What Exactly is Smart DNS

When it comes to bypassing country based restrictions and the annoying media blocks used by the world’s biggest online companies – it used to be a choice between proxies and VPNs.   Basically these were servers that sat between you and the web site you wanted to visit which could hide your real location.

The way it worked was that if you wanted to watch for example the UK only BBC iPlayer from the US, then you’d need to route your connection through an intermediate server based in the UK.  That way you IP address would appear to be based in the UK, and the BBC would work.  It was the same for thousands of other sites ranging from Hulu, Pandora to ABC and NBC, however you had to change  the location of the server in the middle to match the content you wanted to watch.

Over the years, proxies have basically stopped working for most of these sites as they are too easily detected.  The only major media site that doesn’t block proxies is now probably the BBC who don’t seem that worried about restricting access to their UK only web site.  Most others like Hulu and Netflix will detect and block access if you use a simple proxy server, only an encrypted VPN will suffice.

A VPN will still work today and as long as it is configured correctly should allow you access to any site you wish.  The problem is that it routes all your connection even when you don’t need to be rerouted, meaning that there’s lots of disconnecting and reconnecting going on.  There is also a performance hit due to location and the encryption layer which is required.

So here we have a new alternative – Smart DNS (read this) which works in a slightly different way.  Your traffic is still rerouted through another server but only the traffic located for identifying your location.  Which means that all your other traffic is unaffected – watch this video for a demonstration.

The advantage is obvious, the impact on your network connection is negligible as only a small part of the network stream is redirected. This is particularly useful for rerouting high quality video over slower network connections. It can also be used to switch locales easier – like this switch American DNS for Netflix. This means that you can use you single Netflix account to access the different variants all over the world, and potentially thousands more shows and movies for the same cost.

Some Ideas for Improving Your Blog Posts

When you start your blog, you’re probably busting with ideas for useful posts however it’s hard to keep those ideas going. Unless you’re a professional blogger, then you can always stand to improve the content on your blog. Even the pros could benefit from some tweaking since no blog or content writer is perfect. The reason you should do this is simply to give your readers a richer experience. You also realize this could boost your site metrics such as bounce rate and more. The following three tips will help you provide higher quality content for your readers.

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Blog posts work best when they use the common article structure. Good structure involves some specific parts, parts that people are more used to dealing with than they probably realize. Even if a reader isn’t cognizant of each element individually, he or she will instinctively know when something is off or a part of the structure is missing. The precise type of structure you follow really depends on the type of article or post you want to write.  It also can vary depending on the language which you are using, this video post on French TV online explains more.

Maybe you’re going to compose a product review or maybe you’re post is going to compare as well as contrast a variety of products. It’s best, however, to limit these types of posts to two products so that you’ve got the space to really get into each of them. If you only want to review one thing, be it a product or a service, there is another structure entirely that will need to be followed.

When you write a blog post, to avoid hard feelings with your readers, try to change up the content format every now and then. If your paragraphs are the same length, this is not a good idea. They will associate this with learning out of a textbook instead of actually enjoying the content that you are providing. Or, it just looks intimidating for so many people and they’ll rarely read it. The easy fix for this is to introduce variety with the lengths of your paragraphs. Then go through and make sure that the content flows properly, even though the paragraphs are different lengths. Whenever you have short paragraphs, be careful! Your content can get distorted quite easily. Also remember that paragraphs should never be longer than four sentences, as this can also cause problems.

General reading behavior online consists of a lot of scanning and looking around. Since this is something that you cannot change it, you will have to change your content to accommodate these tendencies. Something needs to catch their attention, like a hook, or subheadlines placed strategically throughout the article. You’ll want to make the font sizes smaller than the main headline. Many people use headline tags to make this process as automatic as possible. The flow of the article will be conveyed through the subheadlines when it is done this way. Additionally, to make sure the article flows, good structure needs to be part of the article. Finally, stir up some curiosity with your readers by making the subheadlines really stand out.

Using proper format with your content, you can use certain tricks, but always keep in mind the perspective of the reader when you do your writing. It can be very easy to completely forget about your audience when you write your content. And that’s the most important person in the whole equation.

Additional Information

How to Keep That Content Flowing

So you just have to write stuff, fill your blog with interesting articles – it sounds easy, but after when writers block kicks in then suddenly a routine chore can become a huge issue. Do you have your own blog? If so, it is possible to improve it by reading other blogs and learning from what they do. If you do happen upon a blog, you may be fortunate in that they will have something interesting to offer. This feeling that you have should be utilized whenever you post on your own blog every day. It is so invigorating to think from another person’s perspective, wearing their shoes for a moment, especially when you are crafting your own content.

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Getting to the point in your content is crucial due to impatience on the part of the reader. When you look at behavioral research with online users, most of them don’t have a lot of time. All articles need to have some kind of short introductory paragraph. In essence, it’s a quick summary, referencing the headline, telling the reader what the information is going to present. You want to revise this if it is too long to begin with since most introductory paragraphs are quite brief. Rambling and going off topic is never recommended, unless it’s something your expect to see with every blog post that you make. People online tend to be very impatient and writing for a cold crowd you don’t know will not give you much slack.

For example, if you are trying to sell someone a service like a fast proxy or other technical offering – then describe the benefits. Buyers browsing the web don’t want too much detail that makes life complicated, they just want benefits illustrated for them.  They want to know that they can change their ip address at will, that they can hide behind a proxy or VPN server to access normally blocked content.  Basically they want the benefits, and not the technical stuff that makes it work.

You have a lot to think about when you’re writing blog posts or any other type of content. It is important that you never forget about the habit of the average Internet reader. These readers tend to be really picky and they often display odd but typically predictable habits. Just about every person who traffics your site is after something specific. And don’t forget that there are different categories into which your visitors are going to fall like loyal readers and people who are just visiting your site for the very first time. Most of the time the people who are brand new to your site are those whose interests are the most specific. Think about all of the times that you have gone to visit some website or other simply because you were curious about what it was going to be like. Most people are busy enough that we worry about wasting our time. The audience within your niche or audience is the same so try to remember that as you compose your content.

People that read your content will usually scan it, instead of reading the entire thing from top to bottom. This is something you will have to adapt to when you produce your content. What you need to do is add hooks and subheadlines so the reader can quickly and easily see what you have written. The main headline should be larger, and smaller fonts should be used for the rest. Many people use headline tags to make this process as automatic as possible. Effective sub-headlines will have a flow to them because they’ll mimic the flow of the article. So you’ll need to ensure your posts have good structure that will facilitate a smooth flow. Additionally, every sub-headline should evoke the curiosity of the reader when they read each one throughout the article. If you want to write invigorating content for your blog, there are a variety of strategies you can utilize. You won’t know what to do, or how to write your content, however, until you learn certain strategies. The difficulty will be great if you lack the specified knowledge, which is why it is in your best interest to learn as much as you can.

For further information on changing ip addresses, proxies and VPNs then this interesting development might be of interest.  It’s called Smart DNS and you can see an explanation here, certainly could be a huge change in how the internet distributes data.

Are Your PDF Reports Worthwhile

Writing your own PDF reports for distributing to customers and potential customers can be a very effective business promotion tool. It is absolutely worth the time and the effort to actually increase the positive return on the PDF reports that you have created. The reason for this should be obvious, but it really is all about optimizing your marketing efforts. It’s great to increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. What is the most amazing thing is that so few Internet Marketers or business owners actually bother to really pay attention to their PDF ebooks. It’s important to remember how important customer satisfaction and user experience are.

Even if your ebook or report is on the short side, take some time to section it up and write out a Table of Contents (or ToC). This is to help increase the professionalism of how you present yourself and it tells your readers what they can expect from you. In addition to the actual text of your ToC make it linkable so that readers are able to jump directly to the sections they want to read the most. It’s easy to do this so the only person to blame for all of those PDFs that aren’t built that way are the people who have created them.

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If the document is about a specific topic or to solve a problem then it should be clear and concise. I recently read a document which showed how you could watch BBC iPlayer in the USA, it was very well written like this and also included an embedded video explaining terms like proxies, ip addresses and vpns.

Plus, readers always appreciate any convenience you can offer to them and this is a convenience that is easy to provide. Organization is incredibly important when it comes to ebooks and PDFs because this helps it become more convenient for the readers. This is the best way to earn more points for yourself but you already understand this. So–just as you know you need footers and headers–you know that you should have page numbers too. There are different ways to do this and there is nothing hard at all about it. For strict accuracy, you should use Roman numerals for the pages at the beginning of the PDF–for your disclaimers, etc. Then the content pages will be done in regular number format. This is how to correctly number your pages and you should take the time to do this so that it will look professional.

There is so much that can be said about fonts, typefaces and the manner in which you employ them within the PDF report you have created. It’s important to think about the most difficult members of your target audience which, in this matter, is usually people who are over the age of forty. This means that you need to be sure that you use at least a font size of twelve points. Adobe PDF readers do let people increase the sizes of their fonts. Or perhaps minimize the text and include a video like this one which helps explain the issue.

But it’s still a good idea to use a reasonable font that will be easy for everybody. Also, do avoid the use of fancy fonts or those kinds that are not what people normally see. As a PDF creator your best options are Verdana and Times New Roman. A non-Serif font will be easier to read and will cause less eye strain.

When you are taking in and digesting these tips for improving how readers respond to your PDF’s, don’t think they are hard to do. Actually, you can find people who offer a service that basically does these things for you. But they tend to be pretty expensive and you should be able to do most of these things on your own. So take some time to help increase the memorability of your next PDFs.