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WEBSITE TRAFFIC GENERATION TIPS TRICK AND STRATEGIES

Search Engine Strategies
Perhaps the most important -- and inexpensive -- strategy is to rank high for your preferred keywords on the main search engines in "organic" or "natural" searches (as opposed to paid ads). Search engines send robot "spiders" to index the content of your webpage, so let's begin with steps to prepare your webpages for optimal indexing. The idea here is not to trick the search engines, but to leave them abundant clues as to what your webpage is about. This approach is called "search engine optimization," abbreviated as SEO.

1. Write a Keyword-Rich Page Title:
Write a descriptive title for each page -- rich in keywords you want people to find you with -- using 5 to 8 words. Remove as many "filler" words from the title (such as "the," "and," etc.) as possible, while still making it readable. This page title will appear hyperlinked on the search engines when your page is found. Entice searchers to click on the title by making it a bit provocative. Place this at the top of the webpage between the tags, in this format: . (It also shows on the blue bar at the top of your web browser.)

Plan to use some descriptive keywords along with your business name on your home page. If you specialize in silver bullets and that's what people will be searching for, don't just use your company name "Acme Ammunition, Inc.," use "Silver and Platinum Bullets -- Acme Ammunition, Inc." The words people are most likely to search on should appear first in the title (called "keyword prominence"). Remember, this title is your identity on the search engines. The more people see that interests them in the blue hyperlinked words on the search engine, the more likely they are to click on the link.

2. Write a Description META Tag:
Some search engines include this description below your hyperlinked title in the search results. The description should be a sentence or two describing the content of the webpage, using the main keywords and keyphrases on this page. Don't include keywords that don't appear on the webpage. Place the Description META Tag at the top of the webpage, between the tags, in this format:



The maximum number of characters should be about 255; just be aware that only the first 60 or so are visible on Google, though more may be indexed.

When I prepare a webpage, I write the article first, then develop a keyword-rich title. Then I write a description of the content in that article in a sentence or two, using each of the important keywords and keyphrases included in the article. This goes into the description META tag.

Next, I strip out the common words, leaving just the meaty keywords and phrases and insert those into the keywords META tag. It's no longer used much for ranking, but I'm leaving it in anyway. I think it may have some minor value. So to summarize so far, every webpage in your site should have a distinct title and META description tag. If you implement these two points, you're well on your way to better search engine ranking. But there's more that will help your ranking....

3. Include Your Keywords in Headers (H1, H2, H3):
Search engines consider keywords that appear in the page headline and sub heads to be important to the page, so make sure your desired keywords and phrases appear in one or two header tags. Don't expect the search engine to parse your Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) to figure out which are the headlines -- it won't. Instead, use keywords in the H1, H2, and H3 tags to provide clues to the search engine. (Note: Some designers no longer use the H1, H2 tags. That's a big mistake. Make sure your designer defines these tags in the CSS rather than creating headline tags with other names.)

4. Position Your Keywords in the First Paragraph of Your Body Text:
Search engines expect that your first paragraph will contain the important keywords for the document -- where most people write an introduction to the content of the page. You don't want to just artificially stuff keywords here, however. More is not better. Google might expect a keyword density in the entire body text area of maybe 1.5% to 2% for a word that should rank high, so don't overdo it.

5. Include Descriptive Keywords in the ALT Attribute of Image Tags:
This helps your site be more accessible to site-impaired visitors (www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/glance/) and gives additional clues to the search engines. The ALT attributes do help get your images ranked higher for image search.

6. Use Keywords in Hyperlinks:
Search engines are looking for clues to the focus of your webpage. When they see words hyperlinked in your body text, they consider these potentially important, so hyperlink your important keywords and keyphrases. To emphasize it even more, the webpage you are linking to could have a page name with the keyword or keyphrase, such as blue-widget.htm -- another clue for the search engine.

7. Make Your Navigation System Search Engine Friendly:
You want search engine robots to find all the pages in your site. JavaScript and Flash navigation menus that appear when you hover are great for humans, but search engines don't read JavaScript and Flash very well. Therefore, supplement JavaScript and Flash menus with regular HTML links at the bottom of the page, ensuring that a chain of hyperlinks exists that take a search engine spider from your home page to every page in your site. Don't set up your navigation system using HTML frames (an old, out-dated approach); they can cause severe indexing problems.

Some content management systems and e-commerce catalogs produce dynamic, made-on-the-fly webpages, often recognizable by question marks in the URLs followed by long strings of numbers or letters. Overworked search engines sometimes have trouble parsing long URLs and may stop at the question mark, refusing to go farther. If you find the search engines aren't indexing your interior pages, you might consider URL rewriting, a site map, or commercial solutions.

8. Create a Site Map:
A site map page with links to all your pages can help search engines (and visitors) find all your pages, particularly if you have a larger site. You can use free tools, XML-Sitemaps.com (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/xml-sitemaps.htm) to create XML sitemaps that are used by the major search engines to index your webpages accurately. Upload your sitemap to your website. Then submit your XML sitemap to Google, Yahoo!, and Bing (formerly MSN), following instructions on their sites. By the way, Google Webmaster Central (www.google.com/webmasters/) has lots of tools to help you get ranked higher. Be sure to set up a free account and explore what they have to offer.

9. Develop Webpages Focused on Each Your Target Keywords:
SEO specialists no longer recommend using external doorway or gateway pages, since nearly duplicate webpages might get you penalized. Rather, develop several webpages on your site, each of which is focused on a target keyword or keyphrase for which you would like a high ranking. Let's say you sell teddy bears. Use Google Insights for Search (www.google.com/insights/search/) or the free keyword suggestion tool on Wordtracker (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/wordtracker.htm) to find the related keywords people search on. In this case: write a separate webpage featuring the keyword "teddy bear," "teddy bears," "vermont teddy bears," "vermont bears," "the teddy bears," teddy bears picnic," "teddy bears pictures," etc. You'll write a completely different article on each topic. You can't fully optimize all the webpages in your site, but for each of these focused-content webpages, spend lots of time tweaking to improve its ranking, as described in point #10.

10. Fine-tune with Careful Search Engine Optimization:
Now fine-tune your focused-content pages and perhaps your home page, by making a series of minor adjustments to help them rank higher. Software such as WebPosition (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/webposition.htm) allows you to check your current ranking and compare your webpages against your top keyword competitors. I use it regularly. WebPosition's Page Critic tool provides analysis of a search engine's preferred statistics for each part of your webpage, with specific recommendations of what minor changes to make. The best set of SEO tools is Bruce Clay's SEOToolSet (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/clay_seotoolset.htm).

11. Promote your Local Business on the Internet.
These days many people search for local businesses on the Internet. To make sure they find you, include on every page of your website the street address, zip code, phone number, and the five or 10 other local community place names your business serves. If you can, include place names in the title tag, too. When you seek links to your site you should request links from local businesses with place names in the communities you serve and complementary businesses in your industry nationwide.

Also create a free listing for your local business on Google Maps Local Business Center (www.google.com/local/add) and Yahoo! Local (listings.local.yahoo.com). That way your business can show up on a map when people do a local search.

12. Promote Your Video, Images, and Audio Content
Google's "universal search" displays not only webpage content, but also often displays near the top of the page relevant listings for images, videos, local businesses and audio clips. Therefore, consider creating such content appropriate to your business and then optimizing it so it can be ranked high enough to help you. For example, if you were to get a top-ranking, informative video on YouTube (www.youtube.com) that mentions your site, it could drive a lot of traffic to your site. For more information, search on "optimizing images" or "optimizing videos."

LINKING STRATEGIES
Links to your site from other sites drive additional traffic. But since Google and other major search engines consider the number of incoming links to your website ("link popularity") as an important indicator of relevance, more links will help you rank higher in the search engines. Google has a measure called PageRank that reflects the quantity and quality of incoming links. All links aren't all equal. Links from trusted, popular sites help your site rank higher than links from lower traffic sites.

1 Submit Your Site to Key Directories
Since a link from a directory will help your ranking -- and get you traffic. A directory is not a search engine. Rather, it is a hierarchical listing of sites sorted according to category and subcategory. Be sure to list your site in the free Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.com), overseen by overworked volunteer editors. But if you don't get listed right away, don't be impatient and resubmit, or you'll go to the end of the queue. A link in this directory will help you a lot.

Yahoo! Directory (dir.yahoo.com) is another important directory. Real humans read submission, so be careful to follow the instruction given. Hint: Use somewhat less than the maximum number of characters allowable, so you don't have wordy text that will tempt the Yahoo! editor to begin chopping. Yahoo! Directory Submit (ecom.yahoo.com/dir/submit/intro/) requires a $299 annual recurring fee to have your site considered for inclusion within seven business days. Other paid business directories that might help are About.com and Business.com.

2. Submit Your Site to Trade Organization Sites and Specialized Directories.
Some directories focused on particular industries, such as education or finance. You probably belong to various trade associations that feature member directories. Ask for a link. Even if you have to pay something for a link from the organization, it may help boost your PageRank.

Marginal directories, however, come and go very quickly, making it hard to keep up, so don't try to be exhaustive here. Beware of directories that solicit you for "upgraded listings." Unless a directory is widely used in your field, a premium ad is a waste of money -- but the (free) link itself will help boost your PageRank and hence your search engine ranking.

SubmitWolf (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/submitwolf.htm) is a directory submission tool I've used with good success . You complete a listing form in the software interface. Then they submit your listing to all the appropriate directories they know of, plus links to sites that require manual submission. It's a timesaver and works well. Just be careful to submit only to actual directories, not "linking sites."

3. Request Reciprocal Links.
Find websites in your general niche and request a reciprocal link to your site (especially to your free service, if you offer one. Develop an out-of-the way page where you put links to other sites -- so you don't send people out the back door as fast as you bring them in the front door. Your best results will be from sites that generate a similar amount of traffic as your own site. High-traffic site webmasters are too busy to answer your requests for a link and don't have anything to gain. Look for smaller sites that may have linking pages.

Check out Ken Evoy's free SiteSell Value Exchange (sales.sitesell.com/value-exchange/). It (1) registers your site as willing to exchange links with other sites that have a similar theme/topic content and (2) searches for sites with similar topical content. Additionally, two automated link building software programs stand out -- Zeus (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/zeus.htm) and IBP Link Builder (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/arelis.htm). Both of these search the web for complementary sites, help you maintain a link directory, and manage reciprocal links. However, use these programs to identify the complementary sites, not to send impersonal automated e-mail spam to site owners.

When you locate sites, send a personal e-mail using the contact e-mail on the site or to the administrative contact listed in a Whois Directory (www.networksolutions.com/whois/). If e-mail doesn't get a response, try a phone call. Warning: Only link to complementary sites, no matter how often you are bombarded with requests to exchange links with a mortgage site that has nothing to do with your teddy bear store. One way Google determines what your site is about is who you link to and who links to you. It's not just links, but quality links you seek. Reciprocal linking as hard, tedious work, but it doesn't cost you a dime out of pocket! Keep working at this continuously, a little bit at a time. Patience and persistence will get you some good links, so keep at it.

4. Write Articles for Others to Use in Websites and Newsletters.
You can dramatically increase your visibility when you write articles in your area of expertise and distribute them to editors as free content for their e-mail newsletters or their websites. Just ask that a link to your website and a one-line description of what you offer be included with the article. This is an effective "viral" approach that can produce hundreds of links to your site over time. You'll find lots of information on how to do this from the most popular article marketing site, EzineArticles.com. When you create a free membership account, they begin sending you instructions and ideas each week.


5. Issue News Releases.
Find newsworthy events and send news releases to print and Web periodicals in your industry. The links to your site in online news databases may remain for several months and will temporarily improve traffic to your site and increase link popularity. Use a online news release service such as PR Web (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/prweb.htm). Placing your website URL in online copies of your press release may increase link popularity temporarily.

Our next type of website promotion comes from the mushrooming field of social media, in which people are encouraged to interact with each other, and respond to each other's blog postings and comments. You should be aware of four types of social media: (1) blogs, (2) social networking sites, (3) social bookmarking sites, and (4) forums. Don't be upset if the distinctions between types of social media tend to blur. Social media help promote your site by sending direct traffic, producing links to your site, and generating awareness. The subject is too diverse to go into detail here. You can learn more in our social media articles (www.wilsonweb.com/newmedia/).

6. Begin a Business Blog.
18. Begin a Business Blog. Want links to your site? Begin a business blog on your website, hosted on your own domain. If you offer excellent content and regular industry comment, people are likely to link to it, increasing your site's PageRank. Consistency and having something to say are key. If you have a blog on a third-party blog site, occasionally find reasons to talk about and link to your own domain.
7. Become Part of a Social Media Community.
Some of the best online communities for business include Facebook (www.facebook.com), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), and Twitter (www.twitter.com). In addition, you may want to participate in a social bookmarking community in which members share with each other information about websites, articles, or news items that they like (or don't like). These include Digg (www.digg.com), Delicious (www.delicious.com/), StumbleUpon (www.stumbleupon.com), and Google Bookmarks (www.google.com/bookmarks/). Search engine spiders troll these sites looking for links to something new and relevant. You can usually place a link to your website in your profile, but the biggest gain comes when other people mention you (which generates traffic to your site), link to you (which increases your PageRank and brings traffic), or bookmark you (which increases your PageRank and brings traffic.

One important reminder, don't join a community to spam them or talk incessantly about your business. Like any community you must listen, comment, and make a genuine contribution for the good of others. Don't hog the conversation. Otherwise, your self-serving links and comments will hurt your reputation.

8. Promote Your Site in Online Forums and Discussion Lists -- "old school" social media.
The Internet offers thousands of very targeted e-mail based discussion lists, online forums, and groups made up of people with very specialized interests. Use Google Groups (groups.google.com) to find appropriate groups. Search online for blogs or other forums.

Don't bother with groups consisting of pure spam. Instead, find groups where a serious dialog is taking place. Don't use aggressive marketing and overtly plug your product or service. Rather, add to the discussion in a helpful way and let the "signature" at the end of your e-mail message do your marketing for you. People will gradually get to know and trust you, visit your site, and do business with you.

21. Ask Visitors to Bookmark Your Site.
It seems simple, but ask visitors to bookmark your site or save it in their Favorites list. I use a widget called AddThis (www.addthis.com). When you put the AddThis JavaScript on your webpage, it automatically determines the title and URL of that page. When visitors click the button on your page, they are automatically taken to a page that allows them to choose which bookmarking service they prefer, and then pre-populates the appropriate form with the title and URL of your webpage. I use AddThis throughout my website, as well as in my newsletters. If you have good content that people want to bookmark, this can generate hundreds of links to your site and significantly raise your rankings.


TRADITIONAL STRATEGIES
Just because "old media" strategies aren't on the Internet doesn't mean they aren't effective. A mixed media approach can be very effective.

1. Include Your URL on Stationery, Cards, and Literature.
Make sure that all business cards, stationery, brochures, and literature contain your company's URL. And see that your printer gets the URL syntax correct. In print, I recommend leaving off the http:// part and including only the www.domain.com portion.

1. Promote using traditional media.
Don't discontinue print advertising that you've found effective. But be sure to include your URL in any display or classified ads you purchase in trade journals, newspapers, yellow pages, etc. View your website as an information adjunct to the ad. Use a two-step approach: (1) capture readers' attention with the ad, (2) then refer them to a URL where they can obtain more information and perhaps place an order. Look carefully at small display or classified ads in the back of narrowly-targeted magazines or trade periodicals. Sometimes these ads are more targeted, more effective, and less expensive than online advertising. Consider other traditional media to drive people to your site, such as direct mail, classifieds, post cards, etc. TV can be used to promote websites, especially in a local market.

2. Develop a Free Service.
It's boring to invite people, "Come to our site and learn about our business." It's quite another to say "Use the free kitchen remodeling calculator available exclusively on our site." Make no mistake, it's expensive in time and energy to develop free resources, such as our Research Room (www.wilsonweb.com/research/), but it is very rewarding in increased traffic to your site -- and a motivation to link to the site! Make sure that your free service is closely related to what you are selling so the visitors you attract will be good prospects for your business. Give visitors multiple opportunities and links to cross over to the sales portion of your site.


E-MAIL STRATEGIES
Don't neglect e-mail as an important way to bring people to your website. Just don't spam, that is, don't send bulk unsolicited e-mails without permission to people with whom you have no relationship. Many countries have anti-spam laws.

1. Install a "Signature" in your E-Mail Program to help potential customers get in touch with you.
Most e-mail programs allow you to designate a "signature" to appear at the end of each message you send. Limit it to 6 to 8 lines: Company name, address, phone number, URL, e-mail address, and a one-phrase description of your unique business offering. Look for examples on e-mail messages sent to you.

2. Publish an E-Mail Newsletter.
While it requires a commitment of time, creating a monthly e-mail publication is one of the most important promotion techniques. It could be a newsletter ("ezine"), list of tips, industry updates, or new product information -- whatever you believe your customers will appreciate. This is a great way to keep in touch with your prospects, generate trust, develop brand awareness, and build future business. It also helps you collect e-mail addresses from those who visit your site, but aren't yet ready to make a purchase. You distribute your newsletter inexpensively using e-mail marketing services such as: iContact (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/icontact.htm), Constant Contact (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/constantcontact.htm), and AWeber (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/aweber.htm). If you have a very small list, some of these services let you use their services free until you grow larger. Blogs are very popular, but don't really replace e-mail newsletters. You have to go to a blog to read it, while an e-mail newsletter appears in your inbox asking to be read.

3. Aggressively Ask for E-Mail Sign-ups.
If you want to get subscribers to your e-mail newsletter, you'll need to work hard at it. Include a subscription form on every page of your website. Promote sign-ups through free whitepapers, e-books, or other products. If you have a local business, ask customers to sign up for your e-mail list to get "special Internet only offers." Also ask other businesspeople when they give you a business card if you can send them your e-mail newsletter. While only the e-mail address itself is necessary, I always ask for a first name also, so I can personalize the newsletter and the e-mail subject line with the recipient's name.

4. Send Transactional and Reminder E-Mails.
A transactional e-mail is sent to an existing customer to initiate, remind, confirm, or thank the person. Be creative. If you keep careful records, you can send e-mails to customers on their birthday to remind them to return to your site. Subscription confirmation e-mails can also mention several popular products. You might remind customers that it has been three months since their last order and ask if it's time for a refill. Thank you for your purchase e-mails can offer a coupon to bring your customer back for a future sale. Use your imagination, but don't pester your customers. You're there to serve them, not the other way around.


5. Send Offers to Your Visitors and Customers.
Your own list of customers and site visitors who have given you permission to contact them will be your most productive list. Send special offers, coupon specials, product updates, etc. They often initiate another visit to your site. If you have a regular newsletter, you can include many of these in your regular e-mailing.

30. Exchange E-Mail Mentions with Complementary Businesses.
You might consider exchanging e-mail newsletter mentions with complementary businesses to reach new audiences. Just be sure that your partners are careful where they get their mailing list so you don't get in trouble with the anti-spam laws in your country.

MISCELLANEOUS STRATEGIES
Here are a couple of strategies that don't fit elsewhere.

1. Announce a Contest.
People like getting something free. If you publicize a contest or drawing available on your site, you'll generate more traffic than normal. Make sure your sweepstakes rules are legal in all states and countries you are targeting. Prizes should be designed to attract individuals who fit a demographic profile describing your best customers.

2. Devise Viral Marketing Promotion Techniques.
So-called viral marketing uses existing communication networks to spread the word exponentially. Word-of-mouth, PR, creating "buzz," and network marketing are offline models.
The key to the best viral marketing, however, is create something that generates buzz and is so cute / fascinating / fun / bizarre that it gets passed by viewers to their friends via e-mail and social networks -- thousands of times -- so that it propels more and more people to your website, and, hopefully, helps enhance your brand, produce sales, and ultimately boost profits. Internet marketers often seek to launch viral campaigns on Digg (www.digg.com) or YouTube (www.youtube.com). Digg is a social bookmarking site with such power, that if enough people "Digg" you, you appear on the Digg front page and receive a huge number of visitors in a few hours. If your video goes viral on YouTube, you could get tens of thousands of visits to the site you promote in the video.

PAID ADVERTISING STRATEGIES
None of the approaches described above is "free," since each takes time and energy. But if you want to grow your business more rapidly, there comes a point when you need to pay for increased traffic. Advertising is sold in one of three ways: (1) traditional CPM (cost per thousand views), (2) pay per click (PPC), and (3) pay per action (PPA) or cost per action (CPA) approaches. Examples of the latter are affiliate program and lead generation programs. Banner ads get such a low click-through rate (0.2%) that I don't recommend paying much for them. Banner ads typically cost about 50¢ to $1 per thousand page views, except on targeted sites. Do some small tests first to determine response. Then calculate your return on investment (ROI) before spending large amounts. Here are some methods to explore:



1. Advertise in an E-Mail Newsletter.
Some of the best buys are small text ads in e-mail newsletters targeted at audiences likely to be interested in your products or services. Many small publishers aren't sophisticated about advertising and offer very attractive rates.

More effective (and more expensive) is to send out an appropriate solo e-mail to the targeted list's subscribers. These often get a good response.

2. Begin an Affiliate Program.
Essentially, a retailer's affiliate program is a CPA program that pays a commission to other site owners whose links to the retailer's products result in an actual sale. The goal is to build a network of affiliates who have a financial stake in promoting your site. If you're a merchant, you need to (1) determine the commission you are willing to pay (consider it your advertising cost), (2) select a company to set up the technical details of your program, and (3) promote your program to get the right kind of affiliates who will link to your site. Software and service companies are available to facilitate the process. The problem is getting enough affiliates who will actually work hard to promote your products or services. These "super affiliates" will probably consist of only 1% to 3% of your total number of affiliates.

3. Purchase Pay Per Click (PPC) ads.
With Google AdWords (adwords.google.com/select/), Yahoo! Search Marketing (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/overture.htm), or Microsoft AdCenter (adcenter.microsoft.com). This strategy is way down the list, but it is vitally important. Most Internet businesses will want to explore using Google AdWords to drive targeted traffic to their websites.

These PPC ads appear on the search engine results page, typically both above and to the right of the organic or natural search engine results. Since they are keyword-driven, they can be quite relevant to what a searcher is trying to find. Your ranking in this list of paid text ads is determined by (1) how much you have bid for a particular search word compared to other businesses, (2) the click-through rate on your ad, and (3) your Quality Score, which reflects the relevancy and quality of your ad and the landing page it points to.

PPC ads can be a cost-effective way to get targeted traffic, since you only pay when someone actually clicks on the link. But I strongly recommend that you study this carefully and expect a learning curve before you invest large sums of money in PPC advertising.

4. List Your Products with Shopping Comparison Bots and Auction Sites.
If you're an online merchant, you'll want to consider this. Shopping bots compare your products and prices to others. Some work on a PPC (Pay Per Click) basis, others on a CPA (Cost Per Action) basis, perhaps with a listing fee. Bots to consider include mySimon (www.mysimon.com), BizRate (www.bizrate.com/), PriceGrabber (www.pricegrabber.com/), and Shopping.com (www.shopping.com). Shopping sites that include comparison features include: eBay (www.ebay.com), Yahoo! Shopping (shopping.yahoo.com), and Amazon Marketplace
(www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=1161232). You pay to acquire first-time customers, but hopefully you can sell to them a second, third, and fourth time, later on.

5. Rent targeted, commercial e-mail lists.
The last website promotion technique I'll mention is renting targeted e-mail lists. We abhor "spam," bulk untargeted, unsolicited e-mail, and you'll pay a very stiff price in a ruined reputation and cancelled services if you yield to temptation here. But the direct marketing industry has developed targeted e-mail lists you can rent -- lists consisting of people who have agreed to receive commercial e-mail messages. These lists cost $40 to $400 per thousand or 4¢ to 40¢ per name. Do a smaller test first to determine the quality of the list. Your best bet is to find an e-mail list broker (www.google.com/search?&q=e-mail+list+broker) to help you with this project. You'll save money and get experienced help for no additional cost. Realize, however, that due to the high cost of renting lists, many businesses won't generate enough businesses to justify the cost. Run the numbers before you invest.

Tribute to Aaliyah, As the World Marks Her 31st Birthday

Tribute to Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), who performed under the mononym Aaliyah (pronounced /əˈliːə/), was an American recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah was signed to Jive Records and Blackground Records by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. He introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number. The album sold two million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed to Atlantic Records.

Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million; it sold two million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film, Romeo Must Die. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which spawned the single "Try Again". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this feat. "Try Again" earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.

After filming Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah filmed her part in Queen of the Damned. She released her third and final album, Aaliyah, in 2001. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". The pilot, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Since then, Aaliyah has achieved commercial success with several posthumous releases. Selling over 24 million records worldwide, she has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop and has been named the "Princess of R&B".


Life and career
1979–1990: Early life
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York City, New York.[1] Born of African American and Oneida descent,[2][3] she was the second and youngest child of Diane and Michael Haughton.[4] At a young age, Aaliyah was enrolled for voice lessons by her mother.[1] She would perform at weddings, church choir and charity events.[3] When she was five years old, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she was raised along with her older brother, Rashad.[5][6] She attended a Catholic school, Gesu Elementary, where she received a part in the stage play Annie in first grade. From then on, she became determined to be an entertainer.[7] Aaliyah's mother was a vocalist, and her uncle, Barry Hankerson, was an entertainment lawyer who was previously married to Gladys Knight.[6] As a child, Aaliyah traveled with Knight and worked with an agent in New York to audition for commercials and television programs, including Family Matters; she went on to appear on Star Search at the age of nine.[1][8] She then auditioned for several record labels and appeared in concerts alongside Knight at age 11.[6][9]

1991–1995: Age Ain't Nothing But a Number
After Hankerson signed a distribution deal with Jive Records, he signed Aaliyah to his Blackground Records label at the age of 12.[10][11] Hankerson later introduced her to recording artist and producer R. Kelly,[9] who became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of the album, which was recorded when she was 14.[11][12][13] Released in June 1994, the album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over two million copies in the United States.[14][15] Aaliyah's debut single, "Back & Forth", topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks and was certified Gold by the RIAA.[16][17] The second single, a cover of The Isley Brothers' "At Your Best (You Are Love)", peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also certified Gold by the RIAA.[16][17] The title track, "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number", peaked at number 75 on the Hot 100.[16] Additionally, she released "The Thing I Like" as part of the soundtrack to the 1994 film A Low Down Dirty Shame.[18]

With the release of Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, rumors began to circulate of a relationship between Aaliyah and Kelly.[9][19] Shortly after, rumors of a secret marriage began with the release of "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" and the adult content that Kelly had written for Aaliyah.[20] Vibe magazine later revealed a marriage certificate that listed the couple allegedly married on August 31, 1994, in Sheraton Gateway Suites in Rosemont, Illinois.[9][20] Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time, was listed as 18 on the certificate; the illegal marriage was reportedly annulled in February 1995 by her parents.[12][20][21] The pair continued to deny marriage allegations, stating that neither was married.[19]


1996–1999: One in a Million
"If Your Girl Only Knew" (1996)

The first single released from her second studio album, "If Your Girl Only Knew" was described as a sassy, organ-infused song.[22] Aaliyah was noted for having "smoother, more seductive, and stronger" singing.[23]

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In 1996, Aaliyah left Jive Records and signed to Atlantic Records.[9] She worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott, who contributed to her second studio album, One in a Million.[6] The album yielded the single "If Your Girl Only Knew", which topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for two weeks.[16] It also generated the singles "Hot like Fire" and "4 Page Letter". The following year, Aaliyah was featured on Timbaland & Magoo's debut single, "Up Jumps da Boogie".[24] One in a Million peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200,[14] selling over two million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide.[25][26]

Aaliyah attended the Detroit High School for the Performing Arts, where she majored in drama and graduated in 1997 with a 4.0 grade point average.[9][27][28] Aaliyah began her acting career that same year; she played herself in the police drama television series New York Undercover.[29] During this time, Aaliyah participated the Children's Benefit Concert, a charity concert that took place at the Beacon Theatre in New York.[30] She contributed on the soundtrack album for the Fox Animation Studios animated feature Anastasia, performing a cover version of "Journey to the Past" which earned songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.[18][26][31] Aaliyah performed the song at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony and became the youngest singer to perform at the ceremony.[32][33]


2000–2001: Romeo Must Die and eponymous album
In 2000, Aaliyah landed her first major movie role in Romeo Must Die. A loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Aaliyah starred opposite martial artist Jet Li, playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families. It grossed $18.6 million in its first weekend, ranking number two at the box office.[34] In addition to acting, Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the film soundtrack, where she contributed four songs.[35] "Try Again" was released as a single from the soundtrack; the song topped the Billboard Hot 100, making Aaliyah the first artist to top the chart based solely on airplay; this led the song to be released in a 12" vinyl and 7" single.[16][36] The music video won the Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film awards at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.[37] It also earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.[38] The soundtrack went on to sell 1.5 million copies in the United States.[39]

After completing Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah began to work on her second film, Queen of the Damned. She played the role of an ancient vampire, Queen Akasha, which she described as a "manipulative, crazy, sexual being".[11] She was scheduled to film for the sequels of The Matrix as the character Zee.[9][40] Aaliyah went on to release her eponymous album, Aaliyah, in July 2001. Produced primarily by Timbaland,[1] the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 187,000 copies in its first week.[41] The first single from the album, "We Need a Resolution", peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100.[16]

Plane crash, death and wrongful death lawsuit
On August 25, 2001, at 6:45 pm (EST), Aaliyah and various members of the record company boarded a twin engine Cessna 402B (N8097W) at Marsh Harbour, Abaco Islands, The Bahamas, to travel to an airport in Opa-locka, Florida, after they completed filming the music video for "Rock the Boat".[42] They had a flight scheduled the following day, but with filming finishing early, Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to return to the United States. They made the decision to leave immediately. Against the advice of baggage handlers and the pilot, all the equipment from the shoot was loaded on the plane. Therefore, the aircraft exceeded the standard weight and balance tolerance limit provided by Cessna.[43]

The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, about 200 feet (60 m) from the runway.[42] Aaliyah, pilot Luis Morales III, hair stylist Eric Forman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, video producer Douglas Kratz, stylist Christopher Maldonado, and Blackground Records employees Keith Wallace and Gina Smith were killed.[44] According to findings from an inquest, conducted by the coroner's office in The Bahamas, Aaliyah suffered from "severe burns and a blow to the head", in addition to severe shock. The coroner theorized that, even if Aaliyah had survived the crash, her recovery would have been virtually impossible given the severity of her injuries.[45] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report stated that "the airplane was seen lifting off the runway, and then nose down, impacting in a marsh on the south side of the departure end of runway 27."[46] It also indicated that the pilot was not approved to pilot the plane he was attempting to fly. Morales falsely obtained his Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) license by showing hundreds of hours never flown, and he may also have falsified how many hours he had flown in order to get a job with his employer, Blackhawk International Airways.[47] Additionally, an autopsy performed on Morales revealed traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system.[48]


The entrance to Ferncliff Cemetery, where Aaliyah is interredFurther investigations determined the plane was over its total gross weight by 700 pounds and was loaded with one more passenger than it was allowed to carry.[49] John Frank of the Cessna Pilots Association stated that the plane was "definitely overloaded".[50] The NTSB reported that the total gross weight of the plane was "substantially exceeded", which caused the center of gravity to be pushed too far aft.[46] Aaliyah's funeral, which was attended by over 800 mourners, was held on August 31, 2001, at the Saint Ignatius Loyola Church in New York.[12][51] After service, 22 white doves were released to symbolize each year of her life.[52] Aaliyah was buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery.[53]

The day of the crash was Morales' first official day with Blackhawk International Airways, an FAA Part 135 single-pilot operation. In addition, Morales was not registered with the FAA to fly for Blackhawk. As a result of the accident, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Aaliyah's parents and was later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.[54] Barry & Sons, Inc., a corporation formed in 1992 to develop, promote and capitalize Aaliyah and to oversee the production and distribution of her records and music videos, brought an unsuccessful lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against Instinct Productions LLC, the company that was hired in August 2001 to produce the music video for "Rock the Boat". The case was dismissed due to New York's wrongful death statute only permitting certain people to recover damages for wrongful death.[55][56]

2001–2005: Posthumous career
The week after Aaliyah's death, her third studio album, Aaliyah, rose from number 19 to number one on the Billboard 200.[57] "Rock the Boat" was released as a posthumous single. The music video was premiered on Black Entertainment Television's Access Granted; it became the most viewed and highest rated episode in the history of the show.[58] The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[59] It was also included on the Now That's What I Call Music! 8 compilation series; a portion of the album's profits were donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund.[60] The following two singles from Aaliyah, "More than a Woman" and "I Care 4 U", peaked within the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100.[59] The album was certified double Platinum by the RIAA and sold 2.5 million copies in the United States.[17][61]

She went on to win two posthumous awards at the American Music Awards of 2002; Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B/Soul Album for Aaliyah.[62] Her second and final film, Queen of the Damned, was released in February 2002. Before its release, Aaliyah's brother, Rashad, re-dubbed part of her lines during post-production.[63][64] It grossed $15.2 million in its first weekend, ranking number one at the box office.[65] In December 2002, a collection of previously unreleased material was released as Aaliyah's first posthumous album, I Care 4 U. A portion of proceeds was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund, a program that benefits the Revlon UCLA Women Cancer Research Program and Harlem's Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.[66] It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 280,000 copies in its first week.[61] The album's lead single, "Miss You", peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[59] In August of the following year, clothing retailer Christian Dior donated profits from sales in honor of Aaliyah.[67]

Aaliyah was signed to appear in several future films, including Honey (recast to Jessica Alba).[68] Some Kind of Blue and a Whitney Houston-produced remake of the 1976 film Sparkle were canceled due to Aaliyah's death.[2][69] Before her death, Aaliyah had filmed part of her role in The Matrix Reloaded and was scheduled to appear in The Matrix Revolutions as Zee.[24] The role was later recast to Nona Gaye.[40] Aaliyah's scenes were later included in the tribute section of the Matrix Ultimate Collection series.[70]

In 2005, Aaliyah's second compilation album, Ultimate Aaliyah was released in the UK by Blackground Records.[71] Ultimate Aaliyah is a three disc set, which included a greatest hits audio CD and a DVD.[71] Andy Kellman of Allmusic remarked "Ultimate Aaliyah adequately represents the shortened career of a tremendous talent who benefited from some of the best songwriting and production work by Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and R. Kelly."[71]



Musical style and image
"More Than a Woman" (2001)

As her albums progressed, music critics felt that Aaliyah had matured, noting a "near-flawless declaration of strength and independence".[72]

Problems listening to this file? See media help.
Aaliyah had a vocal range of a soprano.[9] With the release of her debut single "Back & Forth", Dimitri Ehrlich of Entertainment Weekly expressed that Aaliyah's "silky vocals are more agile than those of self-proclaimed queen of hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige."[73] Aaliyah described her sound as "street but sweet", which featured her "gentle" vocals over a "hard" beat.[74] Though Aaliyah did not write any of her own material,[9] her lyrics were described to be in-depth.[75][76] She incorporated R&B, pop and hip hop into her music. Her songs were often uptempo and melancholy, revolving around "matters of the heart".[72][77] Her songs have been said to have "crisp production" and "staccato arrangements" that "extend genre boundaries" while containing "old-school" soul music. When experimenting with other genres, such as Latin pop and heavy metal, writers panned the attempt.[77] As her albums progressed, writers felt that Aaliyah matured, calling her progress a "declaration of strength and independence".[72][76] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described her eponymous album, Aaliyah, as "a statement of maturity and a stunning artistic leap forward" and called it one of the strongest urban soul records of its time.[76] She portrayed "unfamiliar sounds, styles and emotions", but managed to please critics with the contemporary sound it contained.[76] Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone felt that Aaliyah reflected a stronger technique, where she gave her best vocal performance.[72] Others felt that she was "satisfying rather than extraordinary", stating that she added little to modern R&B.[78][79]

As an artist, Aaliyah often voiced that she was inspired by a number of performers. These include Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Sade, En Vogue, The Isley Brothers, Naughty by Nature, Johnny Mathis and Janet Jackson.[80] Aaliyah expressed that Michael Jackson's Thriller was her "favorite album" and that "[n]othing will ever top Thriller."[80] She stated that she admired Sade because "she stays true to her style no matter what... she's an amazing artist, an amazing performer... and I absolutely love her."[80] Aaliyah expressed Janet Jackson—whom she had drawn frequent comparison to over the course of her career—was someone she had always desired to work with, stating "I admire her a great deal. She's a total performer... I'd love to do a duet with Janet Jackson."[80][81][82][83] Jackson reciprocated Aaliyah's affections, commenting "I've loved her from the beginning because she always comes out and does something different, musically." Jackson also stated she would have enjoyed collaborating with Aaliyah.[80]

Since the beginning of her career, Aaliyah focused on her public image. She often wore baggy clothes and sunglasses, stating that she "wanted to be me".[84] She described her image as being "important… to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack".[85] She often wore black clothing, starting a trend for similar fashion among women in United States and Japan.[9][86] Aaliyah participated in fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger's All America Tour and was featured in Tommy Jean ads, which depicted her in boxer shorts, baggy jeans and a tube top. Hilfiger's brother, Andy, called it "a whole new look" that was "classy but sexy".[86] When she changed her hairstyle, Aaliyah took her mother's advice to cover her left eye, much like Veronica Lake.[87] In 1998, Aaliyah hired a personal trainer to keep in shape. She exercised five days a week and ate diet foods.[88] Aaliyah was praised for her "clean-cut image" and "moral values".[89]



Legacy
Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop in the 1990s, "leaving an indelible imprint on the music industry as a whole."[90][91] Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote Aaliyah ranks among the "elite" artists of the R&B genre, as she "played a major role in popularizing the stuttering, futuristic production style that consumed hip-hop and urban soul in the late '90s."[92] Described as one of "R&B's most important artists" during the 1990s,[93] her second studio album, One in a Million, became one of the most influential R&B albums of the decade.[94] According to Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine, Aaliyah provided a "missing link" between hip hop and electronica.[95] Having sold 8.1 million albums in the United States and over 24 million records worldwide,[96][97] Aaliyah has been named the "Princess of R&B"[98] and "prove[d] she was a muse in her own right".[99] Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone dubbed her as the "undisputed queen of the midtempo come-on".[72]

Aaliyah was honored at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards by Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Ginuwine and her brother, Rashad, who all paid tribute to her.[100] In the same year, the United States Social Security Administration ranked the name Aaliyah one of the 100 most popular names for newborn girls.[101] Aaliyah was ranked as one of "The Top 40 Women of the Video Era" and "100 Sexiest Artists" in VH1's 2003 The Greatest series.[102][103] She was also ranked at number 18 on BET's "Top 25 Dancers of All Time".[104] In memory of Aaliyah, the Entertainment Industry Foundation created the Aaliyah Memorial Fund to donate money raised to charities she supported.[105][106] In December 2009, Billboard magazine ranked Aaliyah at number 181 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade.[1

Earthquake in Oklahoma Today

Oklahoma City earthquake, earthquake in oklahoma today

AN EARTHQUAKE struck the town of Jones in Central Oklahoma on Friday morning. The Oklahoma earthquake, with an epicentre located three miles northeast of Jones, had a magnitude of 4.0 on the Richter scale.

As per the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake which occured at 9:18 AM, had an epicentre three miles underground and could be felt as far as 60 miles away. Many people in downtown Oklahoma city and Tulsa could feel the rumble of this earthquake. No damage or injuries occurred.

Tammy Starks, a resident said,"I work at Roosevelt Elementary. And I was sitting at my desk and I felt my chair moving around and thought nothing. Until I read on the Internet that we had the after effects of the earthquake. I was amazed. I told my co-workers and they laughed until they looked on NewsOn6.com," said Tammy Starks.

This has been the third earthquake this week in Oklahoma. On Thursday morning, an earthquake of 2.8 magnitude occurred near Logan County and on Monday, there had a 3.3 magnitude earthquake near Jones.




Oklahoma Earthquake
Friday, January 15, 2010 at 10:36 pm Oklahoma Earthquake

Oklahoma Earthquake Breaking news updates :- An earthquake struck near the central Oklahoma town of Jones Friday morning, rattling parts of the whole state, including Green Country.

This is the third earthquake in Oklahoma this week. Thursday morning, an 2.8 earthquake was recorded in Logan County and on Monday, a 3.3 earthquake struck near Jones.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the 4.0 earthquake struck at 9:18 a.m. Jones is located about 17 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

Employees at the National Weather Service office in Tulsa say they felt the quake.

Suzie Reynolds from Broken Arrow said, “I was laying in bed with my 6-year-old daughter and she sat up and said ‘What is that?? It sounds like someone is tapping on our window.’ It was our window panes shaking!!”

The epicenter of the quake was 3.1 miles underground about three miles outside of Jones.

Seismologist Austin Holland of the Oklahoma Geological Survey said the quake was felt in Midwest City, Jones and surrounding areas but no damage or injuries have been reported.

“I live in Jenks and was working at my desk when it started shaking and I’m thinking is this and earthquake? Yep earthquake,” said Eric Jenkins in Jenks.




Earthquake Shakes Portions Of Oklahoma Friday
Jones - A magnitude 4.0 earthquake rattled parts of central Oklahoma Friday Morning.

According to the United States Geological Survey the epicenter of the quake was recorded about 3 miles northeast of Jones, OK. At a depth of about 3 miles.

People in downtown Oklahoma City reported feeling the quake. Reports have also been reported as far away as Tulsa.

According to USGS officials, a magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake can be felt up to 60 miles away. Damage is usually very minor if any. 8 Talkback:

No reports of damage or injuries have been reported with this mornings earthquake.

The strongest recorded earthquake ever in Oklahoma took place near El Reno on April 4,1952. The 5.5 magnitude earthquake, according to USGS records, toppled chimneys and knocked down brick walls. It even created a near 50 foot crack in the State Capital Building in Oklahoma City.



Oklahoma Earthquake
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake shook central Oklahoma on Friday morning. The U.S. Geological Survey says that the epicenter of the quake was recorded about 3 miles northeast of Jones, OK. Jones is located about 17 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The earthquake struck at 9:18 a.m. at a depth of about 3 miles. No damage or injuries have been reported.

National Weather Service office employees in Tulsa say they felt the quake. Ashley Copelin at 61st and Garnett in Tulsa, said,

RUSH, ROBERTSON TAKE HEAT ON REMARKS ON HAITI EARTHQUAKE

Pat Robertson, Rush Limbaugh slammed by Keith Olbermann for Haiti comments
By Andrea Reiher

January 14, 2010 7:30 AM
Keith Olbermann does not hold back on "Countdown" when addressing Pat Robertson's and Rush Limbaugh's comments regarding the devastation in Haiti.In case you haven't heard, televangelist Pat Robertson has said that the Haitian people have bad things happen to them because they made a pact with the Devil in exchange with getting the French out of their country many years ago.Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh has been spouting all sorts of ludicrous vitriol regarding President Obama using this tragedy to curry favor with the Black community and also taking him to task for holding a press conference the day after the earthquake but not the day after the failed bombing in Detroit. Limbaugh also has said, "We already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax." What does that even mean?Keith Olbermann takes them both to task for their heartless, callous comments regarding this tragedy and ends with, "Mr. Robertson, Mr. Limbaugh, your lives are not worth those of the lowest, meanest, poorest of those victims still lying under the rubble in Haiti tonight ... You inspire only stupidity and hatred."We wonder what the Republicans who were calling for Harry Reid's resignation would say about Conservative voice Rush Limbaugh's comments?


Don’t Let the Terrorists Win — Ignore Rush and Robertson

Yesterday, much to my surprise, I found myself quoting the National Rifle Association favorably.
Today, another surprise.
It was October 11th, 2001 — one month after the attack — and someone said:
“We cannot let the terrorists achieve the objective of frightening our nation to the point where we don’t — where we don’t conduct business, where people don’t shop. That’s their intention. Their intention was not only to kill and maim and destroy. Their intention was to frighten to the point where our nation would not act. Their intention was to so frighten our government that we wouldn’t seek justice; that somehow we would cower in the face of their threats and not respond, abroad or at home.”
Yep, W. Not my usual go-to person when I want to make a point.
But here’s the thing — and please understand I am not about to compare Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson to the murderers of September 11th. Well, I’m not in anyway going to say Limbaugh and Robertson are murderers.
But when it comes to President Bush’s statement about “their intention” being “to frighten our government that we wouldn’t seek justice, that somehow we would cower in the face of their threats and not respond…”
Yep. That’s definitely Limbaugh.
Yesterday — and I almost regret sending people to his site because I really don’t want to drive traffic there — he said:
“This will play right into Obama’s hands. He’s humanitarian, compassionate. They’ll use this to burnish their, shall we say, “credibility” with the black community — in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It’s made-to-order for them. That’s why he couldn’t wait to get out there, could not wait to get out there.”
He was talking about Haiti and how President Obama waited three days to talk about the underwear bomber but was immediately out there on Haiti.
Now, I’m sure Limbaugh was equally critical of President Bush’s decision to wait for even longer to speak about Richard Reid, so let’s let that part of his comments go for now.
But, when it comes to the part about frightening people so they won’t act, that is exactly what Limbaugh is trying to do, He wants to rile people up, foment hatred, try to force the government into a position of fear where they won’t be able to act.
It’s absolutely hateful.
There are tens of thousands of people dead and he’s trying to score political points and drive up his ratings?
Beautiful.
And Limbaugh’s just getting started. He wants to demonize the Haitians, portray them as the architects of their own destruction and unworthy of aid.
“The Haitian economy is entirely dependent on foreign aid,” he aid. “They produce nothing. Zilch, zero, nada. And it’s been that way for the longest time.”
Well, as the State Department points out in a backgrounder, that just isn’t the case.
Yes, they import three times what they export, but they do export things like mangoes, leather and raw hides and seafood.
But, in Haiti’s defense. There could be a country with an even greater trade deficit, one that imports four times of what they export. I just can’t imagine what country could be in that bad shape? Oh, wait.
Listen, I have no problem with Limbaugh wanting to criticize the President. He wants to disagree with everything he says, no problem. Have at it.
But don’t make the stuff up. Don’t try to scare people to drive up your ratings. People want to disagree, that’s great. This country has a great history of debate. But let it be honest debate. Let’s not demonize people to score political points.
Limbaugh has a very powerful platform from which to speak. If he wants to use it to to try and get Obama and his ideas defeated, he should feel free to proceed. He should just do it with facts instead of by trying to scare people into submission.
Admittedly, he’s not saying Haiti can trace their problems to a pact with Satan.
But if Limbaugh and others are able to foment hatred and scare this country into not being able to act, well — to paraphrase President George W. Bush — then the terrorists have won,


Main Content
Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson take heat on remarks
Tags:
Barack Obama,Harry Reid,
Conservatives,
Rush Limbaugh,
MSNBC,
Haiti,
Pat Robertson,
Pat Buchanan
Televangelist Pat Robertson (left) and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh are being scolded for their comments in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and televangelist Pat Robertson are being scolded for their comments in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake in Haiti that has killed tens of thousands, according to early estimates.
Critics from both the left and right are denouncing their remarks as insensitive to the disaster and attempts to score political points off human tragedy.
Speaking on his radio show Wednesday, Limbaugh said the earthquake has played into Obama’s hands, allowing the president to look “compassionate” and “humanitarian” while at the same time bolstering his standing in both the “light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country.”
He added: “We've already donated to Haiti. It’s called the U.S. income tax.”
Limbaugh’s comments were, in part, a riff on Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) much publicized remark in a new book that Obama was able to win the election because he is “light-skinned” and lacks a “Negro dialect.”
But regardless of the intended context, Limbaugh’s comments have been widely panned.
“They are deeply insensitive,” said conservative commentator Pat Buchanan on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“The president speaks for the country when he says we’re going to go in there,” he said. “You want your whole nation, and it’s very positive. And I think Rush’s comments were cynical.”
Sitting next to Buchanan on set, host Joe Scarborough called Limbaugh’s comments “deplorable.”
“The insensitivity is stunning,” said the former Republican congressman.
Liberal commentators also quickly jumped on Limbaugh.
“Limbaugh did not know when to just shut up,” said liberal commentator Keith Olbermann on his MSNBC show “Countdown.” “Today he blamed communism for the poverty of Haiti, blamed President Obama for holding a news conference the day after this cataclysm when he did not hold one after the failed half-assed terror attempt in Detroit.”
John Amato from the left-leaning site Crooks and Liars added that “with thousands of people dead already and as the suffering continues in Haiti, Limbaugh and his ilk only care about one thing: Destroying Obama.”
The conservative media watchdog site Newsbusters stepped up to defend Limbaugh, saying his comments were not put in proper context, but very few others are backing the conservative firebrand’s latest controversial remarks.

How To Manage Your Own Investments

You're smarter than you think you are, and at least one expert wants you to put your money where his mouth is.

"Despite what most people might think, they can actually manage their portfolios as well as, if not better than, the most skilled money managers on Wall Street," said Bob Fischer, a senior portfolio manager at a national brokerage firm, who is convinced that anyone can manage their portfolios regardless of their market experience. "Investors have been led to believe for decades that they aren't smart enough, savvy enough or experienced enough to manage their own investments, but the truth is that people don't need an advanced degree or years working in the market to be successful investors. All they need is to adopt a clear set of rules on choosing investments, and the character to stick to those rules."

Fischer, author of The Naked Portfolio Manager by Abbalucci Press (www.thenakedportfoliomanager.com), believes that the conventional wisdom that people should always use mutual funds or money managers is neither conventional nor wise.

"Rules trump reason on Wall Street," he said. "Investors are constantly being told about this expert's advice or that expert's advice. They would do much better if they simply used a set of clearly defined, empirically based, transparent rules and followed those rules in a disciplined fashion."

These rules, called "Naked Strategies," are relatively simple, empirically based rules for selecting securities, he added. Naked strategies are completely transparent. The investor understands exactly how the securities in his portfolio are being selected.

"Traditional methods are opaque and based on a portfolio manager's judgment," Fischer said. "An enormous body of evidence indicates that rule-based decision strategies (which are called statistical or mechanical methods by researchers) consistently result in better decisions than expert judgment. When you employ these rules, emotion and gut feelings that often lead to poor choices are eliminated from the equation."

The key is being able to change your way of thinking about investments, according to Fischer.

"My daughter Abigail taught me a lesson about how to do that when she was seven years old," he said. "She came to me and asked, ‘Daddy, if God did not want Adam and Eve to eat from the apple tree, why didn't he put a fence around it? Actually, Daddy, why did he put the tree there in the first place?' Just as she was thinking critically beyond the religious dogma of the story of Adam and Eve, investors need to divest themselves of the dogma of Wall Street. This relates to how so many investors have been brainwashed to use mutual funds instead of selecting securities by themselves."

The key is for people to forget what they think they know about the market and start from scratch, or be "naked," according to Fischer.

"If you simply start with a blank sheet of paper, and assemble a set of rules that are based on empirical data - and stick to them - you'd be surprised at how much more successful you can be," Fischer added.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/


About the Author

Bob Fischer is a senior portfolio manager and advisor for affluent individuals at a national brokerage firm. His noteworthy success in the investment field is based upon his in-depth knowledge of decision-making, which he applies in a disciplined rule-based approach: the application of Statistical Prediction Methods. Bob has written numerous articles on investment and financial planning for respected industry publications. He lives with his family in Midlothian, Virginia.

Article Tags: Investing, How To Manage Your Own Investments