Reference Designer

You are an expert in your niche area. Just like Howard Johnson is an expert in Signal Integrity. Or, you are a social media expert like Giovanni Gallucci. You beat your classmates in discussions- innately. Your friends listen you when you lecture them about merits of organic foods. You listen to classical music in your free time.

You are probably an expert. And you can find place online that can help you turn your expertise into hard cash.

And by this hard cash, I do not mean get-rich-quick scheme. By hard cash I mean real money for which you have worked hard in past to gain expertise. You know your subject well and you are good at communicating.

The money you will earn will be based upon  user ratings and your areas of expertise. And dont get me wrong, many managers are are using the services of experts like you to get the job done until they can afford to add headcount.

Take a look at justAnswer.com. You have a problem? Just describe it, and indicate how much you’re willing to pay for an answer. One of the experts will get back to you fast.  Experts run the gamut from veterinarians and attorneys to mechanics and computer repair people.

Just take a quick glance of what people are looking for at justanswers.com.It turns out that many people are baffled by their electronic equipment,their computer hanging, their cars and their puppies ( looking for veterinary doctors). You will also find, many jobseekers looking for someone to polish their resume for a potential job. There are students want somebody to write their term papers for them.

And you wanted numbers in terms of money. Here is the excerpt from its website.

“Apply now to earn money for all of your answers that are accepted! Stage 1 (new) Experts earn 25% of what a customer is offering for an answer and Stage 4 Experts earn up to 50%. Once you have more than $20 in your account, just request payment and we’ll Pay Pal the money to you on the fourth business day of the month. ”

What does that mean ? Suppose you are a Stage 1 Expert. A customer pays $100 for an answer. Then $75 goes to justanswer and $25 goes to experts pocket. Unless off course, you are a Stage 4 expert, in which case you can earn 50 %.

If you think that 75% commission going to justanswer is too high there are alternatives.Take a look at liveperson.com. It connects people with an immediate need for information with experts who can supply that information. Liveperson is a one-on-one service, conducted over chat or via email.  LivePerson.com boasts 30,000 experts who are “ready to chat” on subjects from personal growth to small business solutions.

Some experts are lurking online, ready to jump in to answer your question, and others can be scheduled ahead for a one-on-one. The fee is set by the expert, anywhere from 50 cents to $5 per minute, about 45 percent of which goes to LivePerson.

Advice about “personal relationships”, “psychic”, is clearly a money-maker here, although you can find a Web designer, a homework coach or a cosmetologist when you want one.

The vetting process includes licenses for professions that require them, like doctors and lawyers. All experts’ resumes are available to prospective clients.

But once online, the experts live or die by client ratings which are, in the great tradition of the Internet, brutally honest. And in this world of pay-per-minute, the reviews cover typing speed as well as communication skills.

If the commissions from liveperson and just answers looks exorbitant to you, there is yet another alternative – ezdia.com. At the time of writing, experts earn 100% of the money they earn. If you are an expert at justanswers.com or liveperson.com you may like to join ezdia.com. You can reduce your rates, increase customer satisfaction. It will mean that you can increase the number of the persons looking for your services.

The scams and money making advertisements never die. There are some platforms that allow you to earn dollars for your expertise and for your advise. Share your expertise. Let your expertise help people and earn dollars for you.

online marketing ezdia

Problem

You have a portal that you had developed a while ago. When your portal was designed, you did not know about Search Engine pPtimization. The pages of your portal looked like

http://www.referencedesigner.com/cat.php?i=3&page=2

http://www.referencedesigner.com/cat.php?i=3&page=3

This obviously is not a user friendly url. The url forms one of the most basic parameter for the page to be optimized. You will rather like the pages to contain the keywords that represents the content of the pages. If your portal is still at the beginning stage, try to see if you can modify your url so that it represents a SEO friendly url.

What if your portal has hundreds or thousands of pages already there and it is not possible for you to make changes.

The Solution

Fortunately .htaccess and the rewrite rules and solve your problem is many situations – or you may like to give it a try.

The .htaccess file is a special file that enables you to control how your hosts server deals with your website and webpages. .htaccess is used for several kind of redirection, including 404 page redirection and 301 redirection. Before you start making changes to .htaccess, make yourself known to facts about .htaccess. Errors in .htaccess files can be lead to serious issues.

The .htaccess file is sometimes not visible from your FTP program. So you may like to use your host’s cpanel to see this file, access it and modify it.

Here is an example of how .htaccess file can be used to change the url.

url that needs to be forwarded

http://www.referencedesigner.com/stories/3/Barak-Obama-New-President/2.html

The url to which the contents are sourced

http://www.referencedesigner.com/story.php?id=3

Here is a typical Rewrite Rule that will accomplish this task.

RewriteRule ^stories/([0-9]+)/[a-z0-9_-]*\.html$ /story.php?id=$1 [QSA,L,NC]

Note that this will also require changes in the website. Often a little bit of tweek here and there serves the purpose. But you may have to take the help of a specialist SEO cum developer to achieve the result.

.htaccess is a powerful tool. If you care about the SEO and redirections in your website, you must know how to use it.

seo seo

Experts Exchange is an online resource where people solve their technology problems by collaborating with IT professionals. Experts Exchange is an online IT resource that connects members to Experts around the world providing solutions to their technology issues. Experts Exchange currently has over 50,000 Experts assisting in these various Technology zones.

How Expert Exchange Works

Here is how a member, can find solution to your problem using Expert Exchange.

1. A member searches over 2.7 million solutions in Experts Exchange’s knowledgebase to answer their problem.
2. If their solution is not found, they ask a question about their IT problem.
3. The Expert Exchange community works to solve the problem.
4. The Asker accepts the solution and rewards points to the Expert that posted it.
5. The solution is stored in Experts Exchange’s knowledgebase.

So all this service is for free

Absolutely no. See the following table for the cost

Can you make money as Expert

So if people pay at Expert Exchange to get answers, can expert make money by providing answers ? A very good question. But sadly, the answer is NO. The money goes to expert-exchange. So, how does an expert benefit from it ? An expert benefit, by getting points for answering the questions. He can then use these points to use the expert-exchange system.

Can I get real time answer from expert using chat etc No. Expert exchange does not support real time chat from the experts. You can only ask questions and possibly post comments. There is no way you can contact the experts using the chat system.

Any Alternative ?

Yes. ezdia provides ability to get answers from the experts in real time using a chat system. You can search for an expert using ezdia search engine. If the expert is online you can start chatting with the expert. If the expert is not online you can send a message and get a appointment from him and chat with him a later time.

Benefit to Experts at eZdia

ezdia provides several benefit to the experts that are not available to the experts at experts-exchange. The experts at ezdia have a professional profile. This makes them available for being hired as a respected member in the area of their expertise. The experts at ezdia can secure freelancing work. eZdia makes the experts searcheable.

Next time you need an expert solution in real time, try ezdia .

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Here is a list of Signal Integrity Books that you will find useful if you are associated with High Speed PCB Design or signal integrity in some way. There is no single book that will serve your complete purpose, so you may like to keep more that one books as your reference.

1.Signal Integrity for PCB Designers by Vikas Shukla.

Provide practical guidances and experience for the reader. The book does not go deeply in theory but good enough and easy to understand for Pcb designer who get involve high speed PCB layout.

2. Signal Integrity – Simplified by Eric Bogatin

This book is highly suggested for beginners as well as advanced readers who want to get a simplified understanding of Signal Integrity.

3. High Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic by Howard Johnson

A classic book and a must have for anyone who is associated with Signal Integrity in some way.

4. High-Speed Digital System Design: A Handbook of Interconnect Theory and Design Practices by Stephen H. Hall

5. Signal and Power Integrity – Simplified (2nd Edition) by Eric Bogatin

6. High Speed Signal Propagation: Advanced Black Magic by Howard Johnson.

- Not as great as his first book. But you may like to keep it as reference. Some topics are very good.

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Finding the expert help that you need is easy on LivePerson. With more than 30,000 registered experts in over 600 categories to choose from, chances are, we’ll have just the right professional in the exact area of expertise that you need.

If you want to take services from expert, you need to browse through profiles of expert, review past-client ratings and feedback.  Once you think that the expert is right for you press the “Contact Live!” button and you’ll be linked to your expert immediately.

You’ll have a few minutes, at no cost, to get a sense of the person you’ve chosen and to discern whether they’re right for the job. When you feel confident that they’ll be able to provide you with the quality service that you need, click the ‘Hire’ button to begin your paid session via Live Chat or Phone.

Fee

Here is what Liveperson say about the fee. Note that it has been written for the persons who are about to take services of an expert.

“Speaking of fees, it’s important to note that with LivePerson there are no hidden costs. You’ll always pay your expert’s by-the-minute rate, multiplied by the exact amount of time you’ve interacted after clicking the ‘hire’ button. For email sessions where the amount is pre-determined before your expert provides their services, your credit card will be billed only once the session has been completed, and only after you’ve reviewed and accepted your expert’s invoice. ”

Now here is the catch. The fee is collected from the expert’s pocket. Take a look at the terms and conditions for an expert at liveperson ( You will not find it everywhere in Liveperson’s website. It is hidden within a small section if their lengthy Terms and Conditions agreement)

Starting February 15, 2009, LivePerson’s commission structure (the “LivePerson Commission”) will be as follows:

Live Chat Sessions

Email Sessions

A “Live Session” includes a session between an Expert and a Member via voice, chat, video or any other medium other than via e-mail. The LivePerson Commission for Live Sessions remains at the rate identified above regardless of the session amount. The LivePerson Commission for e-mail sessions applies to each individual e-mail session, and not to accumulated Expert Fees.

So for every $100 that an expert makes ( in sprirituality and religion), Liveperson makes $45 and the expert makes $55.

Is there an alternative ?

Given the high fee charged from the expert’s, especially in the Spirituality and religion section, the experts are prompted to find alternative to Liveperson . Is there any other platform that provides same level of functionality at lesser commission.

At ezdia you can provide services to your clients for free – at least for now ( At the time of writing). Now you can reduce your rates from $1.00 to $0.55 per minute without affecting your take home money. Persons taking your services will be happier as they will have to fork out less money. As an expert you can increase your client base because you can offer same level of service at 45% less cost, without affecting your earning as an expert.

If you are already an expert, you may like to check eZdia and start directing your customer to eZdia.

online marketing online marketing

For the last many years I had very high regards for Better Business Bureau. When I used the word “Better Business Bureau”, it sounded to me like a semi judicial institution that safeguards the consumer interests and help them when do are when companies do not provide them with fair hearing.

If you look at the BBB logo – it says – “Start With Trust”. And this trust is what is there in persons mind. They think that if they are not properly treated by companies they can trust on BBB and have their grievances addressed from Better Business Bureau. I was one of those persons.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) was founded in 1912. It is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work together through the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). As per wiki – “The BBB goal is to foster a fair and effective marketplace, so that buyers and sellers can trust each other.”

How does BBB work

According to wiki – “BBBs gather and report information on business reliability, alert the public to frauds against consumers and businesses, provide information on ethical business practices, and act as mutually trusted intermediaries between consumers and businesses to resolve disputes. News media frequently turn to the CBBB and local BBBs as expert sources of news about scams and consumer issues.”

What if a consumer has an issue

The BBB does have a dispute resolution system. The procedures for dispute resolution are established by the Council of the Better Business Bureaus. This in turn is implemented by local BBBs. According to the wiki -”disputes can be resolved through mediation; when appropriate, low or no-cost arbitration may also be offered and provided through the BBB. The BBB acts as a neutral party when providing dispute resolution services.”

What happens in practice

In practise there is nothing like “mediation or low or no-cost arbitration”. If you have a grievance, you complain to BBB. What does BBB do ? The Better Business Bureau forwards it to the local BBB unit. And local BBB starts investigations ? It starts mediation ? Absolutely no. All the loca BBB does it forwards your complain to the concerned company. It gives two weeks of time to the company to respond. The company can respond anything it wishes. The company may even respond just one liner -”This is according to our terms and conditions”. The better Business Bureau, does not even read you or the companies reply. All it does it that it checks if your reply is with 700 characters. Note 700 characters – not 700 word. You can not write anything more than 700 characters. Their online system does this check. And it will not tell you automatically.

So the company replies back with a curt reply. And then what does BBB does. Nothing. It just forward you the reply. You are dissatified. You thought you made a very good case against the company. And you wanted BBB’s support or at least BBB’s acknowdedgement that the case deserves merit and attention. No. BBB is not at all concerned about it.  BBB just forwards the reply to you. You can then again make a reply. And BBB then again forwards it to the company against which you have grievance. And then again 2 weeks of waiting time. The company may or may not reply. If it does reply, you get the reply from the company which may be a curt reply for half a line. And then the case is closed. BBB is not at all concerned what the reply is about.

In other words BBB is a useless institution. Worst, you have trust on BBB and that trust is shattered.

Why Does BBB exist

Well BBB is not a place to address your complaints. Never waste your time on BBB for you complaint addressal. BBB sells the BBB Certifications to companies. And this is where is makes money from. That money brings the bread and butter for its employees. If we rely upon the report http://www.ripoffreport.com/Better-Business-Bureau/Better-Business-Bure/better-business-bureau-or-buye-eq4fb.htm as reported by consumers then BBB encourages and solicits money from the very businesses they monitor! How could this be beneficial to the consumer ?

Read from that report -  “What the BBB does, is give the business that is being reported the opportunity to respond. If the business responds many times this is enough to give the business a satisfactory rating, no matter what their response is!”.

What is ridiculous is that the if the business responds just once, the story ends. BBB does not care if they responded subsequently. The businesses still get satisfactory rating.  The above article in rippoff report says that -  “The BBB does provide a mediation service, but the BBB cannot force the business to do anything for you to resolve your consumer rip-off. They can only make suggestions. And if the business does not comply, this will not insure an unsatisfactory rating for the business that ripped you off.”. In my case however, BBB did not tell that they are ready to mediate.

You may also like to check http://bbbroundup.com/. According to the report – “of two similar businesses, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle–both major market, reputable newspapers from February 2009.  There are two differences between them:  1) They are graded by two different regional BBB offices (Los Angeles and San Francisco) and 2) the San Francisco Chronicle is a BBB member, the Los Angeles Times is not.  This suggests either members are favored over non-members or different regions grade differently.”

If you have trusted BBB so far, it is because you have not gone to them to have any of your concern as consumer addressed.

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