Here We Are, Sydney! Lets find Bondi Beach…
The “Sixth Sexiest Beach in the World”

Sydney, Australia is one of the most INCREDIBLE cities in the world!

The first time I visited Sydney 28 years ago I knew I had to come back
some day and spend more time exploring the beaches, the parks, the
architecture, the restaurants, the sights and the people.

I have NOT been disappointed! You won’t either…there is so much
to see and do you’d have to live here for years to take it all in.

You’ll be seeing much more of Sydney and the surrounding area in
future videos as well as phenomenal photo’s, but this particular video
takes you through a quick trip through Sydney on our way to Bondi
Beach, one of the oldest and most famous beaches on the outskirts
of Sydney.

SHARKS!!!

Bondi has just recently been in the headlines along with Bay Harbor
in Sydney for shark attacks. Scary and sad for the victims for sure,
but surely we have to realize that the ocean is their domain and with
any activity we do, we take a risk. Percentage wise, I’m sure they
suffer more than the humans who invade their territory.

In fact, the shark hunters were all up in arms because the Australian
government put a limit on the amount of sharks they can catch in an
attempt to keep the from extinction. The fisherman quoted in the paper
said he and his crew catch up to one hundred a day, stating that the
the authorities were making a mistake by cutting down on the limit.
His reasoning was if they are catching that many of them a day and
the fact that more people were being attacked, was it such a smart thing
to do?

One has to question, however, when there is profit motive involved, which
side is right. If YOU have some information to bring light on the subject
we would LOVE you to contribute!

After all, I’m big into Mother Nature and creating balance. That’s why I
and a whole team of concerned people have joined Social Traffic Inc. in
a celebration of the earth promoting MASS AWARENESS of Earth Day
on April 22nd by contributing to an online campaign we’ve named

EarthDay Birthday

And YOU can join us if saving our planet is a passion of yours as well.
Just CLICK HERE to contribute what you can and get some top notch
social media training in return. It’s a WIN/WIN/WIN!

Back to Bondi Beach…

Apparently it’s a popular place for the “beautiful people” and I first saw
it on a TV special called “The 10 Sexiest Beaches in the World”.
Yep, you guessed it…Bondi was in there, although I did observe that
there weren’t nearly as many “beach bunnies” laying in the sun for hours
because so many Australians have been turning up with skin cancer.
Skin cancer clinics are turning up all over the place.

The “beautiful people” are now doing much more healthy things like
jogging, sea kayaking, yoga on the grass. The food I found (other
than the very favorite dish, “fish & chips”) was nutritious as well as
pleasing to the eye.

Healthy, beautiful food…

Tons of fresh fish and seafood either grilled or lightly fried, tons of
remarkable and interesting salads, every kind of wrap you can imagine
with lots of greens. I was told by my friend, Sam Adkins, to watch out
because most people actually gain weight in Sydney, just because the
food is SO GOOD! Even the Czech food restaurant was GREAT. (Of
course we had to Czech (pun) that out…since my hubby and his
dentist friend, Honza,  who lives in Sydney, HAD to make a stop there.)

The hotel we stayed at was over 100 years old. The actual hotel part
was quite boutique-ee since most of the original building was turned
into a restaurant/nightclub/gambling establishment which as it turns
out was quite a popular place during the Christmas holidays.

Did you know gambling and prostitution is legal here in the
Land of Oz?

But it’s not like in States at all…it’s very regulated and kept low
key. Must be the English influence I figure. Very well done, I must
say because an interesting side to that is that where ever the vices
are allowed they are combined with warnings of addiction and offers
of help to deal with them if they get out of control.

There are HORRIBLE pictures on the packaging of cigarettes
showing all kinds of side effects of smoking. Every liquor store
or “bottle shop” as they call them has warnings. The drinking and
driving laws are VERY STRICT! They have random roadside
checks regularly with breathalizer testing ready.

As a result, everyone seems to know how many drinks are
considered appropriate depending on man or woman and
liquor strength. I’m  impressed by the effectiveness of the
Australian governments educational efforts!

Quite an interesting approach! One Americans could emulate.

Christmas holidays last for a month and it’s summertime…a perfect
time for families to enjoy the great outdoors. And enjoy they do!

As I did…not only in Sydney, but all around the Sydney beaches,
bays and famous sites. All revealed to you in future postings…

SO STAY TUNED!

DLD.edbd

To check out the other videos in the series Click here:

As of July 1, 2006, males outnumbered females through age 41. Starting at 42, women outnumbered men. At 85 and older, there were more than twice as many women as men.

$61,081 is the median earnings of women working in computer and mathematical jobs, the highest for women among the 22 major occupational groups.

5.6 million was the Number of stay-at-home mothers nationwide in 2006, up from 4.6 million a decade earlier.

84% is the proportion of women with computers in the home in 2003 who made use of that computer, 2 percentage points higher than the corresponding proportion for men. This reverses the computer use gender gap exhibited during the 1980s and 1990s.

American internet users have embraced online shopping because they say it’s convenient and a time-saver.

Two-thirds (66%) of online Americans say they have purchased a product online, such as a book, toy, music, or clothing. Attitudes and perceptions play a key role in whether online users choose to purchase products online… 

**78% of internet users either agree (53%) or agree strongly (25%) with the proposition that shopping online is convenient for them.          

**68% of internet users either agree (47%) or agree strongly (21%) with the notion that online shopping saves them time.

At the same time, most online Americans have high levels of concern about sending personal or credit card information over the internet.

While the number of e-shoppers continues to grow, there is still widespread concern in the internet population about the safety of financial and personal data online.

Read this article in its’ entirety with more interesting statistics here:

 In the last article I wrote about how nonprofit entities need to engage people they want to attract to their organization in conversations that their readers want to engage in. So here’s 6 smart content ideas that can help you develop a comprehensive involvement strategy…

1. Capture email addresses from your visitors and send a regular, relevant, motivational enewsletter that describes the excitement of what is happening in your organization—one that invites involvement. Once you have captured a visitor’s email address, you’re on your way to turning those visitors into friends of your organization.

2. Ask your visitors to become offline and online volunteers. Online volunteerism is an innovative way to get people involved. For example, an online volunteer could be asked to become an e-advisory board member, giving your e-advisory board the privilege of shaping your online strategic direction. The secret here is to develop meaningful connections that encourage regular involvement.

3. Create online polls. Use technology, such as Instant Messaging and Chat, for the facilitation of online focus groups and benefits testing. Use surveys to solicit both general and specific information from anyone who logs on to your site. Your friends want to give you feedback, however you must first politely ask for it.

4. Tap the power of viral marketing. This is where you click on a box that asks “Would you like to share this article with a friend?”—after which the person types in his or her friend’s email address. This promotes great interactivity and exposes your site to someone who you, in all probability, never may have reached.

5. Keep it personal. When you solicit comments from visitors, make sure the user addresses a real person. When you solicit comments from visitors, make sure the user addresses a real person…not webmaster@, info@ or support@… Instead, it must be attn: Chris@…or Melissa@…etc.

Your website is your ultimate direct marketing vehicle—and your unique opportunity to stay up close and personal. A basic principle when implementing new technology is that it should enhance the facilitation of conversation with people, not put up “techno walls” that make it more difficult to carry on a conversation.

6. Develop communication strategies at all levels within your website with:

Visitors Friends

Volunteers

Members

eNewsletter and other eCampaign recipients

Donors

Annual Donors

Mid Donors Major Donors

Corporations and Foundations

Planned Giving

Stay tuned for the next article where I’ll give you even more great ideas and read more here:

Promote your events.

Facebook is a great place to promote your organization’s events. Simply create the event, add pictures, and invite your contacts to join. In addition to groups, you can post details of events in your profile so people can RSVP. You also have the option to leave the event open to people in your network or open for everyone.

Promote your blog or newsletter.

Facebook also helps you to promote your blog or newsletter. This feature allows you to share information beyond what’s in your profile in two ways. You can either post a note on your page or import your external blog. It is a nice way to communicate with your constituents and update them on your organization.

You can also integrate an RSS feed into your blog with notes. When you post it, the note is displayed in your profile and every one of your “friends” is notified and other members can add
comments.

Keep in touch with your members.

Facebook has a feature called “News Feed” that allows you to see all kinds of activity within your network. It’s very similar to an RSS feed, in that when you log in to Facebook you mmediately receive an update of all of the actions your contacts have taken. And if someone posted a new photo album or RSVP’d to an event, you’ll be notified right away.

Maintain some privacy: CliCK Here to read the end of the article:

Find Friends and Connect with Your Community 

Now  that  you  have  a  Facebook  account,  connecting  to  people  in  your  community  is  easy.  Start  by  using  the  Search  feature  to  find  friends  who  are  already  using  Facebook  and  request  to  be  their  friend.  You  can  add  just  about  anyone  you  can  think  of,  including  your  members,  supporters,  volunteers,  staff,  and  even  your  board  members.  Don’t  worry  if  you  don’t  have  a  big  list  right  away.  Once  you  have  two  or  more  contacts,  you’ll  be  able  to  expand  your  social  network  by  locating  mutual  friends  and  contacting  them.  

Finding Friends on Facebook.   

Facebook  offers  a  message  board  feature  called  ”The  Wall”  that  displays  member  profile  pages.  You  can  use  it  to  post  all  kinds  of  messages  to  your  network.  But  beware:  Comments  can  be  viewed  by  all  your  contacts  in  your  list  of  Facebook  friends. 

 Create a Group for Your Organization or Event

Just  like  every  other  social  networking  site,  you  can  create  and  join  groups  on  Facebook.  And  there  are  a  growing  number  of groups  dedicated  to  social  change.  Why create  a  group?  Creating  groups  allows  you  to  share  information  about  pretty  much  anything.  You  can  create  groups  for  your organization  or  event  to  make  announcements,  join  discussion  groups,  or  even  to  share  pictures.  There  are  two  kinds  of  groups  on Facebook - open  and  closed.  So  be  sure  to  create  open  groups  so  that  people  can  find  it  and  your  members  can  invite  others  to join.   

CLICK HERE to read more including Uploading  and Sharing  Pictures.