A Tradition of Celtic Jams

The Irish and Scottish people that settled the Ozarks area of Missouri and Arkansas have had a long history of making some of the world's best jams and jellies. In fact, that tradition continues into modern times in the Ozarks. So, let's take a trip down Ozarks Jam and Jellies Lane.

The traditions of Celtic Jam makers can be seen with the love the Ozarks have for blueberry, blackberry (also called Braeberry), and strawberry jam. You can also see the influence with local berries like gooseberry and elderberry. Orange Marmelade and Lemon Curd are also popular Celtic jams to be found in the Ozarks.

The process typically makes use of real fruits that are picked and then made into jams or jellies right away. It is possible, though, to make jams or jellies from frozen fruit. Pectin is used to make the product thicker, and real sugar is used to sweeten the product. High fructose corn syrup varieties just don't taste as good, and many people are now avoiding the long term effects of fructose.

Besides making the product taste good, the sugary environment also helps to preserve the product over time. The environment is not condusive to bacteria, mold, etc. You may often still see old Ozarkians just scrap the mold off the top of old jams and jellies and eat them. It may look grose, but it probably will not be a health issue. Any product sold in the state of Missouri or Arkansas should have an expiration date to be safe, though. Unopened jams and jellies last a long time. That is part of the reason our Celtic ancestors made the items: they lasted a long time, and provided a nice bit of carbohydrate to a meal.

In modern times, people in Missouri and Arkansas just like the taste of home made jams and jellies that are made in the Ozarks. If you do not live in the Ozarks, take a moment and order some. You'll enjoy the fine Irish and Scottish jams and jellies of the Ozarks.

Slainte,
Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian

Ray Province is an IT Programmer by trade, and owener of www.celticozarkian.com and co-owner of www.ozarkscelticmarketplace.com . He frequently writes about Irish and Scottish history in the Ozarks. You can reach him at contactus@celticozarkian.com or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

Social Media Marketing Still Has Value

There are many people today asking questions about whether or not social media marketing still has value. There are so many people that have jumped on the Facebook and Twitter bandwagon. Can using these types of sites still help my efforts?

Part of the answer to this question lies on who you are marketing to on a regular basis. I am not sure that the youth of the world ever expected the Baby Boomer generation to like Facebook as much as they do. Limited PPC ads on Facebook still work well for the Boomers. You might have to look a little harder for younger people though. Facebook still works for the very young, but their influence on the buying market is limited.

Twitter, to me, is almost hopeless as a medium for direct sales. You have to be willing to pay your dues on the social media site, make friends, engage in conversation with people. Many business people don’t want to put in this kind of time. Outsourcing the work can help. Talking about hot topics can also help you get noticed. If all you want to do, though, is throw link bait, don’t waste your time.

So where are people going on the social media sites these days? Here is a list of sites that may help you out.

Facebook.com: as I mentioned, it was initially intended for college students — it branched out, and now allows everyone membership. 500 million members. Most of these are Baby Boomer age any more.

MySpace.com: 130 million members. This site is massive, boasting the largest membership of any social networking site on the Internet. There is also a lot of crap on MySpace. You can reach a lot of people though.

Linkedin.com: 75 million members — a powerful tool for business networking.This site is worth the time spent. Go out and get to know people. Even your employer is probably watching this site now.

Friendster.com: 90 million members. Friendster was considered the top online social networking service until around April 2004, when it was overtaken by MySpace. Demographic studies indicate users are from 17 to 30 years old. The younger generation still likes this site for social contact. Keep that in mind.

Stumbleupon.com: Boasting over 10 million users, StumbleUpon is a web browser plugin that allows its users to discover and rate webpages, photos, videos, and news articles. A great way to get website promotion. Bought by eBay for $75 million in May 2007, this is a great site to promote an Ebay business.

del.icio.us: The website del.icio.us (pronounced as “delicious”) is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks. The site was founded by Joshua Schachter in late 2003, and is now part of Yahoo!. This is a good site to hit to get search engine recognition on the nation’s number 2 search engine.

digg.com: Digg is a website made for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the Internet, by submitting links and stories, and voting and commenting on submitted links and stories, in a social and democratic spirit. It is more of an intellectual site though. It reminds me a lot of writing for HubPages.com.

Orkut.com: Orkut is an Internet social networking service run by Google and named after its creator, Google employee Orkut Büyükkökten. It claims to be designed to help users meet new friends and maintain existing relationships. Now has a membership of 100 million. I really think this is the site of the future. I know I have really been trying to hit this one harder.

Yahoo! 360° (a.k.a Yahoo! Days) is a personal communication portal similar to orkut and MySpace — it is currently in the beta-testing phase. It integrates features of social networking, blogging and photo sharing sites. I think this site has merit for the future.

Xanga.com: 27 million members. Xanga is a free Web-based service that hosts weblogs, photoblogs, videoblogs, audioblogs, and social networking profiles. I really like this site, and it has received a lot of attention of Mashable.com in recent months. Take a look.

Care2.com: Over 9 million members. Care2 is a social networking website that was founded to help connect activists from around the world.

Ryze.com: 500, 000 members. Ryze.com is a free social networking website designed to link business professionals.

So, don’t count social media marketing out of your overall marketing for your website. Good luck with your social media campaigns.

Stanley and Livingstone Men's Line comes to Ozarks Celtic Marketplace

The Stanley and Livingstone line of men's products and gifts have been added to the Ozark Celtic Marketplace family. The news men's line features distinctive smells and sensations that are designed to appeal to himself. We also wanted to honor the Welsh heritage of Stanley.
The line features a Mists of the Falls scented bath soap for men. We have worked on the scent for some time, getting it just right. After much testing, we think we found the perfect smell for soap, that is appealing to both men and women. Lads, we don't want you to smell like a girl.
We have noticed for some time that the old art of shaving with brush and soap is starting to make a comeback. So, we have also added our Zambezi Spice Men's Shaving Soap. It is a distinct plend of scents, mixed in a shea butter soap, that will leave your face feeling clean and fresh.
We also added a Cherry Pipe Tobacco Scented candle for men. Most of us can remember the people in our lives that smoked pipes, in times gone by. In fact, both Stanley and Livingstone were know to smoke a pipe now and then. We have captured the pleasing smell of cherry pipe tobacco, in a way that keeps the real "smoke" out of your home.
Thanks much to the people who have helped us research this new line, and have given kindly of their thoughts and ideas.
Till next time,

Ray and Dale
Ozarks Celtic Marketplace

Time to Clean the Celtic Ozark Garden

The Ozarks has been very lucky this year. We have not had a killing frost yet. However, it looks as though that will happen this next week. So, for the Celtic Ozark Garden, it is time to clean.

All the left over plant life that has not been sent to the compost pile will go there. I also like to shake the soil out of the roots of those plants, prior to going to the compost pile. Once done, I like to break up all the soil, and get out as much of the roots as possible.

Once this is done, it is time to add fertilizer to the soil. I have written before about my Soil recipe. That is what I still use. If you want to check out that article, go to http://ping.fm/xKI61 and you can read the article on how to make it. I like to fertilize now, because the elements have time to fuse into the soil all winter. This also helps to insure that the soil will not contains large clumps of fertilizer, that could potentially burn delicate plants.

I am also going to pull the basil in my garden today. It is more than due, as the basil is very unhappy with the weather. I will pick the leaves, and place them in a paper sack. Then, I will punch some air holes, and tie the top shut. The sack will go to a dark place in the garage, until the leaves are dry and ready to use for seasoning.

Finally, the last of my green beans seed pods need to be picked and stored for the next garden year. I always try to leave some behind for this purpose. The pods are now yellow, dry, and shriveled. This is how I want to share them. Leaving them on the vine has also helped to insure that they will not get moldly and rotten.

So, go spend a day in your Celtic Ozark Garden. A little clean up can be good exercise. Slainte va to all.

Ray Province is a retired minister and now IT Programmer in the healthcare industry. He is the owner of The Celtic Ozarkian, a website that chronicles all things Celtic and Ozarks in Missouri and Arkansas. You can check out the site at http://ping.fm/CX8ya, or you can reach Ray at contactus@celticozarkian.com, or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

Raising Chickens for Eggs

Springfield just recently passed ordinance that allows residence to raise up to 6 chickens for egg production-no roosters allowed. There is just nothing like a good fresh egg for breakfast! There are so many good reasons to raise your own chickens for eggs. However, chickens are not low maintenance critters.



First, let me say that I have never raised chickens in the city. We allowed our chickens to free range when we lived in the country. The chickens had about 5 acres to roam over to gather bugs and just generally be chickens. We did coop them up at night and in really nasty weather. We allowed our chickens to stay on a natural cycle of day light and dark. We only left a light on in the coop for warmth on really bitter nights.



Having given that disclaimer, raising chickens is fun and we still miss them. The eggs had a wonderful taste and had a much richer, deep yellow yolk. Since we free ranged our chickens, cleaning the coop was only a weekly job. We had hay in the coop floor and then composted the hay and droppings.



Starting a new chicken coop in the winter months may be more of a challenge than the average urbanite will be willing to undertake. Unless you are starting with full grown laying hens, spring is really the best time to start a new coop. Chicks do not tolerate even moderately cool temperatures. If you start them in the fall or winter, there will be lots of work involved in keeping them warm.



Also, egg production is a function of the amount of light available to the chicken. So production will naturally fall off in the fall and winter, and then increase again in the spring. If you are going to fool the chickens and leave the lights on in the coop to increase production, you might as well just by your eggs from the store. Now is the time to gather information, understand the ordinance and all its nuances and gather your supplies. Starting your new chicken project in the spring makes so much sense.



Coops are one of the most important aspects of raising your hens. You can easily make your own coop; there are several good designs on the internet. Here is just one example: http://ping.fm/On0WE . Another option is a chicken tractor which is a portable coop. We started with a chicken tractor, but then added ducks and guinea hens to our growing chicken brood. They quickly out grew the tractor space. But a chicken tractor is a great idea if you have any interest in letting your chickens safely free range your yard. This link will show you a couple of designs: http://ping.fm/PMi9O





Pre-made coops are also widely available. Hostetler Feed and Farm Supply in Buffalo, Missouri has a nice supply of hand made coops. It is worth the drive to check them out. The Amish Furniture and bulk store in Branson also has some small coops. These are only two of the many places around Springfield to purchase your coop.



You will have to feed your chickens in the winter months when there are no bugs to eat. In the summer, you can back off on the feed a bit and let the chickens eat bugs and greens. Your chickens will always love fresh green when they are available. Thinned garden plants and any grubs that we found while gardening always went to the chickens. We always tossed a little calcium supplement to keep the shells strong. Fresh water is an absolute must, as is fresh bedding.



As you can see, this is rapidly becoming a big project. You will need to have a place to store the chicken feed that will keep the rodents out. A place to store the bedding to keep it dry will be needed. And a plan for changing the bedding and what to do with the waste is essential before you start. Be sure to keep abreast of the rules regarding waste composting and disposal. At this point there are limits on how much waste can be composted.



Be honest with your self if raising chickens is for you. If you decide that the answer is yes, you are in for a great treat. Once you get into a routine with the chickens, the rewards are great. Fresh eggs that are generally higher in folic acid and lower in cholesterol than store bought eggs. Plus you are in charge of what your chickens eat or don’t eat. It is rewarding to know that there are no antibiotics in your morning scramble.

Let's Do Website Analytics

Let’s do website analytics! Every good website developer, amateur or professional, needs a strategy for website analytics. One of the big topics that was covered during the recent Search Engine Strategies San Francisco 2010 Conference dealt with making better use of analytics. It is amazing how much data can be overlooked by not taking time to dig deep into the information provided. It is also even more amazing how many websites use no analytics at all. Often, a simple look at the source code of a website will reveal no html code for analytics.
One level of doing good website analytics is to make note of the websites that are referring traffic. It is advisable to develop a spreadsheet of those websites, and make note of every time a referral happens. If a website is still small, it may be fine to do this monthly. Place the names of the month and year across the horizontal grid of the spreadsheet, and the website names on the vertical grid.
Another good tactic is to note the number of pages from within a specific website. Certain websites may be feeding traffic from multiple pages. Note the pages that produce the most traffic, and try to target material toward that specific page. In a kind of reverse fashion, the levels of pages on any website should also be watched, to see which pages are getting the traffic. Many people fail to look past the traffic that is hitting the home page.
These tactics can really help a website developer understand where traffic is coming from. However, there is still another layer in this social media era that needs to be considered, if one is to do good website analytics. The actual people that are sending traffic to a website also needs to be noted. Sometimes, on sites like Twitter, people are clicking on a link to a specific website that was placed on a particular User’s Twitter page by retweet, direct message etc. Good analytic software like Google Analytics will be able to show the specific User page that was used as the referral. Hence, you know the specific user, because the referral came from their User Twitter Page.
Once specific social media websites have been identified as referring sites, it becomes advantageous to do research on how wide a market those sites reach. A specific referral to any given website might have come from a Twitter User Page with only 40 or 50 followers. But another referring page might have 8000 followers. Finding ways to frequently target the large Twitter page can help drive traffic to websites. To get a start on this strategy, try a website like Klout.com. There are others as well. A strategy for website analytics needs to involve, as a minimum, these layers of analysis.
Raymond Province is an IT Programmer in the health care industry. He frequently writes about search engine optimization, website development, and writing good website content. You can reach him at celticozarksolutions@gmail.com or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

SEO Questions That Make Me Crazy

Slainte to all my readers here at Celtic Ozark Solutions. My name is Ray Province. I work here at Celtic Ozark Solutions, specializing in search engine optimization rich content for websites. But I am also passionate about doing good search engine optimization. I will, no doubt, be a life long student.
I want to focus this edition of my blog on some of the questions that still make me crazy. These can be hard questions to answer, but I will do my best. I hope you enjoy the conversation.
The first of these questions is why my website does not rank number one in search engine optimization. That’s a fair question to ask. First of all, my website has not aged enough yet. Second, I always put working on my website as a low priority anymore. I make sure I have my client’s work done first. Then, I come back and work on my site.
The biggest reason, though, has to do with the name of my company. Celtic Ozark Solutions. When you are searching for SEO related topics, you will typically expect to find those words in the name of the company. SEO Book is one of my favorites. To be frank, though, I don’t care. I have always wanted to own a company named Celtic Ozark Solutions. So, there ya go. The bottom line is, I am getting good business anyway, doing many other things right.
The second of the questions that make me crazy has to do with the fact that people think I should be working for Google, in order to understand how to do search engine optimization. That is simply not the case. I recently did an article on Design, Build, and Validate that talks about the process of how I manage to move people up the rankings with SEO. It is an experimental process that measures results. You can learn to do anything that way.
The other issue is that, if I worked for Google, I would not be allowed to have a company working on SEO. Pay per click is too big a money maker for them.
These are just a couple of those questions. When I am feeling philosophical again, I’ll write on some more. In the meantime, I need to go back to work.
Ray Province is an IT Programmer in the healthcare industry, and owner of Celtic Ozark Solutions, a company that specializes in SEO, SEO rich content, and website development. You can reach him at celticozarksolutions@gmail.com or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

8th Annual Celtic Heritage Festival 7 Highland Games

The 8th annual Celtic Heritage Festival & Highland Games will be held at Buffalo, MO on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10th and 11th, 2010. It is one of the premier Celtic Hertiage events in the Ozarks every year. Here is the scoop on this year's festival.

The festivities will begin Friday evening at 6:00 PM with the Calling of the Clans. There will be plenty of entertainment to boot on the main stage that evening. There will be Clan tents, vendors, food, and entertainment all evening. The Friday night activities are a real deal. they are free to the public, and will give you a chance to purchase their advance tickets for Saturday's events.

Purchasing advance tickets will save you $2.00 at the gate, so take advantage of the free Friday night festivities also. There are some new activities and events this year. New is the Scottish Sword Show with cultural information about sword fighting, the archery group are returning also. There are also new vendors and clan tents too. Don't forget the Highland Games on Saturday, beginning at 9:00 AM It is always a pleasure to cheer on your favorite Highland athletic. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ozarks Weather Has Been Hot

The last month of Ozarks weather has been hot. Several summertime heat records have been broken. In Springfield, we have bumped along 100 degrees for several weeks. It sure makes me wish we had the summer weather of the last couple of years.

Today, we have yet another heat advisory and warning. So, there are several things to be on the look for today in the Ozarks. Try to confine outdoor work to the early morning and late evening. The temps are at least coooler then. Be on the look out for heat exhaustion, in yourself and others. Drink lots of water and little alcohol. (Sorry, even the Irish/Scots cut back on this hot a day!) Also, watch pets. Make sure they have water. We even put out an extra water dish for the animals that kind of roam our part of little Fair Grove, Missouri.

Please also, if you have older family members, check on them a lot. Many of these folks do not run air conditioning in the summer. They can dehydrate just as quickly. Ozarks weather has been hot, but we can beat the issues by sticking together.

Watch your gardens also. They really need water this time of year. We have been lucky to get a little rain the last two days. That really helps, cause plants love the warmer water temp. Cold water tends to shock vegetables.

Stay cool, fellow Ozarkians!

Ray Province, the Celtic Ozarkian
http://ping.fm/itGu7

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Lives On in Music

I’ve had a chance this week in Oahu to get back in touch with my love of traditional Hawaiian music. For me, that journey always begins with the music of IZ. IZ’s real name is Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. He had the voice of an angel. It is such a shame that he left us at such a young age, passing away from complications of a respiratory disease in 1997.

Israel and his brother Skippy formed the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau with Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray and Jerome Koko. The group changed around a bit through the years, especially with the death of IZ’s brother Skippy. They became prominent on the traditional Hawaiian theme scene in 1991, when IZ’s album Ka’ano’I won Hoku awards for Contemporary Album of the Year. The Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau's "Makaha Bash 3," won Group awards the very next year.

Interestingly enough, it is a two song medley of his that means the most to me. Many people have heard the combo “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/It’s A Wonderful World.” I many respects, I believe those two songs summed up IZ’s wish for a world that lived by a true spirit of Aloha. Take a look into the heart of the singer in this section of verse (you may even know the melody):

Someday I'll wish upon a star, wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where trouble melts like lemon drops

High above the chimney tops is where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly

And the dreams that you dare to, oh why, oh why can't I?

Israel had fought a battle with drugs, weight, and depression in his life. Yet, he always dared to dream of a world that was beautiful, and noble, and good. He claimed for himself the spirit of Louis Armstrong’s song, when he declared the world “wonderful.” I especially feel that in the verse about children, when he sang:

I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,

They'll learn much more than we'll know

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

For many, the spirit of aloha talks of a spirituality where people learn to live together in a spirit of brotherhood. When you’re in the Islands, you have many cousins, as you are part of the ohana of Whole Island. But Israel tried to take us a little deeper in his music. The spirit of aloha causes us to love ourselves also, and work to be a better person each day. We are only able to live aloha as we can first love and forgive ourselves, as our life journey leads us on.

Israel Kamakawiwo’ole will live on in his music. And his music will live on in me, as I live aloha everyday with my cousins everywhere.

Mahalo.
Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian
http://ping.fm/pmZOH

The Spirit of Ohana

We have had a chance to make a trip back to the Islands this summer. Hawaii is a magical place, full of beautiful ocean views, tree, flowers. But that is not what appeals to me most, as I grow older. The Spirit of Ohana is what makes the trip worth it.

There is a spirit of Ohana I witnessed on a trollie ride to Hilo Hatties. A mother, and her three small children, were riding the trollie. Depending on where you go, you can ride the trollie for free, or just a tip to the driver. For her, it was a way to make tough times work better.

For me, it was a chance to play "peek a boo" with her one year old on our 30 minutes ride to Hilo's. The beautiful child made me feel young again. Even her mother laughed, when she figured out who her child was laughing at. I have granddaughters that age. The spirit of Ohana is in the young.

There was a spirit of Ohana in the ukelele music of a local who played at the Barefoot Bar and Grill last night. He picked up on the fact we could sing with him,sometimes in Hawaiian. He brought a sense of Ohana back to me, as he sang his version of Iz's "Somewhere over the Rainbow." Iz left this world in 1997, but still touches my soul. Whereever you are Iz, there is such a place.... Mahalo.

We had a chance to teach our new Hawaiian friend to say "yeehaw" like a real hillbilly, and gave him some local lessions on the pronunciation of "Missouri". And we all laughed about a journey up the road to Hana. He remarked, "did you ever figure out what we were supposed to find there?" The spirit of Ohana lives in the stories we told, though we grew up 3000 miles apart.

And there is the spirit of Ohana with my own extended family here in the Islands. We get to take Dad back to Pearl at 83 years old. It was the place that began his Marine career, as they prepared to leave for Japan. Not long afterwards, they went to the Chosin Reservoir in Korea. Last night, he remarked to us all "I'm so glad I came back." It might help you to know that he can no longer see the beauty of Oahu, as his sight has diminished.

I invite you all to look for the spirit of Ohana all around you. Til next time,

Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian
www.celticozarkian.com
www.celticozarksolutions.com

Irish Music Be Praised

I was listening to some hillbilly Ozark music today. I am reminded that we Ozarkians owe a debt of thanks to the Ulster Irish who settled the Ozarks in the 19th Century. Thanks to all.

Early settlers of the Ozarks quickly picked up on the fiddle music . The jigs so common in hillbilly dance are also connected to the Celts. The Reels also have a link in Irish music.

Add the washboard, jawbone harp, and other Ozark instruments, and you have a genuine Irish Ozark music connection. We did not much with the pipes, or penny whistles though. But you can hear old Celtic rythmns in the music.

Thanks to the Celtic folk who came with a fiddle in hand, and a dream in their heart.


Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions



Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions

Location:U.S. 40,Columbia,United States

Ramp Up Your Presence

So you are ready to ramp up your social presence in the webosphere. Well, here are some sites that can help you get going. They are 40 of my favorite social sites on the web. I also use these to help my customers. No tricks here.

The reason most people fail on these sites, though, is that they never use them. Weird, right? They may set some up, add a couple of bits of data, or a link or comment, and they are done. They just sit back and wait for the new contacts to come rolling in. Wrong!

You really need to be commenting on, uploading and ranking different newsworthy articles. You can also create a member profile that directs traffic back to your company's Web site. You need to ask people questions, respond to other people’s comments. Social media branding is not about “set it and forget it.” So, If you are not going to put some time into these sites, don’t waste your time! Hire someone to help you. Better yet, let’s have a discussion about what my company can do to help you!
1. Reddit: Upload stories and articles on reddit to drive traffic to your site or blog. You will need to use this one often. Make the uploads relevant to your business. A great cupcake article won’t sell your power tools!
2. Digg: Digg has a huge following online because it is really easy to use. Visitors can submit and browse articles in categories like technology, business, entertainment, sports and more. As a technology company, it is one my my favs.
3. Del.icio.us: Social bookmark your way to better business with sites here. This is always a good one to tag when you have added fresh content to your website.
4. StumbleUpon: You'll really get some great mileage out of this site by adding the toolbar add on. Then, you can mark great info as you browse the web. Don’t just use this one to mark your stuff.
5. Technorati: If you want to increase your blog's readership, consider registering it with Technorati, a network of blogs and writers that lists top stories in categories like Business, Entertainment and Technology.
6. Ning: After hanging around the same social networks for a while, you may feel inspired to create your own, where you can bring together clients, vendors, customers and co-workers in a confidential, secure corner of the Web. Ning lets users design free social networks that they can share with anyone. You could very well build the next Facebook of your niche.
7. Squidoo: According to Squidoo, "everyone's an expert on something. Share your knowledge!" This is the best site in the world for building pages about your business.
8. Furl: Make Furl "your personal Web file" by bookmarking great sites and sharing them with other users by recommending links, commenting on articles and utilizing other fantastic features.
9. Tubearoo: This video network works like other social-bookmarking sites, except that it focuses on uploaded videos. Businesses can create and upload tutorials, commentaries and interviews with industry insiders to promote their own services.
10. WikiHow: Create a how-to guide or tutorial on wikiHow to share your company's services with the public for free. It makes you look like a mini encyclopedia.
11. YouTube: Video is getting watched more and more each day. You really need to be making videos and video blogs about your company. (called vlogs).
12. Ma.gnolia: Share your favorite sites with friends, colleagues and clients by organizing your bookmarks with Ma.gnolia. Clients will appreciate both your Internet-savviness and your ability to stay current and organized.
Professional-Networking Sites
Sign up with these online networking communities as a company or as an individual to take advantage of recruiting opportunities, cross-promotional events and more. These are the sites to really talk about business on. You’re not trying to be everybody’s friend. Build some real business connections.
13. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a popular networking site for professionals to meet and network around business.
14. Ecademy: Ecademy has one of the best chat rooms around for connecting with business. And, it will be more productive than just Facebook.
15. Focus: Focus is a business destination where business professionals can help each other with their purchase and other business decisions by accessing research and peer expertise. Most importantly, Focus provides open, quality information for all businesses that is freely available, easily accessible, and community powered.
16. YorZ: This networking site doubles as a job site. Members can post openings for free to attract quality candidates. In return, you can also look for work, if you are still working while building your fortune!
17. Xing: An account with networking site Xing can "open doors to thousands of companies." Use the professional contact manager to organize your new friends and colleagues, and take advantage of the Business Accelerator application to "find experts at the click of a button, market yourself in a professional context [and] open up new sales channels."
18. Facebook: is rapidly becoming one of the biggest sites in the world. Just be careful not to push business too quickly here. Give people some free help to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Also, build a business Fan Page. Leave your personal page for your friends and family.
19. Care2: Care2 isn't just a networking community for professionals: It's touted as "the global network for organizations and people who Care2 make a difference." If your business is making efforts to go green, let others know by becoming a presence on this site.
20. Gather: This networking community is made up of members who think. Browse categories concerning books, health, money, news and more to ignite discussions on politics, business and entertainment. This will help your company tap into its target audience and find out what they want.
21. MEETin.org: Once you've acquired a group of contacts in your city by networking on MEETin.org, organize an event so that you can meet face-to-face.
22. Tribe: Cities like Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, New York and Chicago have unique online communities on tribe. Users can search for favorite restaurants, events, clubs and more.
23. Ziggs: Ziggs is "organizing and connecting people in a professional way." Join groups and make contacts through your Ziggs account to increase your company's presence online and further your own personal career.
24. Plaxo: Join Plaxo to organize your contacts and stay updated with feeds from Digg, Amazon.com, del.icio.us and more.
25. NetParty: If you want to attract young professionals in cities like Boston, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Orlando Fla., create an account with the networking site NetParty. You'll be able to connect with qualified, up-and-coming professionals online, then meet them at a real-life happy-hour event where you can pass out business cards, pitch new job openings and more.
26. Networking For Professionals: Networking For Professionals is another online community that combines the Internet with special events in the real world. Post photos, videos, résumés and clips on your online profile while you meet new business contacts.
Niche Social-Media Sites
These are the sites you want to use to build a link to other professionals in your business.
27. Pixel Groovy: Web workers will love Pixel Groovy, an open-source site that lets members submit and rate tutorials for Web 2.0, email and online-marketing issues.
28. Mixx: Mixx prides itself on being "your link to the Web content that really matters." Submit and rate stories, photos and news to drive traffic to your own site. You'll also meet others with similar interests.
29. Tweako: Gadget-minded computer geeks can network with each other on Tweako, a site that promotes information sharing for the technologically savvy.
30. Small Business Brief: When members post entrepreneur-related articles, a photo and a link to their profile appear, gaining you valuable exposure and legitimacy online.
31. Sphinn: Sphinn is an online forum and networking site for the Internet marketing crowd. Upload articles and guides from your blog to create interest in your own company or connect with other professionals for form new contacts.
32. BuzzFlash.net: This one-stop news resource is great for businesses that want to contribute articles on a variety of subjects, from the environment to politics to health.
33. HubSpot: HubSpot is another news site aimed at connecting business professionals.
34. SEO TAGG: Stay on top of news from the Web marketing and SEO (search-engine optimization) industries by becoming an active member of this online community.
General Social-Media Sites
These are the great old standbys that have been helping people build an online presence for years. Don’t leave them out of your portfolio.
35. Wikipedia: Besides creating your own business reference page on Wikipedia. You can also add expert articles on your subject matter.
36. Newsvine: Feature top employees by uploading their articles, studies or other news-related items to this site. A free account will also get you your own column and access to the Newsvine community. Kind of like a news press release.
37. 43 Things: This site bills itself as "the world's most popular online goal setting community." By publicizing your company's goals and ambitions, you'll gain a following of customers, investors and promoters who cheer you on as you achieve success. It is also a great site to help you build a folowing for your company. Hit this one around once a month.
38. Wetpaint: If you're tired of blogs and generic Web sites, create your own wiki with Wetpaint to reach your audience and increase your company's presence online. You can easily organize articles, contact information, photos and other information to promote your business.
39. Twitter: Is a social networking and microblogging service that allows you answer the question, "What are you doing?" The secret to Twitter is adding personal stuff, as well as professional stuff.
40. Yahoo! Answers: Start fielding Yahoo! users' questions with this social-media Q&A service. You can become an expert for the Yahoo gang.
Well, here are 40 sites that can help you ramp up your social presence. Don’t forget, though ,that you will need to spend time each day on some of these sites. My recommendation is that you do 30 min a day. You’ll be happy with the results.

Ray Province is an IT programmer and owner of Celtic Ozark Solutions, an IT company specializing in website content, social media, and SEO. You can check us out at www.celticozarksolutions.com.

Springfield Catholic Irish Girls Win State Soccer Title

For the first time in history, a Springfield MO team won the State Soccer Championship. Hard fighting Springfield Catholic showed all their fighting Irish to become that team. They beat St. Louis based Trinity Catholic to claim the Class 1 crown.

St. Louis has long been a stronghold for girls soccer. In fact, the team from Trinity beat Catholic last year for the title. So, this was a real grudge match for the girls.

The Mint Zulep

I have a spearmint plant in my garden that has now grown to 16 square feet. It is a weed of a plant. So, I am always looking for good recipes that involve spearmint. One can only drink so much spearmint tea. One of my favorites summertime drinks is a good Mint Julep. So, I wanted to pass on a recipe for it.
2 oz of Burbon whiskey
4 sprigs of mint
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsps of water.

Muddle your spearmint sugar, and water in a Collins style glass. Fill the glass with crushed ice, then add your burbon. Stir with a tea style spoon. The place a spearmint leaf on top for decoration.

Enjoy

A History of St. Patrick

Happy St. Patrick's Day folks. I have you all have had a chance to celebrate today. Just be careful tonight. Here in the Ozarks, St. Patrick's Day is one of the biggest nights of the year for DUI arrests. That would be no fun.

St Patrick is most commonly known as the patron saint of Ireland. The interesting thing is that he is not actually Irish by birthright. He served in Ireland, and became an ex-officio Irishman.

Patrick was born in approximately 370-395 C.E. There are differing views about the exact year and place of his birth. According to one school of opinion, he was born about 390 A.D., while the other school says it is about 373 AD. His real place of birth is said to be in either Scotland or Roman England. His real name was probably Maewyn Succat. Patricius was his Romanicized name. The name Patrick was kind of a nickname.

Patrick was the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British army officer. He grew up in a very normal fashion for that time and place in the Empire of Rome. However, one day a band of pirates landed in south Wales and kidnapped him. They sold him into slavery in Ireland. He was there for 6 years, and was in prison most of the time. During this time, Patrick became very religious. Legend contends that he had a vision of God, which told him to escape on a ship.

He was able to finally escape, and made his escape to Britain and France. There he joined a monastery and studied under St. Germain, the bishop of Auxerre. He spent around 12 years in religious training. When he became a bishop, he dreamed that the Irish were calling him back to Ireland to tell them about God. The Confessio, Patrick's spiritual autobiography, is the most important document regarding this. It tells of a dream after his return to Britain, in which one Victoricus delivered him a letter headed "The Voice of the Irish."

So he set out for Ireland with the Pope's blessings. There he converted the Gaelic Irish, who were then mostly Pagans, to Christianity. He was confident in the Lord, he journeyed far and wide, baptizing and confirming with untiring zeal. And, in a diplomatic fashion he brought gifts to a kinglet here and a lawgiver there,but accepted none from any.

Indeed, Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. Through active preaching, he made important converts even among the royal families. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times,but escaped each time. For 20 years he had traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He founded schools and churches. He helped to develop a solid group of native Irish clergy, and he fostered the growth of monasticism, established dioceses, and held church councils. A good deal of the Catholic roots of Ireland came as a direct result of his work in Ireland.

Patrick's doctrine is considered orthodox and has been interpreted as anti-Pelagian (against a notion of free will playing a part in a person's salvation.). Although he is not particularly noted as a man of learning, a few of his writings remain importantt: his Confession, a reply to his detractors, and several letters. The Lorica ("Breastplate"), a famous hymn attributed to Patrick, is also around. By the end of the 7th century, Patrick had become a legendary figure, and the legends have continued to grow through the years, not unlike the legend of William Wallace in Scotland. There are lots of legends associated with St Patrick. It is said that he used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity. The biggest legend, though, is associated with the so-called curse of God he placed upon poisonous snakes. He is also credited with having drove all the snakes from the Emerald Isle.

St. Patrick's mission in Ireland lasted for around 20 years. So, he really was able to get a lot done in a little bit of time. He passed away on March 17, 461. So, that is where we get the date. The celebration is now more secular than religous. Not as many people celebrate the holy day associated with March 17th. Many pagan symbols have also now been associated with the holiday: the leprechaun, shamrocks, the Blarney Stone, and the like.

Happy St. Patrick's Day,

Ray Province, The Celtic Ozarkian

Ray is a retired minister and now IT programmer. He owns Celtic Ozark Solutions, and It company specializing in website content and development, SEO, and social media integration. He also writes on all things Irish and Scottish at http://ping.fm/qCfGw

Change Yourself from the Inside Out

We all have people that we admire. They can even become status symbols for us. They can provide you with hope and inspiration to change yourself from the inside out, as it were.

The problem with our society today, though, is that it is possible to have the appearance of health, wealth, and happiness. This is especially true of famous, rich people, who have the money to hire people to manage their brand and identity. One need not look past the saga with Tiger Wood to realize this. His team is working hard to show the world he is a changed man.

When we find ourselves in need of change, we often start in the same way. We change our house, we change our car. We try to “look the part” until we can “be the part.” If we just get the right types of possessions, it will change us.

Just look at the problems, though, the lottery winners endure. Many of those people end up broke, not too long after acquiring their fortune. They were able to change the outside, but did not have the inward change needed, the maturity needed, to handle that kind of money.

So, it is time to change yourself from the inside out. You will need to be sure, however, what it is you want to become. Are you going to follow the trends of the world. In that world, busy-ness, power, oneupmanship are often the kind of traits admired.

Abundant life is only going to be found in God. As we change ourselves from the inside out, we will develop a deeper connection with God. This connection will cultivate the inner maturity needed to handle whatever comes our way. Don’t wait on someone or something to change you.

We’ll talk again soon,

Raymond C. Province, M.Div.

The Race of Life

You are involved in the race of life. Put another way, you are in the race of your life. This race started the day you were born, and will end on the day you die. No one knows exactly how much time this will be. But one thing is certain: you will get to make a lot of decisions about what you do with that life. As the Psalmist said, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should (Psalms 90:12) TLB.

The call to life a life of joy and abundance has been around for a long time. For example, Moses told the children of Israel “I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction…Now choose life.” The sad truth is, many will not.

Jesus said something very similar: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)” There is a way that we can all, then, learn to live life in the fullest. So, what is that way?

The first step is recognizing that we will die. Many people try to live their life in denial of this fact. Embrassing it can help us to treasure the days we have. You only get so many.
The second step is to choose life. Inside all of us is a dream of what we want life to be, that ebs and flows with time. It can help to guide us, if we are willing to listen.
The third step can be best thought of in a question: if you had only one month to live, what would you do with your life? Would you see old friends, mend fences, prepare yourself for what comes after death?
Sit down today and take a piece of paper and pen, and write out what you would do with your one month to live. Make a change in the race of life. Then give yourself a challenge. Try to accomplish as much of that dream as you can in the next thirty days.

Raymond C. Province, M. Div. is a retired minister and owner of A Higher Faith.com, a website dedicated to living a life of faith. You can reach him at celticozarksolutions@gmail.com, or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

Just in Time

In 1 Timothy, chapter 2, we hear that Jesus came to our need just in time. In other words, there was no better time for him to have done his work. What a concept!

Some people might call this perfect timing. Almost every day, something seems to happen to me just in time. Yet, I still get impatient. I want to control the timing. I just want God to be the conduit. How often I must mess up some really good blessings, just so I can control timing.

On a different note, I know I will meet someone this week that will need me to be there just in time. God can use me to be there. If I am all wrapped up in controlling my time, I may miss these moments
as well.

Control rarely happens just in time to do anything. That is because my perspective is too small. I can't always get out of my own world to clearly see yours.


Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions