A recent news item caught my eye – ” Kerela Tourism’s global consumer travel site had been selected for the best site for the prestigious award ‘PATA Gold Award 2010′. That’s a great achievement for a state management site, where the emphasis has always been on information assembly and classification rather than on usability and user sensibilities. A quick glance at the Kerela Tourism site justifies the prestigious award.

I felt compelled to bring the site to your notice – So, i divided into 2 easy parts for a viewer like me who has a million other things in queue….

Part1….Striking elements:

[1] Clean, Text-less persona – uplifting

[2] Captivating graphics

[3] Multi-lingual viewing option

[4] Unambiguous message for the visitor

Part2….Striking elements:

[1] Service / Information: Targeted & graphic-based services segments

[2] Colors utilized on the site symbolize the theme of the website

[3] User-friendly text

[4] Predominance of white space throughout

[5] Relevance of the graphics and text in all the segments

Humans have always been fascinated by languages, and verbal communication has been the first to bear the impact of evolutionary changes. During the last century, human evolution has been centered on major lifestyle changes influenced by mechanization. Recently, electronic gadgets have intruded human lives and the first aspect that they are changing is the way we communicate.

Gadget gifts

Texting, that has been the gift of mobile communication devices, has already changed (read spoilt, if you please) our language. The changes that were earlier limited to written forms are now transcending spoken barriers. The change is unnoticeable but certain. And now, while the future looks laden with androids, it won’t be a surprise if we converse in ROILA not only with them but also with humans.
We haven’t limited our cryptically creative communication conundrum to converse with robots; humans have always tried to decipher new language for themselves. Esperanto was the first attempt to unite the humankind on linguistic basis. It is the first artificially created language of the world. It was devised in 1887 by L. L. Zamenhof, and officially recognized by UNESCO in 1954.
But that was in the years when humans lived quite docile lives unhindered by gadgets and geeks. As electronic gadgets started influencing and smearing our lives with sci-fi, humans are trying umpteen of fruitless attempts to devise languages that will establish communication with celestial bodies and aliens.
New lingo on the block

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Elvish and Marc Okrand’s Klingon are two latest breeds of languages. These languages have been an attempt to bridge universal requirement of singular language that can be deciphered by humans and aliens alike.
Any new evolving language will need to intentionally bend as many rules of human language as possible. Modern texting meets most of these conditions as it is doing away with gender, tense and punctuation, and hence is more popular and easily adopted among the younger generation who is concerned more about intent than content.
Back to the future
Humans should be ready to listen to any sound that will, actually, be a language in the future. Machines, robots, aliens… you never know what will influence your existence, and in order to get going with them you will need to ‘language’ your minds.

“Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.” This is the Wikimedia commitment.

Wikimedia, owned and operated by the Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit foundation devoted and dedicated to bring free content to the world through the internet. The stated goals of the Wikimedia Foundation is to develop and maintain open content on Wiki based Projects, and to provide these to the general public free of any charges. This acquired name “Wikimedia” was first coined by the American author Sheldon Rampton in a post to the English mailing list in March, 2003.

The Wikimedia Foundation relies heavily on the generous support offered by the users themselves. The Foundation is incorporated as a 501©(3) non-profit organization in the United States, where donations from US citizens are tax deductible. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. is presently headquartered at San Francisco, USA.

Following is the list of Content Projects relating to Wikimedia –

• Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia with multilingual content
• Wiktionary – A Wiki-based Open Content dictionary
• Wikiquote – A Free Online Compendium of Sourced Quotations
• Wikibooks – A Free Library of Educational Text Books
• Wikisource – The Free Online Library of Free Content Publication
• Wikinews – The Free News Source Where You Can Write articles
• Wikiversity – Open Learning Community
• Wikispecies – Free Species Directory
• Wikimedia – Incubator
• Wikimedia – Commons
• Wikimedia – Meta Wiki
• MediaWiki – Free Software Wiki Packages

Helping to contribute and collaborate makes it simple and easy. The idea behind the basic Wiki concept is just this. It is willing to provide us with an online platform where we can pool in our resources and build something which all of us in the future can make use of. Wiki will only check the genuineness and authenticity of the subject and help preserve and maintain the database. Terrific idea, and terrific work combined with some non-profiting motives are spelling out some online wonders, which shall be very difficult to duplicate. The entire global community using and building Wiki’s resources sincerely hope that Wiki, some day will come out of the red and make some money without compromising.

Globalizing Collective Online Resources

The best part of Wiki products and packages is that they come in many languages, so that a truly global community can benefit using Wiki’s services. Then, the content is always open to editing, which again makes the material more substantial and truly updated. It is no wonder that most Wiki’s sites are in the best lists and highly rank on all search engines. Wiki products, as time goes by are turning to be the most popular and most frequented websites.

In order to maximize visibility, translations and local language considerations must be taken into account along with SEO. Local language keywords must be well researched for volume and relevance together with translations targeting local markets. These local language keywords and other language specific words must be properly embedded in the web page code and properly displayed on the page. Registration of the web-site on local search engines should be done and local links must be identified and secured as well. A local address might also be useful, and in some cases essential.

Certain principles are common, and constant to a search, no matter where we put them. Some tactics may become specific for certain search engines, but traditional SEO within the U.S. translates well into the international scene. The landscape and players may be foreign, but the games don’t change.

The Google Spin

The fact is that Google inside America, with a 58 percent market share, is extremely capable of influencing how and why we optimize. In reality Google is also able to set guidelines that other search engines may follow.

Now, imagine this scenario, without the Google? Will it not be essential that we understand the intricacies involved in the way other search engines operate.

Local Contact

Similarly, foreign search engines like Baidu have a 60 percent market share in China, Yandex inside Russia is equally strong. Le moteur in French, 123Bin of Germany, and more from so many other nations all do well in their specific regions. Google and Yahoo are only able to follow them, or are far behind.

Our optimization strategies therefore need to change when we are doing this for a client in Japan. What works for Google need not necessarily fit for Baidu, or Yandex.

Especially in off-page SEO we need to understand the specific requirements of the region and the regional search engines. Apart from on-page content, titles and meta-tags understanding the ranking processes and procedures of specific search engines – and things unique to the region would not only be helpful, but also essentially required.

What’s the second most important part of your blog post after the title?

I feel it is the headline and the opening paragraph.

Just imagine how disappointed you’d be after crafting a killer headline for your post, only to lose readers with an opening that failed to carry the momentum. A great headline mixed with a lame opening is like inviting someone into your house, only to slam the door in their face as they approach.

I have seen so many people start a blog to share their experiences in their passionate fields. But the energy and enthusiasm with which they start does not last too long as they fail to attract new visitors. So, here are 5 ways to open your post that will capture the reader’s imagination and pull them deeper into your content.

1. Quote a Shocking Statistic

Starting off with an interesting news is a great technique. People love being provided with interesting data, but only if it is unique or even shocking. The statistic should also be directly relevant to the point of your post as well. This point should not be confused with a Link Bait.

2. Ask a Question

Opening your post or closing it with a question creates curiosity and gets the reader thinking. Thinking equals active engagement with your content and that’s a very good thing.

3. Share an Anecdote or Quote

Anecdotes are quick stories that can make people laugh or immediately establish the main point of your post. A nice quote from a recognizable authority or famous person can also work wonders when holding attention in those crucial opening seconds.

4. Use an Analogy, Metaphor or Simile

Analogies, metaphors and similes are the best options available when it comes to telling a story in a single sentence. This is a great way to capture a reader’s attention and also provokes the user to connect the sentence with their life, signaling complete involvement in your content.

5. Force the reader to act

Forcing the reader to act is a good way of engaging them throughout. Act does not necessarily have to be an action. There are more powerful things you can ever do as a writer! Activate the mind’s eye of the reader by using words like “Imagine” or “do you remember when,” etc.