Protein: A Hikers Best Friend

Author: Gerald Fitz

While it is true that carbohydrates provide for lasting energy; people often overlook the need for protein. In fact, protein can be the most valuable nutritional tool in a hiker’s toolkit, especially on the most difficult and rewarding backcountry trails.

While carbohydrates provide energy that is sorely needed on a long calorie burning trek; protein is essential and often overlooked. While hiking you work out muscles over long periods of time. If carrying a pack you are also working out often overlooked (and under-exercised) muscles in your legs and back. The evidence of this is plain; your muscles get sore and tired, often in strange spots. The reason for this is that muscles degrade over time when used. Over the course of a long hike, muscles need the tools to repair themselves, and that is where protein comes in. Protein is the building block of muscle, and providing your body with a good source of protein can greatly reduce recovery times while on the trail.

The most common source of protein for hikers comes in the form of food on the trail. However, it is important to pay special attention to what the snacks you are eating are giving you. Many “power” bars advertise their protein content, and can be a good source of protein. However, that protein often comes with lots of extra fat and sugars that aren’t going to provide the most stable trail diet. Beef Jerky can also be a good source of protein, but it comes with a heavy cost. Jerky dehydrates your body, and will increase your need to intake water in order to stay hydrated. Nuts and dehydrated berries are other common munchies on the trail that pack a similar need to drink extra water.

One way of getting protein that is often overlooked is through dietary supplements. Because its dairy based, whey protein is easier to digest than soy protein making it perfect for the trail. Also, studies show that whey protein is more effective than soy based protein; which is often the protein that gets added to power bars. Since whey protein usually involves mixing powder with water; it is easy to get your protein while hydrating yourself. This makes whey protein a decent way to re-hydrate yourself rather than simply dehydrating yourself with salty nuts or jerky. And since whey protein isn’t packed with unnecessary fats or sugars, you’ll be able to incorporate it into a stable trail diet. For both of those reasons, whey protein can be an excellent way to get protein over a long hike; and protein is the hidden crux of a hiker’s nutritional needs on a long rewarding backcountry trail.

About Author: For more info on whey protein, visit Top Form Supplements.

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Internet Gaming Tips for Newbies

By: Paul Wilson

Internet games use the cyber world technology for playing. Games are extremely popular and constantly evolving.

There are:

• Games played using e-mail.

• Games played on a browser window by using a web address.

• Games played using Internet Relay Chat, Telenet, MUD client, or a Web based forum.

• Games that are graphic need stand-alone software that permits players to play with or against one another using an Internet connection.

The first game, MUD, was developed in 1978, and the market has burgeoned since then.

To play, one needs:

• A reliable Internet connection.

• A personal computer or game console.

• Selected software required by specific games.

One can play simple board games like scrabble, or bingo, or games like poker, mahjong, and pool. Another popular category is simulation games-these imitate real-life situations and cover aspects like combat, city planning, strategies, as well as flight simulation.

For serious gaming the computer performance must be optimized. This can be done by:

• Running the disk defragmenter and organizing the computer files. This should ideally be done once a month at least.

• Correct folder and file errors by using scandisk---use once a week and the computer will give trouble free performance.

• Clean your hard drives-get rid of Internet files, temporary files, as well as files in the trash/recycle bin. Clear the cache and uninstall programs that are not in everyday use.

• Update the operating system software. Download any new security patches. Keep video drivers updated.

• Clear space on the hard drive---store files on a back up system.

• Clear any spyware you have inherited from websites.

• Minimize number of programs running-when playing a graphic intensive game if there are too many programs running simultaneously the graphics will become choppy and game will be slow.

• Delete add on game files-wall papers and other paraphernalia will just clutter the computer.

• Run an anti-virus program regularly but disable it when you are loading/playing games. Antivirus programs slow down games.

• Always shut down the computer properly.

The Internet allows gamers to compete with people across oceans, on the other side of the world and anywhere in the universe. Some use PCs while others use consoles. What you use is a personal choice and depends on issues like costs and so on.

Before you buy a game you must:

• Consider "system requirements" - some games can run on systems that are not exact others need specific hardware.

• Find out if the game is single player or multi-player. Many games need the Internet-and, the broadband connection is more efficient than the dial-up connection. Many like Xbox Live only work on a broadband connection.

• Find out if the game can be played using a mouse/keyboard or whether it will need a full-featured joy stick.

Be wise and try a demo before making an actual purchase. Playing a demo benefits the player as well as game developer. Many online games offer free trial periods - beta testing is a great opportunity to find out if the game suits your taste as well as pockets.

Do your research thoroughly-usually there are several games competing for players within a genre. Read game reviews before taking the final step.

Author Bio: Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for the premier Computer Article Submission Directory Site www.1888Articles.com/computer-articles-11.html

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Beach volleyball is a great impromptu game. Almost anywhere that there is sand and a net; groups of friends, acquaintances, and sometimes even strangers will gather for a few rounds of beach volleyball. A playful game of beach volleyball doesn’t have to be too strenuous, so it is easy to have teams with people of all different ages and with mixed levels of fitness. This makes beach volleyball an ideal family game for a lively summer afternoon.

Of course, beach volleyball can be also be a very strenuous game in a competitive setting. When serious athletes get together for a beach volleyball tournament, the ball flies through the air fast and viciously.

To play beach volleyball, you only need a minimum of two people per team for a total of four players. However, the less experienced and skilled the players are, the more people you will probably want to have on each team in order to keep the ball in the air. The more players that are involved, the less ground each player will be responsible for covering. A game with just a few participants is likely to be quite a workout as everybody scrambles across the sand to reach the ball; whereas in a game with a large team different players can concentrate on their own areas of the sand, enabling them to rest a bit when the ball is elsewhere. The fact that beach volleyball can be a fun, low-key game for a friendly crowd of casual players or a serious endeavor with a quartet of accomplished athletes makes it one of the most versatile sports.

The rules of beach volleyball are the same as the rules for any form of volleyball, but play on the sand tends to be a bit different than play on a court. It is much more difficult to move quickly on sand than it is on most surfaces, so play is generally slower than in court volleyball. To train for beach volleyball, athletes must spend a lot of time developing their lower body strength so they can move quickly and accurately across the ground despite the friction and resistance of the sand. While powerful legs are an important part of successful volleyball play, the ability to jump high and hard and land without injury are substantially more vital in beach volleyball than in court volleyball.

Even experienced court players often don’t anticipate how difficult it will be to run and jump on sand, so volleyball players who are new to the beach often sustain injuries because they misjudged how much resistance the sand would give them. Skinned knees and elbows are par for the course among players at all levels of the game, especially because a player often forgets to protect him or herself when diving for the ball in the heat of the game.

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

Gray Rollins is a featured writer for VolleyballAdvice.com. To learn more about beach volleyballhow to play volleyball, visit us.

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Fashion and Sports Commingled at the Olympics

The euphoria of Olympic victories has not only slithered into the thumping heartbeats of athletes and coaches but has also crept into the steady admiration of fans, supporters, enthusiasts and viewers worldwide. The Beijing Olympics is one event that everyone, in some way, has creatively identified with. The global sporting extravaganza brought out drawn awareness in people not normally predisposed to national pride and levels of sporting interest. The fact is that Olympic fever has a habit of creeping up in point-up corners and one such bend is the fashion world.

International sports events, just like the Olympics, offered the best opportunity for visibility. The collaboration between fashion and sports, with joint ventures between athletes and labels other than Nike, Adidas, Converse, Puma, Asics, Reebok, Speedo, Diadora, Umbro, Fila, Spandex, and New Balance is nothing new. Fashion has the freedom of creativity, while sportswear has the knowledge of the best fabrics to make items functional. The upshot is greater sports awareness and participation, more creative expression and enthusiasm, quality training accessories and materials, enhanced pride and glory in achievements, as well as better opportunities for business, entrepreneurship and employment. It has become a global mission for sports and fashion to come together to do something good, despite the political drama surrounding the games.

For one, Beijing Olympics showed the scope of these two worlds’ commingling in a number of guises, illustrating how far-reaching their mutual influence really is. From the realms of high fashion to the mainstream, fashion and sports have far more in common than you might assume. The relationship between contemporary fashion and global sportswear brands have been inspired by street style and have been working in closer collaboration in recent years. The link between fashion and sport is undeniable, even the fashion heavyweights such as Ralph Lauren, Polo, Lacoste, and Fred Perry have history in sporting activities of various types. If you think fashion and sport are unlikely teammates, Beijing Olympics Opening doubles as the sportiest catwalk on earth, the wisdom being that, in appealing to a huge, new audience, sports brand’s own label would reap the benefits. The link is even more noticeable in the street fashion scene with dominant sport's companies like Adidas and Nike pretty much owning the game with vintage re-releases and limited editions.

There’s no excuse for poor shapes and bad colors, they don’t make you run faster. Designing sportswear perceives no compromise; it should keep pushing till it gets the best results – just like Olympic athletes. What the athletes wear may not be quite as important as how fast they will run, but, with an unprecedented worldwide audience of more than four billion viewers, that’s a huge amount of brand exposure. Today, fashion needs sport and sport needs fashion. In an increasingly casual world, how many people wear couture? But the sportswear giants now face the opposite challenge: over-distribution has threatened to make their garments too ubiquitous – thus their need for an injection of style savvy. When you’re working out, you don’t have to look like rubbish. Fashion keeps the true sports performance there and complements its needs.

Fashion sense has played a role in sportswear today. Women athletes and delegates at the Beijing Olympics generally showed national pride in the modern or unique print. American Olympic team looked sporty and sophisticated, the image that they would like to voice out. Canada flashed modern sensuality. It’s true that Summer Olympics are all about running harder, jumping higher and swimming faster, but looking better is important, too. The business target is making sportswear fashionable as well as performance-friendly. Athleticism was not the only one on display at the Olympics. Outstanding personal, national and international qualities were carried on display from the bleachers to TV screens and newsprints around the world. Fashion in Sports kicks off the complexities in human undertakings into a more tangible, descriptive and gainful level.

Assuming you're not head to toe in made-to-order outfit and a pair of wingtips it's an almost certainty that you're wearing some kind of sportswear, unless of course you're reading this article naked. Check out the slideshow below and see for yourself the extent of sporty fashion at the 2008 Olympics:

Fashion And The Olympics

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: olympics fashion)

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Sporty Fashion at the Olympics

The euphoria of recent Olympic victories has not only slithered into the thumping heartbeats of athletes and coaches but has also crept into the steady admiration of fans, supporters, enthusiasts and viewers worldwide. The Beijing Olympics is an event that everyone, in some way, has creatively identified with. The global sporting extravaganza brought out drawn awareness in people not normally predisposed to national pride and levels of sporting interest. The fact is that Olympic fever has a habit of creeping up in point-up corners and one such bend is the fashion world.

Olympics 2008 offered the best opportunity for visibility. The collaboration between fashion and sports, with joint ventures between athletes and labels other than Nike, Adidas, Converse, Puma, Asics, Reebok, Speedo, Diadora, Umbro, Fila, Spandex, and New Balance is nothing new. Fashion has the freedom of creativity, while sportswear has the knowledge of the best fabrics to make items functional. The upshot is greater sports awareness and participation, more creative expression and enthusiasm, quality training accessories and materials, enhanced pride and glory in achievements, as well as better opportunities for business, entrepreneurship and employment. It has become a global mission for sports and fashion to come together to do something good, despite the political drama surrounding the games.

Beijing Olympics showed the scope of these two worlds’ commingling in a number of guises, illustrating how far-reaching their mutual influence really is. From the realms of high fashion to the mainstream, fashion and sports have far more in common than you might assume. The relationship between contemporary fashion and global sportswear brands have been inspired by street style and have been working in closer collaboration in recent years. The link between fashion and sport is undeniable, even the fashion heavyweights such as Ralph Lauren, Polo, Lacoste, and Fred Perry have history in sporting activities of various types. If you think fashion and sport are unlikely teammates, Beijing Olympics Opening doubles as the sportiest catwalk on earth, the wisdom being that, in appealing to a huge, new audience, sports brand’s own label would reap the benefits. The link is even more noticeable in the street fashion scene with dominant sport's companies like Adidas and Nike pretty much owning the game with vintage re-releases and limited editions.

There’s no excuse for poor shapes and bad colors, they don’t make you run faster. Designing sportswear perceives no compromise; it should keep pushing till it gets the best results – just like Olympic athletes. What the athletes wear may not be quite as important as how fast they will run, but, with an unprecedented worldwide audience of more than four billion viewers, that’s a huge amount of brand exposure. Today, fashion needs sport and sport needs fashion. In an increasingly casual world, how many people wear couture? But the sportswear giants now face the opposite challenge: over-distribution has threatened to make their garments too ubiquitous – thus their need for an injection of style savvy. When you’re working out, you don’t have to look like rubbish. Fashion keeps the true sports performance there and complements its needs.

Fashion sense has played a role in sportswear today. Women athletes and delegates at the Beijing Olympics generally showed national pride in the modern or unique print. American Olympic team looked sporty and sophisticated, the image that they would like to voice out. Canada flashed modern sensuality. It’s true that Summer Olympics are all about running harder, jumping higher and swimming faster, but looking better is important, too. The business target is making sportswear fashionable as well as performance-friendly. Athleticism was not the only one on display at the Olympics. Outstanding personal, national and international qualities were carried on display from the bleachers to TV screens and newsprints around the world. Fashion in Sports kicks off the complexities in human undertakings into a more tangible, descriptive and gainful level.

Assuming you're not head to toe in made-to-order outfit and a pair of wingtips it's an almost certainty that you're wearing some kind of sportswear, unless of course you're reading this article naked. Check out the slideshow below and see for yourself the extent of sporty fashion at the 2008 Olympics:

Fashion And The Olympics

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: olympics fashion)

GPS Insight: the best tracking system that offers much more

Managing successfully a vehicle-based business requires close monitoring. One should regularly verify to ensure that his business is operating efficiently and to the required standards. Equipments, activities, persons and service locations should be carefully checked in order that essential services are delivered within the shortest latency from unexpected obstructions. However, these intentions and processes remain intricately difficult to sustain even with popular communication facilities and this is especially so with service and trucking companies (long haul trucking, delivery vehicles, sales forces, HVAC, roofing, plumbing, construction, etc). Now, this uncertainty can be addressed with a more precise data-gathering technology that is universally encompassing. You can now closely and even remotely monitor your business operations and eventually effect cost-effective and sound management decisions based on accurate and reliable data. The GPS (Global Positioning System) is the answer. GPS provides numerous means of achieving efficiency, waste identification, and cost-reduction with its highly dependable data-gathering capability. Let’s have a short overture on GPS.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a radio-navigation system that uses a around 24 to 32 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals to GPS receivers and therefore provides reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services to civilian users in all weather, day and night, anywhere in the world. This brings about increased efficiencies and safety for vehicles using highways, streets, and mass transit systems. The number of problems associated with the routing and dispatch of commercial vehicles is considerably reduced or eradicated with the GPS assistance.
With a GPS tracking device, you can use GPS to establish the precise location of a vehicle, person, or other asset to which it is attached and to record the position of the asset at regular intervals. The recorded location data can be stored within the tracking unit, or it may be transmitted to a central location data base, or internet-connected computer, using a cellular (GPRS), radio, or satellite modem set in the unit. This allows the asset's location to be displayed against a map backdrop either in real-time or in post analysis, using customized software.

With your service or trucking business now on focus, GPS Insight Vehicle Tracking System, a hardware and web-software vehicle-tracking product, pooled together GPS, wireless networks (AT&T/T-Mobile), internet access and Google Earth to create at your convenience, detailed reports on vehicle locations, driver activities and driving habits. GPS Insight draws together some modern advances in 3D and satellite mapping with real-time updates in a Web-based configuration to generate reports on trip and stop times, as well as their averages and variances, which sustain operational scrutiny/exploration. Additional reports can also be generated quantifying who is speeding, how long vehicles are used during the day, vs. payroll hours, when vehicles are used outside of regular business hours, whether or not the prearranged route is taken, how many miles/hours are used-up driving in each state, etc.

It is really quite difficult to accurately monitor your business to success, but with GPS Insight you can rest with real-time assurance. Your purchase of such an avant-garde product also builds a gainful partnership with GPS Insight. You will be equipped with the finest and most accurate tool to gear up your business, whether you are working with vehicles or working in the field to make business happen. GPS Insight provides for synchronization and operational efficiency because accuracy and timing are essential to every economic activity everywhere. Moreover, expansions on complimentary data warehousing and data mining service are underway to facilitate clients’ filtering of relevant data. GPS Insight reduces uncertainty on many quantities efficiently; it qualifies as a very practical measurement tool and thus, renders this vehicle-tracking mechanism absolutely necessary for your vehicle-based business.

With your convenience as the top priority, the GPS Insight website comes very friendly with its online offer of vehicle-tracking product which are equally friendly and easy to use. GPS Insight support wiki for customers provides support information, helpful tips, and general information about the GPS Insight product. The excellent customer service you obtain when you call with questions or concerns renders the entire package acceptably friendlier. Purchased units will get to you installed and running in less than 24 hours or as early as the next day! They deliver the same day when paying by credit card, and have adequate inventory. Other GPS providers will take up to 60 days to perform a credit check, program your units, set up your account, and so on. GPS Insight’s well-organized process provides customers the swift response they require to unravel problems with their convoy.

Overall, GPS Insight cost $1.50 - $2.00 per day per vehicle, and your company makes money on fuel savings, routing efficiencies, and streamlined vehicle maintenance, elimination of possible accidents, no more labor paid when people aren't really working, and more. And yes! For orders of $2,000 or more, (4 units, typically), GPS Insight offers lease at cutthroat rates with the paperwork accomplished within 3-4 days. For your advantage, GPS Insight provides a 30-day money back guarantee, and offers free trials for qualified companies. They do not bind you with long contracts, either

This topnotch hardware offers you more! GPS Insight is the only company which integrates engine diagnostics (engine light status/fault codes, real speeds, real odometer readings, real idling/RPM & actual fuel consumption/MPG) with its baseline product, no hidden fees, no commitment to a long contract, and the best mapping available. The Blog for GPS vehicle tracking provides detailed illustrations, feedback, reports and other relevant specifics to keep you on track and well-informed. Live demos can be gladly arranged for you in their offices, at your location, or via WebEx presentations.

GPS Insight as a fast evolving product, takes input and advice from customers to extend further the capabilities and functions of the product and its website which is being updated regularly. All of these requirements and enhancements, combined with the best in modern technology and 3D mapping, are what makes GPS Insight the best so far. Get hold now of this amazing product and seize a first-hand tang of distinctive quality in both product and support.

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Arundo Donax - How to turn a bog plant into a serenade

I began playing the clarinet when I was 11 years old, back in 1984, after many months of pestering my parents. Although I wasn't particularly good when I started, I loved the look and feel of the instrument and I persevered, and I finally ended up as a music student at Leeds University with the clarinet as my first instrument. I didn't find the notes that hard when I was a kid; I could produce a tune without too many tears, but my tunes just didn't sound very nice until I'd got to about grade 6. A lot of young players experience the same problem, and the problem is really twofold- 1) producing a beautiful sound takes lots of practice, and 2) producing a really beautiful sound depends on your reed.

What a Reed is All About

If you don't play a reed instrument you may well be wondering what I'm talking about, so I'll explain a little bit here. (For the already initiated, feel free to skip this bit!)

A clarinet is fundamentally a tube which is approximately 2 feet long; in fact it's the same length as a flute or an oboe. The flute has a small hole which you blow across. This makes the air inside the tube start vibrating, (like if you blow across the top of a bottle and hear a note). The oboe and the clarinet, however, use reeds. These are small bits of cane, (or sometimes plastic), which are attached to the top of the instrument. The cane goes in your mouth and you make it vibrate with your lips and jaw; this sets the column of air vibrating, and hey presto a note sounds. (It's very hard to describe how you actually do this because it all happens inside your closed mouth!) You can't play the clarinet (or the oboe or bassoon) unless you have a reed attached to the top, and these essential bits of kit have, unfortunately, quite a short life span. How long a reed lasts depends on lots of things, like how often you play, what brand you're using, and even what the weather's like. (It's a natural material so it's affected by the humidity of the atmosphere).

The Reed you really Need

So now you know you need a reed, off you pop down to your local music shop, or find one online. The first question they'll ask you is what kind of reed do you need? Narrowing it down to just "a clarinet reed" won't get you very far. You have to specify the strength of your reed. And choose a brand. And choose one of a range of reeds within that brand. And how many do you need to buy?

So how can a little bit of cane be so diverse and complicated? How can you possibly choose?! Let's take a look at the first dilemma: Strength.

Reeds are categorised by their thickness, and given a grading from 1 to 5, including half grades. Basically speaking, the thicker the reed, the more difficult it is to produce a note, but the nicer the note will sound. So, if you are a beginner, (and therefore in possession of relatively weak jaw muscles compared to a veteran), you should choose a low number, known as a "soft" reed. Around 1.5 would be good, but go for a 1 if the 1.5 is too difficult to blow on. As you get better, you'll gradually be able to progress to thicker reeds (known as "hard"). To get a decent sound, you need to be playing on a minimum 3.5, and most professionals will be playing on 4.5 to 5s. Personally, I play on a 3.5. OK, let's move on to brand and product:

In the UK there are mainly 2 companies battling it out in the clarinet reed field, and they are Vandoren and Rico. I'll try to make a comparison between them, since your basic purchasing decision will be between these two brands. Here's what Vandoren say about their standard B flat clarinet reeds:

"The most widely played reeds in the professional world."

And here's what Rico claim about their most similar product:

"The world's most popular reed." One thing you may be able to deduce from this is that Vandoren reeds are better and also more expensive. They produce a better tone for professionals, who are more picky about these things than amateurs. However, there are many more amateurs piping away in their bedrooms on a Sunday afternoon than there are professionals, and they tend to choose Rico, so they can't be all bad.

Here's how the prices compare from 2 reputable online firms, for a box of 10, (the normal number you get in a box).

>From www.myatt.co.uk Rico Reeds cost £8.50 and Vandoren cost £11.00

>From www.dawkes.co.uk Rico cost £6.25 and Vandoren cost £10.25

Rico are well ahead in the tasty price league, so why is it that all these professionals are choosing Vandoren? It really boils down to the sound that comes out when you blow, which to the professional is the only major issue. For us mere mortals though, there are another couple of points to consider- how many of these 10 newly purchased reeds actually work properly, and how long will one last before I have to change it? I've played on both these brands of reeds over the 20 and a bit years I've been playing this instrument, and I believe that Rico are more consistent in the strength grades they put in the box, and they last for the same length of time as Vandoren's, but whereas a box of Vandoren sometimes produces a really stunning beautiful reed, a box of Rico never does.

When you buy a box of reeds, it is quite normal to find that some of them just won't work. This is rather annoying, (especially if you're paying more than a pound a piece), but it's a fact of life. The cane is rigorously tested by both companies, and left to mature for a considerable time, but nothing can stop the cane from becoming slightly modified once it's been packaged up in its box. My personal average from Vandoren is 50% usable reeds per box, while Rico usually gives me 7 or 8 that are playable. So, in effect, they work out even cheaper than you'd bargained for. I think that Rico's testing technology is perhaps superior to Vandoren's, to produce these results. They are more effective at eliminating inferior cane earlier in the process, before it actually gets in the box. In my mind there is no doubt that Vandoren Reeds sound better, but the large difference in price is not justified by the small difference in sound. Going back to my earlier point about the quality of!

my early attempts at the clarinet, I should point out that playing on the correct strength of reed, (and one that isn't too old), will ensure an acceptable sound from anyone. So how to find the correct strength? Read on!


How Strong is your Jaw?

Rico Reeds come in strengths 1-5 (not all brands do). If you're a complete beginner, buy a 1, a 1.5 and a 2. (You can buy reeds singly, both online and in shops. Some shops let you try the reed out before you buy it just in case it's a duffer (see above), but not all of them.) Try the 2 first. If you produce a sound quite easily and without pain, congratulations! You've found the right strength. If you find it takes lots of breath to get a note and you can hear air escaping from the side of your mouth as you blow, the reed is too hard. Try the 1.5, and repeat the process. Remember that with clarinet reeds, the only way is up! When you have been playing on your 1.5 for some time, try the 2 from time to time. Don't play for too long, as your jaw will tire easily and you may bite into your bottom lip. If this happens, your mouth will be too sore to play until it's healed, and you'll have to start with a softer reed again. Gradually increase your playing time, until you can play on the 2 with no problems. Then move on to the 2.5, and repeat the process.

If you stick with a softer reed once your jaw muscles have become stronger, your sound will deteriorate. Playing on a soft reed produces a buzzy kind of tone and can sound flat. Higher notes on the instrument are more difficult to reach with a softer reed, which is another reason why you need to climb that reed ladder! Sometimes reeds are a little bit too hard or a little bit too soft, without being impossible to play on. You don't have to chuck them away in cases like this, you can "doctor" them slightly to make them more playable: if the reed is too soft, trim a VERY narrow (hair's breadth) strip from the tip of the reed with a sharp knife. Or push another reed between it and the mouthpiece of the instrument, pushing it away from the rectangular hole in the mouthpiece slightly. If the reed is too hard, you can sand it a little. Use a piece of 220-grain sandpaper. Rub just a little, then test the reed- a tiny rub can produce a large difference (which is why they don't always get it right in the factory- it's a precision art!)

Breaking in Reeds

All new reeds need to be "broken in". They won't produce a consistent sound until they've been used a few times. Rico reeds are faster to break in than Vandoren. You need to wet the reed (in your mouth or with water- I prefer my mouth, but Rico advise water, as some people have very acidic saliva apparently, eeww), then play on it for just a few minutes each day, until the sound becomes consistent. It's good to have a few reeds "breaking" as you never know when you'll need a new one.


Replacing Reeds

It's easy to tell when your reed needs replacing- after serving you well for a week or 3 (depends how much you play), one day it'll just sound rubbish, completely different to the last time you used it. Every time it goes in your mouth the reed is getting attacked by various germs and other organisms, and your saliva begins the process of breaking down organic matter ready for your tummy, so it's no wonder that they don't last forever! Another obvious sign that you need a new reed is when you accidentally slice it in half while attaching it to the instrument, a tragically common event. (It's held onto your plastic mouthpiece by metal band called a ligature. This has quite sharp sides and if you're not careful it'll cut right through in one go. Don't worry though, I've never heard of anyone cutting their finger on one!)

Arundo Donax

This is the technical name for the reed plant which Rico and Vandoren use to make their reeds. It grows in India and the Mediterranean, and can get as high as 6 metres tall. If you live in the right climate you can grow it in your garden, but I wouldn't suggest trying to grow and make reeds yourself from scratch, although some fanatics do.....

Other Types of Reed

For the standard clarinet, you will be buying B♭ clarinet reeds. It's unlikely that you would buy the wrong reed size, as this is what 99% of people play on, but just for the record, there are also E♭ and bass clarinet reeds. E♭ reeds are for a smaller instrument, and bass clarinet reeds for a beast of an instrument, so neither will fit. The A clarinet takes the B♭ reed, as it is only very fractionally bigger than the B♭ instrument. (Orchestral players need two instruments, an "A" and a "B♭"; see for more on transposing instruments).

Final Verdict

The Rico clarinet reed is a great choice for the amateur player. They are reasonably priced, reasonably consistent within the box, and produce a nice sound. They are easy to get hold of and excellent value for money, especially if you frequently slice them in half! If you want to get serious on the instrument, you should probably move on to more expensive reeds from Vandoren.

Web-Programming: An Alternative To Unproductive Advertising

As of this writing the television writers in Hollywood are on strike. The significance of this strike will be felt far beyond the current television season and impact what and where people will get their entertainment in the future. People are now not only embracing the Web for their information needs but are also increasingly turning to it for their entertainment needs as well.

The Web will soon be 'the place' that fills the programming vacuum that network broadcasters have been unwilling and/or unable to fulfill. People were prepared to tolerate constant reruns, dreadful programming, and incessant repetitive ads as long as there was no alternative, but that is no loner the case. Viewers now have an option to bad television and it's the Web, but why should you care and more importantly how can you take advantage of the opportunity it creates?

Why Should You Care?

Information and entertainment have melded in recent years creating what has been dubbed 'infotainment.' It can be argued that the evening news has become more entertainment than hard news and let's not even get into venues like the History Channel where fact and fiction seem to be presented in equal and indistinguishable doses. So what does all this have to do with you and how you deliver your marketing message?

The time is coming, if it is not here already, that companies will not be able to get away with merely uploading online brochures and catalogues, or even extensive screeds singing the praises of every feature and benefit associated with their offering. People demand more, they insist your website be interesting, informative, and entertaining; and it is this aspect of entertainment that potentially makes your marketing presentation memorable.

What Is Web-Programming?

Web-programming takes the creative Web-video campaign concept and pushes it one step further up the evolutionary marketing scale by integrating the message into a programming environment.

This concept is not an entirely new idea, in fact one of the most noted television commercial campaigns of 1991 was the Taster's Choice soap opera-like series of spots that wove the marketing message into a courtship relationship between two apartment neighbors. In an environment where information and entertainment blur, it seems like an ideal solution to capturing an audience's attention and interest, and creating a viral buzz that few products or services can generate by presenting a bulleted list of features.

Build Brand Relationships

James E. Aisner, in his article 'More Than A Name: The Role of Brands in People's Lives' (HBS Working Knowledge For Business Leaders) references the research of Harvard Business School Professor, Susan M. Fournier, "Fournier has created a typology of fifteen different types of relationships between consumers and their brands." These brand relationships include the secret affair, the best friend, kinship, the fling, courtship, the marriage-of-convenience, casual friendship, childhood friendship, mother and child, and master-slave.

What kind of relationship does your brand have with your audience? Is it a short-term fling that starts with a lot of heat and passion and then quickly cools-off, or is it a long-term marriage that will last a lifetime? Finding, and promoting the most appropriate and beneficial brand relationship is the marketing goal of your Web-programming marketing initiative.

Part of the problem many smaller organizations have in developing successful marketing campaigns is that they think in terms of products and services rather than brands; features and benefits rather than relationships. Almost every product or service on the market can be replaced with a competitive substitute, but brands are much harder to replace; brands create a competitive barrier through the development of relationships based on prototypical psychological and emotional factors, the same kinds of factors that govern your personal relationships.

Generate Trust, Confidence, Loyalty and Passion

In his article, "A Brand New You," (Psychology Today), W. Eric Martin tells us that brands came into vogue in the post Civil War era as a response to an increasing mobile population that began to lose touch with local merchants and shopkeepers. Brands became a substitute for the personal relationships that people had with their suppliers. This seemingly minor historic fact helps us understand the significance of brands in today's Web-centric marketplace.

Today's consumer-client, whether retail or business-to-business is more remote, more isolated from the supplier than ever before. The Web allows us to market our products and services anywhere in the world, but in order to actually make a sale, we must establish a relationship that generates a sufficient level of trust, confidence, loyalty and passion. Sneer if you will at the passion and loyalty most Macintosh users have for their computers, but what other computer company can claim such brand allegiance?

Relationships Are Based On Psychological Needs

At the heart of any relationship is the emotional or psychological need that that relationship fulfills. If you haven't found that connection in what you do then you are at a definite competitive disadvantage; and you are competing on the most fickle and transient of factors: price and features. In business, there will always be someone who is prepared to sell a substitute product or service for less, or with more bells and whistles. So why would you ever want to compete on that basis?

It really doesn't matter what business you're in, there is always some emotional or psychological component to what you do. The iPod is the market leader in its category despite numerous competitors; it holds that position not because it's the cheapest, which it definitely isn't, or the product with the most features, which it probably is, but because it's an iPod - not a tool but a status symbol, a badge of intelligence and taste, a brand relationship akin to being a member of the coolest club in town.

Web-programming Development

In short, Web-programming is a marketing campaign based on a series of episodic Web-videos tied together by plotline and character development; an ongoing initiative that weaves into its storyline the marketing pitch. The integration of the marketing pitch can be done subtly using product placement techniques or overtly making the pitch part of the story arc.

This marketing technique is not for everyone; it is certainly not for the unsophisticated or for the marketer who is afraid to experiment or to take a chance.

If you are looking for an instant direct financial return like a big sale sign in your storefront window then you are not looking for marketing, you're looking for promotions. Marketing is all about building a brand relationship with your audience. The more time and effort you invest in marketing, the more solid your brand relationship will be, and the more appropriate the clients you'll attract and keep.

Web-programming - Where To Begin

There are four minimal requirements needed to create an episodic Web-video marketing campaign: need identification, point-of-view, attitude, and transformation. These are the same elements defined by Syd Field, the well-respected author, producer, screenwriter, and lecturer, in his book, "The Screenwriter's Workbook;" and they are the same elements that all top-notch salesmen use to build client-relationships - ask yourself - have you ever met a top salesman who wasn't a great storyteller?

Need Identification

Like all episodic series yours will need a hero or protagonist; this is the person your audience will identify with and who will act as their surrogate.

Your protagonist must be searching for something that relates to the emotional or psychological need fulfilled by your product or service. Anyone who has ever had to deal with an insurance company certainly understands the Geico caveman's need for respect. His frustration is the perfect foil for the company's marketing message, 'it's so easy a caveman can do it.' We are all cavemen at heart, seeking respect from big business bureaucracies that make us jump through hoops just to place an order.

Point-of-View

You must present your material from a particular point-of-view. Is your presentation told from the protagonist's point-of-view or is it told from an objective observer's, perhaps through voice-over. It can even be counter-intuitive and be told from an antagonist's point-of-view.

If your scenario is more procedural based, you can even present it from different points-of-view each delivering alternative perspectives, each highlighting different aspects of the emotional fulfillment.

Attitude

Attitude is especially important for Web-based presentations, but it is also one of the scariest aspects of marketing for the faint-of-heart. All too often businesses shy away from bold statements, or extreme displays for fear of alienating some segment of the audience, but it's attitude that grabs people's attention, makes the presentation memorable, and qualifies leads and inquiries.

Transformation

One of the hardest things a commercial-based episodic series has to deal with is story arc. What change takes place over the life of the series and is the campaign concept strong enough to sustain itself? What transformation takes place? Does your protagonist find fulfillment or does he fail to find the emotional or psychological answer he's looking for. If you're not sure what deep-seated need your product or service satisfies, find the conflict.

All stories are based on conflict, frustration, and desire, whether it's the search for 'whiter whites' or better insurance. If your concept is without conflict, you are not illustrating the need for your solution.

You can show successful transformation based on the adoption of your solution or you can show failure whichever works best for what you're marketing and the audience you are trying to attract.

Conclusion

The Web has from its infancy provided business with enormous marketing opportunities. As the Web's capabilities increase over time, these opportunities increase as well. As much as other media tries to adapt to the competitive pressures created by the Web, old methods and attitudes die-hard; the writer's strike being just one example of a group trying to maintain dominance in an environment they cannot control. The opportunities are there to make your marketing mark if you have the courage to act.

Web-Programming: An Alternative To Unproductive Advertising

As of this writing the television writers in Hollywood are on strike. The significance of this strike will be felt far beyond the current television season and impact what and where people will get their entertainment in the future. People are now not only embracing the Web for their information needs but are also increasingly turning to it for their entertainment needs as well.

The Web will soon be 'the place' that fills the programming vacuum that network broadcasters have been unwilling and/or unable to fulfill. People were prepared to tolerate constant reruns, dreadful programming, and incessant repetitive ads as long as there was no alternative, but that is no loner the case. Viewers now have an option to bad television and it's the Web, but why should you care and more importantly how can you take advantage of the opportunity it creates?

Why Should You Care?

Information and entertainment have melded in recent years creating what has been dubbed 'infotainment.' It can be argued that the evening news has become more entertainment than hard news and let's not even get into venues like the History Channel where fact and fiction seem to be presented in equal and indistinguishable doses. So what does all this have to do with you and how you deliver your marketing message?

The time is coming, if it is not here already, that companies will not be able to get away with merely uploading online brochures and catalogues, or even extensive screeds singing the praises of every feature and benefit associated with their offering. People demand more, they insist your website be interesting, informative, and entertaining; and it is this aspect of entertainment that potentially makes your marketing presentation memorable.

What Is Web-Programming?

Web-programming takes the creative Web-video campaign concept and pushes it one step further up the evolutionary marketing scale by integrating the message into a programming environment.

This concept is not an entirely new idea, in fact one of the most noted television commercial campaigns of 1991 was the Taster's Choice soap opera-like series of spots that wove the marketing message into a courtship relationship between two apartment neighbors. In an environment where information and entertainment blur, it seems like an ideal solution to capturing an audience's attention and interest, and creating a viral buzz that few products or services can generate by presenting a bulleted list of features.

Build Brand Relationships

James E. Aisner, in his article 'More Than A Name: The Role of Brands in People's Lives' (HBS Working Knowledge For Business Leaders) references the research of Harvard Business School Professor, Susan M. Fournier, "Fournier has created a typology of fifteen different types of relationships between consumers and their brands." These brand relationships include the secret affair, the best friend, kinship, the fling, courtship, the marriage-of-convenience, casual friendship, childhood friendship, mother and child, and master-slave.

What kind of relationship does your brand have with your audience? Is it a short-term fling that starts with a lot of heat and passion and then quickly cools-off, or is it a long-term marriage that will last a lifetime? Finding, and promoting the most appropriate and beneficial brand relationship is the marketing goal of your Web-programming marketing initiative.

Part of the problem many smaller organizations have in developing successful marketing campaigns is that they think in terms of products and services rather than brands; features and benefits rather than relationships. Almost every product or service on the market can be replaced with a competitive substitute, but brands are much harder to replace; brands create a competitive barrier through the development of relationships based on prototypical psychological and emotional factors, the same kinds of factors that govern your personal relationships.

Generate Trust, Confidence, Loyalty and Passion

In his article, "A Brand New You," (Psychology Today), W. Eric Martin tells us that brands came into vogue in the post Civil War era as a response to an increasing mobile population that began to lose touch with local merchants and shopkeepers. Brands became a substitute for the personal relationships that people had with their suppliers. This seemingly minor historic fact helps us understand the significance of brands in today's Web-centric marketplace.

Today's consumer-client, whether retail or business-to-business is more remote, more isolated from the supplier than ever before. The Web allows us to market our products and services anywhere in the world, but in order to actually make a sale, we must establish a relationship that generates a sufficient level of trust, confidence, loyalty and passion. Sneer if you will at the passion and loyalty most Macintosh users have for their computers, but what other computer company can claim such brand allegiance?

Relationships Are Based On Psychological Needs

At the heart of any relationship is the emotional or psychological need that that relationship fulfills. If you haven't found that connection in what you do then you are at a definite competitive disadvantage; and you are competing on the most fickle and transient of factors: price and features. In business, there will always be someone who is prepared to sell a substitute product or service for less, or with more bells and whistles. So why would you ever want to compete on that basis?

It really doesn't matter what business you're in, there is always some emotional or psychological component to what you do. The iPod is the market leader in its category despite numerous competitors; it holds that position not because it's the cheapest, which it definitely isn't, or the product with the most features, which it probably is, but because it's an iPod - not a tool but a status symbol, a badge of intelligence and taste, a brand relationship akin to being a member of the coolest club in town.

Web-programming Development

In short, Web-programming is a marketing campaign based on a series of episodic Web-videos tied together by plotline and character development; an ongoing initiative that weaves into its storyline the marketing pitch. The integration of the marketing pitch can be done subtly using product placement techniques or overtly making the pitch part of the story arc.

This marketing technique is not for everyone; it is certainly not for the unsophisticated or for the marketer who is afraid to experiment or to take a chance.

If you are looking for an instant direct financial return like a big sale sign in your storefront window then you are not looking for marketing, you're looking for promotions. Marketing is all about building a brand relationship with your audience. The more time and effort you invest in marketing, the more solid your brand relationship will be, and the more appropriate the clients you'll attract and keep.

Web-programming - Where To Begin

There are four minimal requirements needed to create an episodic Web-video marketing campaign: need identification, point-of-view, attitude, and transformation. These are the same elements defined by Syd Field, the well-respected author, producer, screenwriter, and lecturer, in his book, "The Screenwriter's Workbook;" and they are the same elements that all top-notch salesmen use to build client-relationships - ask yourself - have you ever met a top salesman who wasn't a great storyteller?

Need Identification

Like all episodic series yours will need a hero or protagonist; this is the person your audience will identify with and who will act as their surrogate.

Your protagonist must be searching for something that relates to the emotional or psychological need fulfilled by your product or service. Anyone who has ever had to deal with an insurance company certainly understands the Geico caveman's need for respect. His frustration is the perfect foil for the company's marketing message, 'it's so easy a caveman can do it.' We are all cavemen at heart, seeking respect from big business bureaucracies that make us jump through hoops just to place an order.

Point-of-View

You must present your material from a particular point-of-view. Is your presentation told from the protagonist's point-of-view or is it told from an objective observer's, perhaps through voice-over. It can even be counter-intuitive and be told from an antagonist's point-of-view.

If your scenario is more procedural based, you can even present it from different points-of-view each delivering alternative perspectives, each highlighting different aspects of the emotional fulfillment.

Attitude

Attitude is especially important for Web-based presentations, but it is also one of the scariest aspects of marketing for the faint-of-heart. All too often businesses shy away from bold statements, or extreme displays for fear of alienating some segment of the audience, but it's attitude that grabs people's attention, makes the presentation memorable, and qualifies leads and inquiries.

Transformation

One of the hardest things a commercial-based episodic series has to deal with is story arc. What change takes place over the life of the series and is the campaign concept strong enough to sustain itself? What transformation takes place? Does your protagonist find fulfillment or does he fail to find the emotional or psychological answer he's looking for. If you're not sure what deep-seated need your product or service satisfies, find the conflict.

All stories are based on conflict, frustration, and desire, whether it's the search for 'whiter whites' or better insurance. If your concept is without conflict, you are not illustrating the need for your solution.

You can show successful transformation based on the adoption of your solution or you can show failure whichever works best for what you're marketing and the audience you are trying to attract.

Conclusion

The Web has from its infancy provided business with enormous marketing opportunities. As the Web's capabilities increase over time, these opportunities increase as well. As much as other media tries to adapt to the competitive pressures created by the Web, old methods and attitudes die-hard; the writer's strike being just one example of a group trying to maintain dominance in an environment they cannot control. The opportunities are there to make your marketing mark if you have the courage to act.

Web-Programming: An Alternative To Unproductive Advertising

As of this writing the television writers in Hollywood are on strike. The significance of this strike will be felt far beyond the current television season and impact what and where people will get their entertainment in the future. People are now not only embracing the Web for their information needs but are also increasingly turning to it for their entertainment needs as well.

The Web will soon be 'the place' that fills the programming vacuum that network broadcasters have been unwilling and/or unable to fulfill. People were prepared to tolerate constant reruns, dreadful programming, and incessant repetitive ads as long as there was no alternative, but that is no loner the case. Viewers now have an option to bad television and it's the Web, but why should you care and more importantly how can you take advantage of the opportunity it creates?

Why Should You Care?

Information and entertainment have melded in recent years creating what has been dubbed 'infotainment.' It can be argued that the evening news has become more entertainment than hard news and let's not even get into venues like the History Channel where fact and fiction seem to be presented in equal and indistinguishable doses. So what does all this have to do with you and how you deliver your marketing message?

The time is coming, if it is not here already, that companies will not be able to get away with merely uploading online brochures and catalogues, or even extensive screeds singing the praises of every feature and benefit associated with their offering. People demand more, they insist your website be interesting, informative, and entertaining; and it is this aspect of entertainment that potentially makes your marketing presentation memorable.

What Is Web-Programming?

Web-programming takes the creative Web-video campaign concept and pushes it one step further up the evolutionary marketing scale by integrating the message into a programming environment.

This concept is not an entirely new idea, in fact one of the most noted television commercial campaigns of 1991 was the Taster's Choice soap opera-like series of spots that wove the marketing message into a courtship relationship between two apartment neighbors. In an environment where information and entertainment blur, it seems like an ideal solution to capturing an audience's attention and interest, and creating a viral buzz that few products or services can generate by presenting a bulleted list of features.

Build Brand Relationships

James E. Aisner, in his article 'More Than A Name: The Role of Brands in People's Lives' (HBS Working Knowledge For Business Leaders) references the research of Harvard Business School Professor, Susan M. Fournier, "Fournier has created a typology of fifteen different types of relationships between consumers and their brands." These brand relationships include the secret affair, the best friend, kinship, the fling, courtship, the marriage-of-convenience, casual friendship, childhood friendship, mother and child, and master-slave.

What kind of relationship does your brand have with your audience? Is it a short-term fling that starts with a lot of heat and passion and then quickly cools-off, or is it a long-term marriage that will last a lifetime? Finding, and promoting the most appropriate and beneficial brand relationship is the marketing goal of your Web-programming marketing initiative.

Part of the problem many smaller organizations have in developing successful marketing campaigns is that they think in terms of products and services rather than brands; features and benefits rather than relationships. Almost every product or service on the market can be replaced with a competitive substitute, but brands are much harder to replace; brands create a competitive barrier through the development of relationships based on prototypical psychological and emotional factors, the same kinds of factors that govern your personal relationships.

Generate Trust, Confidence, Loyalty and Passion

In his article, "A Brand New You," (Psychology Today), W. Eric Martin tells us that brands came into vogue in the post Civil War era as a response to an increasing mobile population that began to lose touch with local merchants and shopkeepers. Brands became a substitute for the personal relationships that people had with their suppliers. This seemingly minor historic fact helps us understand the significance of brands in today's Web-centric marketplace.

Today's consumer-client, whether retail or business-to-business is more remote, more isolated from the supplier than ever before. The Web allows us to market our products and services anywhere in the world, but in order to actually make a sale, we must establish a relationship that generates a sufficient level of trust, confidence, loyalty and passion. Sneer if you will at the passion and loyalty most Macintosh users have for their computers, but what other computer company can claim such brand allegiance?

Relationships Are Based On Psychological Needs

At the heart of any relationship is the emotional or psychological need that that relationship fulfills. If you haven't found that connection in what you do then you are at a definite competitive disadvantage; and you are competing on the most fickle and transient of factors: price and features. In business, there will always be someone who is prepared to sell a substitute product or service for less, or with more bells and whistles. So why would you ever want to compete on that basis?

It really doesn't matter what business you're in, there is always some emotional or psychological component to what you do. The iPod is the market leader in its category despite numerous competitors; it holds that position not because it's the cheapest, which it definitely isn't, or the product with the most features, which it probably is, but because it's an iPod - not a tool but a status symbol, a badge of intelligence and taste, a brand relationship akin to being a member of the coolest club in town.

Web-programming Development

In short, Web-programming is a marketing campaign based on a series of episodic Web-videos tied together by plotline and character development; an ongoing initiative that weaves into its storyline the marketing pitch. The integration of the marketing pitch can be done subtly using product placement techniques or overtly making the pitch part of the story arc.

This marketing technique is not for everyone; it is certainly not for the unsophisticated or for the marketer who is afraid to experiment or to take a chance.

If you are looking for an instant direct financial return like a big sale sign in your storefront window then you are not looking for marketing, you're looking for promotions. Marketing is all about building a brand relationship with your audience. The more time and effort you invest in marketing, the more solid your brand relationship will be, and the more appropriate the clients you'll attract and keep.

Web-programming - Where To Begin

There are four minimal requirements needed to create an episodic Web-video marketing campaign: need identification, point-of-view, attitude, and transformation. These are the same elements defined by Syd Field, the well-respected author, producer, screenwriter, and lecturer, in his book, "The Screenwriter's Workbook;" and they are the same elements that all top-notch salesmen use to build client-relationships - ask yourself - have you ever met a top salesman who wasn't a great storyteller?

Need Identification

Like all episodic series yours will need a hero or protagonist; this is the person your audience will identify with and who will act as their surrogate.

Your protagonist must be searching for something that relates to the emotional or psychological need fulfilled by your product or service. Anyone who has ever had to deal with an insurance company certainly understands the Geico caveman's need for respect. His frustration is the perfect foil for the company's marketing message, 'it's so easy a caveman can do it.' We are all cavemen at heart, seeking respect from big business bureaucracies that make us jump through hoops just to place an order.

Point-of-View

You must present your material from a particular point-of-view. Is your presentation told from the protagonist's point-of-view or is it told from an objective observer's, perhaps through voice-over. It can even be counter-intuitive and be told from an antagonist's point-of-view.

If your scenario is more procedural based, you can even present it from different points-of-view each delivering alternative perspectives, each highlighting different aspects of the emotional fulfillment.

Attitude

Attitude is especially important for Web-based presentations, but it is also one of the scariest aspects of marketing for the faint-of-heart. All too often businesses shy away from bold statements, or extreme displays for fear of alienating some segment of the audience, but it's attitude that grabs people's attention, makes the presentation memorable, and qualifies leads and inquiries.

Transformation

One of the hardest things a commercial-based episodic series has to deal with is story arc. What change takes place over the life of the series and is the campaign concept strong enough to sustain itself? What transformation takes place? Does your protagonist find fulfillment or does he fail to find the emotional or psychological answer he's looking for. If you're not sure what deep-seated need your product or service satisfies, find the conflict.

All stories are based on conflict, frustration, and desire, whether it's the search for 'whiter whites' or better insurance. If your concept is without conflict, you are not illustrating the need for your solution.

You can show successful transformation based on the adoption of your solution or you can show failure whichever works best for what you're marketing and the audience you are trying to attract.

Conclusion

The Web has from its infancy provided business with enormous marketing opportunities. As the Web's capabilities increase over time, these opportunities increase as well. As much as other media tries to adapt to the competitive pressures created by the Web, old methods and attitudes die-hard; the writer's strike being just one example of a group trying to maintain dominance in an environment they cannot control. The opportunities are there to make your marketing mark if you have the courage to act.