The blogosphere have been deeming cell phones as magical devices that can pretty much do almost anything-they have really contributed on changing our lives drastically. Each year competitors in the mobile industry keep surprising people with what their latest flagships can offer. Need I mention how important these gadgets are?

And so, smartphone users are then obliged to keep their phones protected as they are vulnerable. In most cases, smartphones can do a lot of things, and swimming isn’t one of them-or is it?

When you thought that handheld devices cannot swim, here is the list of mobile phones that will give you a paradigm shift. Now, you won’t have to shudder every time you drop your phone in a body of water-or you will if it had flown your gadget away. Check out the list of waterproof phones below:

#1: Sony Xperia Z1

First on the list is the Sony Xperia Z1 since it houses the top notch with a brand new 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor from Qualcomm. This 5-incher also boasts a Full HD display and a whopping 20.3-megapixel back shooter. And finally, you can capture those underwater moments beyond 1m or for as much time as you like.

#2: Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

And so, here is Samsung Galaxy S4 Active to steal the limelight from Sony Xperia Z. This handset is the waterproof version of the Samsung Galaxy S4-only S4 Active has lesser features. Nevertheless, Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is very decent with its underwater credentials. With its good photographic results, you’ll definitely love snagging photos underwater for up to 1m for 30 minutes!

#3: Motorola Defy +

As what its name implies, Motorola Defy + defies the idea of usual phones being waterlogged once they are drenched into the waters. This 3.7-incher with 480x854px screen definitely boasts that it is the most recent rugged mobile that has a considerably cheaper price than that of others! With a 5-megapixel shooter at the back, snapping shots won’t be that bad. Not only that this phone is waterproof, but it is also scratch-resistant and dustproof.

#4: Lenovo A660

This 4-incher is arguably a better handset as it gets cheaper compared to Defy + with only 3.7-inch. Not only does it have the same resolution with Defy +, but it also has a 5-megapixel rear camera. It also has a front-facing camera, but it’s just 0.3-megapixel. Nevertheless, it is geared with 1 GHz dual-core processor and includes Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that definitely spell out that it’s worth a try. This handset is waterproof up to 1m for 30 minutes.

#5: Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 has almost the same specs with that of Lenovo A660. Powered by a dual-core processor, this 4-inch phone boasts its all-round toughness that can keep up with all your hardcore adventures. Not only is this phone waterproof, but it is also dust and shock-resistant. Galaxy Xcover 2 has also an inclusion of Bluetooth 4.0 that lets you connect all your BT wireless devices for up to 50m away. And like the others, this phone is waterproof to up to 1m for 30 minutes.

Water is not something mobile back cases can protect, but good thing waterproof phones have now hit the shelves! So, get ready splashin’!

Lonnie Johnson – inventor of the modern guitar solo

A hundred years ago (prior to WWI) the guitar was a general purpose instrument used mainly for rhythmic support, its unamplified steel strings strummed chordally rather than picked or plucked individually. Lightweight and portable, neither too expensive nor too loud (smoother than the banjo) – it was the ideal “parlour” instrument, handy for parties and sing-a-longs (especially in the absence of a house piano) and as harmonic accompaniment for more expressive solo instruments like the violin or clarinet.

In 1920s era dance bands and orchestras (the rock groups of their day) the guitar was typically played sitting down, and in behind with the rhythm section (bass and drums) – not up front in the solo section with the glamour instruments (trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, and trombone). But today, and indeed for many decades now, the electric guitar has come to occupy the ear-splitting foreground.

How did the simple “flat-top box” ascend from aural obscurity to global hegemony? Who was the first musician to step forward and perform a single note guitar solo in the manner of a fiddler or a horn-player? Evidence strongly suggests that it was New Orleans-born bluesman Alonzo “Lonnie” Johnson (1899-1970).

Born into a family of musicians, young Lonnie studied violin, piano, and guitar. As a teen he played guitar in his father’s New Orleans dance band. A highly skilled instrumentalist, he was also a talented singer, and in 1925 won a contract with Okeh Records (for whom he eventually recorded about 130 sides).

In 1927, he was engaged to record instrumentally in Chicago with the hugely famous Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five. An invitation to perform with the most successful jazz band in the business was a rare honor, accorded only cutting-edge elite players. Why did Armstrong ask Lonnie Johnson to sit in? It couldn’t have been for his vocal skills – Satchmo himself took good care of that. Maybe it had something to do with his peculiar (ie: previously unheard of) single-note, plectrum-style of picking.

The earliest known recorded performance of the single-note, plectrum technique (the prototype of what we today call “lead” guitar playing) – was by Lonnie Johnson on the 1927 Hot Five release “6/88 Glide” (perhaps using a roundhole Martin acoustic like the one pictured above). Hence, blues historian Gerard Herzhaft’s Encyclopedia of the Blues (1997) cites Johnson as “undeniably the creator of the guitar solo played note by note with a pick, which has become the standard in jazz, blues, country, and rock.”

How influential were Johnson’s 1927 Hot Five sessions? Many folks like to credit 1930s-era guitar icons such as Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and Robert Johnson for first introducing the single-note picking technique. Simple chronology, however, indicates otherwise. Fifteen years younger than Johnson, Charlie Christian (b. 1916) recalled listening to Lonnie’s records on the radio while growing up in Oklahoma during the Depression. Gypsy jazzman Django Reinhardt (b. 1910), a huge Louis Armstrong fan, doubtless first heard Johnson’s distinctive technique on the Hot Five’s seminal 1927 disc. Indeed, Django and violinist Stephane Grapelli didn’t form their famous Quintette du Hot Club de France until some years later in 1935. And Delta bluesman Robert Johnson (no relation) didn’t record a lick until 1936-37 (the legendary Dallas/San Antonio sessions).

Yes, the world’s very first lead guitarist was Alonzo “Lonnie” Johnson.

In this digital world, everything is bound to happen in just a little amount of time ranging from the smallest of ideas to the almost impossible. The notion, “Nothing is impossible” might actually be true as evidently displayed by once conceptualized futuristic contraptions. Hovercrafts, holographic images, and flexible phone batteries were only imagined in motion pictures but now have come to reality and still maybe under further enhancements but are proven to be very much conceivable.

Just recently, news about computer chips to function the way a real brain does has set the technological community into yet a spoonful of excitement and pure interest. This kind of information will truly intrigue an audience with questions as to how will they implement such a concept and for what reason.

As you might have noticed, your computer oftentimes heat up after some hours of usage. This is due to the series of applications you launch, taking a great deal of processing power for the chip which then results to overheating. And as more powerful these little guys become, the quicker they heat up causing them to either slow down or worse, blow up entirely. And yes, this applies to your beloved smartphones as well.

There’s still hope left. A solution has presented itself originating from one of the leading manufacturers of computer chips, IBM. IBM’s Patrick Ruch and Bruno’s proof-of-concept computer chip is based on how blood cools down the brain when it’s heated up. They believe that an electrolyte fluid can resolve the need for a cool down in computer chips by passing through various tiny channels of electronic components and at the same time, give off energy. And because this fluid could also generate enough current to bring about energy for the chip, costs of energy for companies that depend on these powerful components will significantly decrease.

If this ever comes to fruition, not only will the chips be rescued from a burn-out, but also greater processing power will be endowed and we all know that is an advantage in computing technology. A project as big as this will take some time before it can be actualized especially when the aforementioned electrolyte requires a lot of work as with the computer chips with tiny channels in them.

Having a computer function the way a human person does is both astounding and frightening. It is a huge step forward for computing technology basically because most of the activities we do in our everyday lives depend on it. Productivity can be assured as more of the tasks we have could be accomplished faster. Then again, we cannot shake the feeling that the ideas they place in motion pictures like robots overtaking the entire world might actually happen if we pursue this endeavour. It may be a little exaggerated right now, but who knows, I could be right. Touch-screen technology was first an idea but is now applied to great extent. Can you really say it wouldn’t be the same with computers?

Movie-making Turks haven’t been shy about including earthy subjects or fleshy cinematic scenes in their films since as far back as the 1950’s. That’s when street-walking prostitutes, drug-dependent harem girls, topless damsels in distress, soapy half-naked bathers, sexually provocative belly dancers, and uninvited-lovemaking first began appearing in conventional Turkish moving-pictures.

The ‘intensity’ of erotic action in conventional Turkish films escalated in the 1960’s when ‘lite’ erotic opposite-sex scenes began to heat up. And in Atif Yilmaz’s otherwise conventional Iki Gemi Yanyana (Two Ships Side by Side), the first lesbian Turkish movie scene — a scorcher for its day, in which Suzan Avci and Sevda Nur french-kissed on camera — gave Turkish movie goers a shock when it was first shown in 1963.

Female cinematic sex-symbols during the ‘Age of the Turkish Vamp’ (1950s – 1960s) included Neriman Köksal (who made 177 films between 1950 to 1995), Funda Yanar [pictured on our website as a topless dancer in Büyük Sehrin Kanunu (Big City Law, 1965] and Leyla Sayar — who, in 1960, performed a memorably bold (we are told) strip-tease act in Atif Yilmaz’s Ölüm Perdesi (Death Curtain)… But Leyla Hanim drew the line in 1972, when she realized the direction in which the seks filmleri furyasi (erotic films boom) would lead her. And after a short stint as a night club dancer, she quit the entertainment business altogether… opting instead for a simple, pious life.

But it wasn’t until 1972 that Parcali Behçet (starring action-man Behçet Nacar) — which was made in a desperate attempt by film-makers to woo audiences away from their newly acquired home TVs and back to near-empty movie theaters seats — became the first Turkish film to be produced exclusively for purposes of eroticism.

And when Parcali Behçet attracted an overflow opening-day crowd of 7,000 to its initial showing in Konya (Mevlana’s ‘hometown’, in the heart of Turkish religious conservatism) Turkish film-makers took notice (and heart). Subsequently, when the film enjoyed a 6-month run, in two side-by-side theaters smack in middle of that fair city, well, film-makers believed they’d found the holy grail. And from that time through to 1979, the production of erotik Turkish films mushroomed.

The three most popular genres for legally produced Turkish erotik films between 1972 and 1978 were Comedy, Adventure, and Murder Mystery. And they all had a not-very-well-kept secret about them in common. The secret was that Turkish actors and actresses didn’t perform the sex-act for real. They only simulated it… Men wore underwear (briefs) and camera angles were chosen to cover up the fact — sometimes without much success. Their are lots of flashes of men’s white briefs in the Turkish erotik films made between 1972 and 1978!

Any for-real sex that appeared in these films was performed by foreigners in parcalar (movie film clips) that were inserted at predictable intervals of the Turkish film. Sometimes these parcalar were made specifically for the Turkish film in which they appeared, but in most cases they were just crude cuts of foreign films — often entirely inappropriate (in focus or coloring) to the Turkish film.

That sort of erotik film-making subterfuge came to a screeching halt in 1979, when the first all-Turkish cast was filmed in the first-ever legally produced and distributed gloves-off pornographic Turkish film, Öyle Bir Kadin Ki (A Woman Like That) — directed by Naki Yurter, starring Zerrin Dogan and Levent Günsel in the leading female and male roles.

Öyle Bir Kadin Ki set the Turkish cinematic industry on fire — having even greater influence on immediate Turkish movie-making directions than Deep Throat had on American movie-making in 1972. ‘Kadin‘ knocked the financial stuffing out of its soft-core erotik (and conventional) rivals, and it had a profound effect (for a while) on the production of almost every Turkish film (erotic or conventional) that followed — opening a new chapter in the ‘History of the Turkish Cinema’…

Next: An Erotic Movie Lover’s Guide to Öyle Bir Kadin Ki (A Woman Like That)

[Click following to access a picture-laden HTML-version of The First All-Turkish No-Holds-Barred ‘Erotik’ Film —

A Woman Like That.]

As if going to a match at the Bernabéu Stadium to watch Real Madrid wasn’t a big enough attraction anyway, the club has now gone and smashed the world transfer record to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to La Liga.

A staggering £80 million has gone to Manchester United to acquire the World Player of the Year – a sum that the Madrid club consider to be great value for money, considering the skill that the player possesses on the pitch. And, of course, the moneymaking potential he brings off it.

Footballers, of course, always polarise opinion. Fans of one club are notoriously reluctant to praise players from a bitter rival; preferring to promote their own team members. I remember last season, Marca, Real Madrid’s mouthpiece, for several weeks proclaiming that Arjen Robben could statistically be shown to be a far better player than Lionel Messi, for example.

Few polarise opinions quite so much as Cristiano Ronaldo, though. Whilst many are prepared to acknowledge that he is currently the world’s best player, fewer people are willing to say equally positive things about the man himself. This despite Sir Alex Ferguson publicly stating that he’d love the player to return to Old Trafford one day and for univseral appreciation that he has spent hours on the training pitches honing his skills. Why is it that so many football supporters want to criticise Ronaldo for ‘diving’ and histrionics? Let’s face it, he’s hardly the first footballer to try to get penalties when slightly nudged in the box or to throw a tantrum when substitued, is he?

Famously born in 1985 on the beautiful island of Madeira, in Funchal, the capital city, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is the youngest of four children. It says much about his parents that Ronaldo gained his name because of the fact that Ronald Reagan was his father’s favourite actor, apparently! Readers are invited to insert their own chimpanzee jokes at this stage. Playing amateur football from the age of eight, he then went across to mainland Portugal after signing for Sporting Lisbon. It was in the friendly against Manchester United that marked the refurbishment of the team’s stadium in preparation for Euro 2004, that Ronaldo first impressed the manager of Sporting’s opponents that day, Sir Alex Ferguson – who then went on to sign the player for over £12 million when he was just 18 years old.

This was a big gamble on such an inexperienced youngster, but one which repaid Ferguson’s faith in the player’s undoubted talents. Ronaldo, initially criticised as being something of a ‘show pony’ by many observers, developed into an impressive goal scoring and goal-making phenomenon. During his time at Manchester he helped United win the Premier League title for three consecutive years and also the European Champions’ League. He was transformed from being a slightly frail looking teenager into a strong, athletic player who, despite the attention he receives from defenders, misses few games through injury.

His seemingly inflammatory behaviour towards Wayne Rooney must have made life difficult for him at Old Trafford for a time – as did his pleadings to leave during and after the 2008 European Championships. But not once did his enormous self-belief waver and he soon won back the support of fans and team-mates alike. And as for the opposing fans booing him – well, like many great players, Ronaldo seems to be inspired by it rather than intimidated.

Cristiano Ronaldo has nothing left to prove on the football pitch. He’s won everything as an individual – World Player of the Year, Ballon d’Or, PFA Player of the Year, etc, etc. And, although the Portuguese national team that he now captains is going through a comparatively sticky patch, his impact on the teams he represents is always second to none.

All that remains for him is to play for the club he supported as a child and for whom his mother Dolores clearly wanted him to sign. Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo are obviously made for each other – he looks very much at home in the all white strip and the full stadium that greeted his public unveiling showed how much the Madrid public yearned for his signing. Now we have to find out whether he can have the same impact on Madrid’s fortunes as he did on Manchester United’s. It might be a bit more difficult – but it’s going to be fun watching.

#9 MOST COMMON PROBLEM:

OILING

There is a great deal of confusion as to whether, where, what with, and how much to oil Bernina machines. Your owner’s manual is indispensable in this regard. It not only tells you where and how much to oil, but also which oil to use.

First, a word about the oil itself. The safest oil to use is that which came with the machine, or that which can be purchased from a dealer. Bernina oil should say “Bernina” on the tube. If you have any doubts, for instance if you have purchased a used machine and the oil is suspect, it’s probably a good idea to throw that oil out and get some more. Bernina oil is very light in viscosity, and is almost clear.

The area that is most critical to oil is between the shuttle and the shuttle race. (See owners manual) Oil this about every second time the machine is used for any length of time. Just a half drop will do.

Over-oiling just makes a mess. It’s also a good idea to oil the pin on the shuttle that the bobbin case fits over, and a little on the bobbin case latch.

Having said the above about the type of oil, I will say that I personally have used Singer brand oil (found at any Wal-mart) with good results. “Three-in-One” oil or any kind of motor or vegetable oil should NOT be used on sewing machines at all. I have seen machines virtually ruined with the wrong kind of oil.

#3 MOST COMMON PROBLEM:

BURRED OR BLUNTED SHUTTLE POINT

A “burred” or blunted shuttle pont produces a variety of symptoms. There may be occasional or irregular skipping of some of the stitches. Or, the thread may periodically shred or even break. Sometimes there will be small loops of thread on the underside of the fabric.

The “shuttle point” refers to the area on the shuttle pictured below that is directly behind the needle. It is literally sharply pointed in order to pick up the thread loop as the shuttle passes behind the needle. Because of the close tolerances of the Bernina, or due to using “knit” needles like the Singer Yellow Band, or excessive pulling on the fabric as you sew, sometimes the sharp point becomes burred, blunted or even bent. This causes the thread to hang on the shuttle rather than passing smoothly around it. The problem can sometimes be detected with the naked eye, but a surer method is to stroke the shuttle point top, bottom, and sides with your finger. Any burr or roughness will quickly be detected.

If a rough spot is detected, usually it can be smoothed, saving the considerable expense of a new shuttle. I use a Dremel tool with a rubber wheel but extreme care must be taken to not blunt the shuttle point or change the basic shape. A safer method is to use 600 grit or finer sandpaper, rubbing lightly in the same direction of the shuttle point.

They are not only the most successful club in the world but also the richest in the world according to the latest survey done by the money league which publish their research results annually. Yes, its true that Real Madrid are the richest club by income for the season 2006-2007 probably for the season 2007-2008 too but the results are not completed yet.

So what makes Real Madrid not only the richest club in the world but more significantly, the most successful as well.Well the statistics don’t lie and more often then not speak for themselves. For any club to be successful, only two titles could and should be given credit, The league and the Champions League,the rest are mere formalities as you all know (it does not take much to beat Sao Paulo in a cup final) so I am going to ignore the minor trophies here, lets have a look at most of the major football clubs track records against the Madrid Galacticos.

Manchester United have won only two Champions league trophy, one was way back when it was known as the European cup and the other in 1999,they have 16 league titles.

* Barcelona have also won two champions league trophies and 18 league titles

* Liverpool have won the competition FIVE times and they have 18 league titles

* Inter Milan have 2 champions league titles and 15 league titles

* Ac milan have 7 champions league titles and 17 league titles

There are some other major clubs as well but they have just started to grow so lets just ignore them for a moment.

Finally, Real Madrid has won 9 champions league titles and 30 league titles. Now I have listed all the great clubs of Europe above, not even a single club can match or come close to the records set by the Spanish powerhouse. Thus proving what I stated earlier that real Madrid is the undisputed champion of champions.

Real Madrid is the only team that holds the Cup in property, having won the title five consecutive times.

People have always been intrigued of what the future will look like. The answers are quite simple and here you have them for the next 50 years.

How can we know what the future will look like?

To be able to understand the future, you must know the past. What has taken us to where we are today and what has changed along the way. The world has changed a lot in the last 150 years, but we humans are driven by the same basic needs as we were 150 years ago, food, sleep, sex, the feeling of being appreciated and loved. Will this change in the next 150 years? No.

What inventions have really made a difference in the last 150 years?

If you take away all gadgets that people in some part of the world are using for entertainment, the inventions that have affected most people around the world for everyday living are the telephone, electricity, radio, television, computer, the car and the ability to communicate through Internet. Then we of course have a lot of inventions that have made life easier, like new medicine, faster transports etc.

In general the inventions for the last 150 years have been a human strive for freedom and communication, to be able to get in control of the time and world. Since there is still much to do in this area, this will be the focus at least for the next 150 years.

But why do we need to predict the future?

Predicting the future is important for two reasons; first we need to start to think about what kind of future we would like for ourselves and to pass on to the next generation, and then we need to know what decisions we need to make today that will give the best result in the future.

Will we ever get those flying cars in the future I saw in pictures as a kid?

Flying cars is an example of a scenario that has been pictured for the future for a long time. It is a great and exciting concept, but is it realistic? To start with we must find out if there’s a basic need for it, what are the pros and cons. Then we have to think about the system we have today, cars going on the ground, and the transition to a new system. To make it work in this example we need two parallel systems, with a road network for the flying cars simoultanesely as the common road network. Even if the flying cars are improved to be suitable for city traffic, the investments would be huge for a city to implement this, as well as for households to get that extra vehicle. So even if all the pros are there the practical steps for such a new route is too hard to overcome, so I’m sorry, there will be no road network for flying cars in the next 50 years.

How about the virtual worlds, do I need to go on vacation in the future or just have all the cells in my body experience an artificial vacation?

It might be possible in the future to experience the sand between your toes, feel the salt from the ocean on your lips, hear the waves and smell the seaweed, just lying in your bed at home. But we will not be able to fool the mind in the way that no matter how real the experience will feel, you will always know that it haven’t happen for real. That will make all the difference. You can tell people today that you have seen the pyramids in Egypt because you have seen a picture of them, but you will never get the feeling of being there. So, even if a great invention is there for an affordable price, it will never replace the common experience if it is not genuine.

Please tell me we will get in contact with some aliens in the near future…

It is most likely that there are other life in the Universe considered there are billion solar systems. In the aspect that our solar system is about 4.6 billion years, other civilisations could be 10 million or even 1 billion years ahead of us. With these numbers in mind there is no greater chance that they will make contact with us within the next 50 years than in 100,000 years, and with the size of the Universe we will not likely be able to make any contact with them during this time.

So what will the future look like then?

What we will see in the next 50 years is the transition from an oil-dependent society, new medicine, the first steps in the development of artificial intelligence, continued exploration of space, more people to die from AIDS, hopefully a better state for the poor people in the world, challenges in the climate change, and new inventions that make life a little easier and entertaining for some.

How should I do then to make the future great?

Well, as you know the winner in life is not the one with the most money when he dies, the winner is the person who sleeps best at night. To feel good about yourself and the people around you, listen to them and show them the love and respect they deserve as fellow human beings and help those in need. That is what will matter when you go to bed at night in 50 years from now, and hopefully will give you a good night’s sleep.

There are many celebrities these days drinking the black stuff including actress Gwyneth Paltrow, however should women drink Guinness and more importantly do they know how to drink Guinness? It has appeared in the past a pub in Limerick would not let women join in with a tasting session for the drink, instead stating Guinness was for men only. When questioned regarding this matter they stated this time they were only sampling male drinkers, however it does pose the question how many women are actually drinking the stuff?

Research shows Guinness is actually good for you and is very popular among pregnant women. Guinness may prevent heart clots that raise the risk of heart attacks. It is also alleged to be high in iron, therefore helping pregnant women. With the UK having a big market for the black stuff, Nigeria in Africa have the second biggest market for Guinness. This may seem heard to believe as a large population live below the poverty line. However even those below the poverty line will spend their money on a pint of Guinness!

Recently celebrities such as Gemma Atkinson have been pictured drinking Guinness but WITHOUT letting the head settle on their pint. This is a major no-no when it comes to drinking Guinness. It is vital girls who drink Guinness actually know how to drink their pint. Women drinking Guinness is apparently one of the biggest turn-offs when it comes to going on a date, stating girls drinking Guinness is a bit too manly.

So as it seems men do not like women drinking Guinness. Is this just another one of their ‘man things’ us girls aren’t supposed to be a part of? Who knows? All we know is Guinness IS popular among women pregnant or not, celebrity or poverty stricken, man or woman, who cares? If it makes you feel good and you drink responsibly who are men to object! If you type ‘women drinking Guinness’ into Google you will find a beauty of girls drinking the black stuff and so be it. Enjoy girls!

Guinness Facts

Employs around 12,500 people worldwide.

Brews its brands in around 50 countries.

Sells its beers in more than 150 countries.

Is one of the world’s largest brewers, measured both by operating profit and by volume.

Produces the world’s most distinctive and widely distributed beer – GUINNESS Stout.

Has an 80 per cent share of the global stout market.

Has a unique portfolio of national and also international premium brands.

Have you ever wondered how people reach Powerseller status and manage to keep it by sustaining their business over the long term? In simpler terms; how people consistently turn self-sustaining profits on eBay?

There are of course, the obvious factors; find a reliable supplier that can offer competitive prices (lower than those of your competitors), find a market that isn’t overly saturated with sellers and ideally flooded with interested buyers willing to pay good money for your intended product, gain as much exposure as possible for your auction item, as well as making your advertisement as attractive as possible so as to tempt the highest possible bidder. These factors are but a few in the infinite factors affecting how potentially successful you can be selling on eBay, and whilst we could talk for days discussing the ins and outs of the online trading business, this piece will focus on just two; i) How to develop an attractive advertisement geared to tempt the highest possible bidder, and ii) How to gain maximum exposure for your online auction through keywords, search strings and Boolean terms in listing titles.

Whilst the following tips could prove useful to almost every level of eBay seller out there, for the purposes of this piece we will assume that the reader has a limited advertising budget, seeks to employ a value for money approach to online auction trading, and above all has a willingness to learn and adapt new business practices to their current or intended operations.

1. Advertisement Design

Regardless of whether you are using a turbo-lister application for your advertisement design, confident in HTML coding or web page design using a what-you-see-is-what-you get application like Dreamweaver or similar, or whether you are just now using (or thinking of using) an online trading site like eBay for the first time, the proceeding points and theories can be useful to you. As we go through the points please note that there are an infinite number of variations for the final advertisement but the one described and pictured has been proven by ourselves to be effective in achieving notably better results over competitors averaged over numerous product types, categories and auction times.

When building your template the goal should be consistency. This template will become the standard used for all of your products, and whilst they will undoubtedly vary over various product types and evolve over time it will be the standard all the same. The template will be your calling card so to speak; a way for shoppers to identify you and your (hopefully) successful business in an instant – giving them the confidence that your business is (or will soon be) famous for. There is no point wasting time convincing every shopper for the first time that they should trust your business, especially if they have already happily purchased from you in the past. This is called branding.

Next, create even just a simple logo for your trading name to give a named identity for your brand. It’s easy if you use your seller username as buyers will instantly make the connection between your advertisement and your seller profile. That, and you are guaranteed to have a unique name specific to that auction site. Even if you are not running a fully-fledged business and simply selling some of your old effects here and there for pocket money the branding and logo creation you implement will pay dividends down the road. Please note that trading name laws vary from country to country so please check with the appropriate authorities for precise information.When designing logos don’t be worried if you don’t hold a graphic design degree, you only need something distinguishable as yours. For example, if your username is larryjones64, then a simple LJ64 in ‘Franklin Gothic Medium’ in a chosen color might suffice.

You need next to decide on your color scheme. Again, if you are not that way inclined color schemes are readily available via a simple Google search. The goal here is to use only a few matching yet distinguishable colors to use for your i) theme colors, ii) font colors, and iii) miscellaneous sections. You should base your color scheme on the types of products you sell as well as your personal preference. For instance if you are promoting cosmetics made from 100% natural products you might opt for an earthy and green color scheme or even a pink color scheme depending on your target market. These colors however might not be as suitable for an electronics company aiming to capture the attention of bargain hunting males between the ages of 16 and 22 years old. Regardless of your choice of scheme you’re the one that should be happy with it as your standard color scheme for all of your advertisements to come.

Now that you have decided on your color scheme you must now decide on your font. Typically, your font should be clear and easy to read. Since Arial is the most common and easily legible font available on the internet currently, we will use it here. You should use this font for all of your advertisement text spread across only a small number of sizes. By limiting the variation of font size and color you will better be able to direct the viewing of the potential buyer, making sure they receive the important information as required.

We will now separate our developing advertisement into 5 sections. One for the header, another for the product picture, the next for the item description and information, followed by the shipping, payment and warranty block, and finally the terms & conditions section.

As per our earlier larryjones64 example a blue, white and grey color scheme has been chosen to sell his range of consumer electronics and miscellaneous personal effects.

Section 1

A simple image editing program has been used to place the logo created earlier on a blue background. This has been saved in a web friendly format and will appear as our calling card at the top of all of our advertisements for larryjones64.

Section 2

The white space here provides room for our product picture. In this case it will be of a watch he plans to sell in his online auction. Use this space to let your potential buyer know exactly what they will be bidding on. It’s the first product image they will see after clicking on the search listing item; make it count.

Section 3

This is the information section. It’s where you will highlight the strong points of your product, hopefully convincing the viewer to make a bid. Be careful here not to bore the viewer with paragraphs of product information. In the case of many niche products, your viewer will already know what they are looking at. It is more important to describe the product condition and package inclusions so that the bidder knows exactly what they’re bidding on. Detailed pictures are a great way to tempt that potential bidder. The old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” has never been more true. These days with free image hosting sites such as Picture Trail it has never been easier to make your advertisement hosted-image friendly.

Section 4

Whilst your auction listing may provide the appropriate space for postage costs, we’ve found it quite useful to display specifics within the bulk of the advertisement itself. The same applies for payment methods. What better way to remind your potential bidder that you accept a bank deposit from their favorite bank as well as their credit card. Any warranty offered with your product should also be listed here. Again, let the bidder know exactly what they’re bidding on.

Section 5

Finally, we list the terms and conditions for your auction. Use this space to further elaborate on your warranty statement in the previous section, as well as your postage time disclaimers and any other liability disclaimers you may with to include should an unfortunate occasion arise, even if only a typographical error. The key here is to include what you know. If you are not sure about something it is better to omit it rather than look foolish contradicting yourself. For certainty, consult the necessary authority on your subject in question.

Ok, so there you have it. Your advertisement is now designed and you have a template calling card that your current and future clients will recognize your good business through.

2. Keyword Success

The most obvious and often most underestimated source of online auction success is the auction title; what good is the most attractive advertisement in the world at the world’s best bargain if no one gets to see it?

There are several options for highlighted listings, bold listings, super bold listings, stroked listings – all of which require varying degrees of payments. As mentioned at the beginning of the piece we are looking for the best value for money, which in our opinion is the regular auction listing with a small standard gallery picture. This is the most common (and package-wise, cheapest) form of auction listing and thus a perfect way to measure the success of our listing.

Now most (if not all) auction sites will only give you a capped number of characters for your title so it is important to use this space as best you can. Based on eBay’s 55 characters main titles limit the first way to attract attention is by printing the entire title in capital letters. In a sea of lower cased rambling the capitalized title is quite effective. Next are the words in the title. You must find the balance between communicating to the buyer as efficiently and accurately as possible your item as well as making use of keywords that might increase the exposure of your advertisement.

Take the example below:

Nokia N95 great condition plus leather case charger box

Whilst it may appear to accurately describe the product in question as well as use the entire 55 character allocation it wastes precious character space and words that should be saved for the advertisement itself. It is quite possible for you to achieve a number of advertisement views or hits from people searching Nokia, N95 and several others from those searching case, charger, and box. Those searching for the latter group are unlikely to pay for a $300 item when they were only looking for a $10 item in the first place.

Take the next example:

BLACK NOKIA N95 CELL PHONE UNLOCKED + GPS + CAMERA +ACC

In comparing the two the second example jumps at you from the page simply because of the capital letters. Most buyers of cell phones need to know first up if it is unlocked, as in most cases they already have a SIM card. By highlighting the important attributes of the item like GPS and camera you are also exposing your advertisement to potential buyers of GPS units as well as those searching cameras. Unlike the first example, GPS units and cameras are quite often priced similarly to high end cell phones so it is not completely out of the question that the phone could be purchased by those searching these items as well. Please beware that eBay and other auction sites have policies in place forbidding the use of title keywords in an attempt to gain exposure if the keyword doesn’t directly relate to the item for sale. This means that inserting the keyword iPod Nano or Motorola Samsung into the title simply to gain extra exposure across various categories is illegal – and will cause your listing to be removed and possibly have your account suspended. In the end, it pays to know your product and your target audience as well as the rules of the auction site you are using (or intending to use).

You may be thinking that the points you have just read are completely commonsensical and that anyone would be able to figure them out – and this is 100% true. The preceding approaches to online auction trade do not require any specialization in design or trade, but require only that people think as they approach this field. We cannot guarantee success for every application of our theories into your trading practices, but based on our averaged results they have worked in achieving the desired results.