.com

Some people will have the knee-jerk reaction that’s inherently
bad. And, it does have some drawbacks:

- Some good hosts don’t like to pay referral fees, or would just
rather get clients by word of mouth. They won’t be in the
FindMyHosting.com listings.

- Hosts who get terrible feedback may end their arrangement. All
that useful feedback disappears.

But getting a fee if a client finds a host using the site does
not completely undermine the fundamental idea of having honest
host reviews, as long as they aren’t favoring one host over
another, and aren’t trying to make them all look good. There are
clearly some candid reviews at FindMyHosting.com. And
FindMyHosting.com has bills to pay, too - depending on how much
the fee is, it’s not unreasonable for them to get paid.

As always, you need to read the reviews with a critical eye. But
FindMyHosting.com is a good supplement to the inevitably
anecdotal evidence you often find by turning up a few forum
posts here and there about a host.

A note on web host reviews

All comments and reviews of hosts - positive and negative - need
to be looked at with a critical eye. And while they might not be
exactly reflective of the truth - that doesn’t mean they aren’t
valuable. In addition, if interpreted right, they seem to be a
useful way to judge the frequency of problems and the way a host
handles them. To the extent you can, it’s good to assess whether
somebody understands hosting; had reasonable expectations; and
took a reasonable approach to solving the problem. If so, I can
empathize with them getting "emotional" if the host
can’t fix the problem in a reasonable amount of time. That is,
maybe people get motivated to post reviews when they’ve had a
problem - but most people aren’t going to post the first time
they have a little problem, either. It’s usually a big problem
that they’ve had real trouble getting solved.

Also, there are no doubt some unreliable positive comments, too
- people that haven’t been with a host long enough to tell, and
people that are not completely independent of the hosts. So
don’t believe all the good reviews, either!

Why this article?

Some of this may seem obvious to the more experienced readers.
Sure, lots of people throw out a recommendation to search forums
- but search on what? And for how long? Similarly, just
mentioning FindMyHosting.com doesn’t really help much. This
article would have saved me several hours when I first started
looking.

And for those who can’t help but say "Price isn’t
everything" - there are decent hosts for these needs and
budget. Paying more will not necessarily get you a host that
does a better job for these needs.

This article has been adapted for publication from a WebHostingTalk.com thread.