define : definitive, infinitesmal, finite

Definitive – adj. authoritative and final; specifying perfectly or precisely

The scientist had definitive answers to the grade school students interviewing him about his latest invention.

Infinitesimal – adj. extremely or immeasurably small.

The chances of us hooking up, is so infinitesimal that you should really consider giving up right now.

Finite – adj. having definite limits.

Though my love and care for you is infinite, my tolerance for your physical and emotional abuse is definitely finite, and I’ve had enough. Goodbye!

blogs and copyright

A copyright is an exclusive legal right to a property, in our case, it is the legal right to anything we write and any picture or videos we take and post on our blogs. Everything is copyrighted upon creation, meaning that these belong to the person who created it. There is an implied “all rights reserved” in every blog. If a person wants to re-use any material, there should be an explicit agreement allowing him to use it.

However there are cases when you are willing to let others use your work, as part of promotion of your blog, and in these cases, you might want to consider putting up a license in your blog, specifying the rights you are allowing other users. Use the search engines in looking for the proper license you’d like to have on your blog.

Here are a couple of rights you can choose from:

Attribution – you let others use (copy, distribute or display) your copyrighted work, and derivative works based on it, but only if they give you proper credit.

Noncommercial - you let others use your work, and derivative works based on it, but only for noncommercial purposes.

No Derivative Works – you let others use your work, as long as they use it word for word, and no derivative works should be based upon it.

What will you do if your copyright is violated?

Act on it fast. Contact the blogger who plagiarized your content and ask him to remove your articles or pictures from his site. Make a strong point by making a link to the copied article in his blog and your original work. Ask him point blank. No need to beat around the bush. No one likes a copy-cat. But of course still show your breeding, no need to be threatening or crass.

If he doesn’t respond to diplomacy, then take more serious action. Email the web host provider. Most of these companies take care of their reputations and they would not like to be know as an accessory to any crime. Do this for every violation the blogger commits, this should get the hosts’ attention. If he has any advertisement on his blog, email the advertisers and let them know what happened. This should strike a nerve since you’d be attacking his source of income.

Try to warn other bloggers. Share your experience on your blog, let your readers and blog-friends know about this violator, share in also on social communities like twitter and plurk. We should all be aware of our rights.

In coming up with an article, we use our time, talents and treasure, and we have the right to protect and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

define :: allude, collusion, ludicrous, prelude

Allude – n. to refer broadly or indirectly

My grandmother loved to allude to her journey from rags to riches, hoping that we would learn from her past.

Collusion – n. a secret agreement or conspiracy for an illegal or deceptive pupose.

The company lost a couple of millions due to the collusion between the cashier and the accountant.

Ludicrous – adj laughable because of clear absurdity, falseness or foolishness.

During the hearing, the judge was shocked at the ludicrous answers that the defendant gave.

Prelude – n. a performance, action, event or piece of music that precedes and prepares for the more important thing that follows.

The children sang Christmas carols as a prelude to the grand chorale’s main performance.

tips in writing your blog

Let me put it simply, if you intend to create a good blog, you need to instill in your mind that you should write very clearly and concisely, that in writing for the web, you should adapt the web mentality. Put yourself in your target readers’ shoes. You may be at work or at home when reading the blog, but nevertheless you don’t have the luxury of reading in a leisurely manner. I mean let’s face it, being on the web costs money. Some people are billed for the size of the data they download, while some are billed for the time they spend on the net. Meanwhile, we are not asked to pay for the time we spend in reading books or newspapers. With all that said, the old adage still rings true, in writing for a good blog, you should KISS: KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET.

A reader who happens to hop by your blog will only skim through your articles. Very few people actually reads the blogs word for word. If he sees something that catches his eye, he may stay on and read some more, till his interest wanes and he hops off to another blog. That is precisely why your blog articles should be dotted with key words and catch phrases. Enough to catch your readers’ attention. Articles should be well-written, self explanatory and make sense by itself. Often times your readers are directed to your blog through search engines, they don’t have the luxury of reading through the previous entries in order to understand the one they are currently reading. Not everyone understands tech jargon, so keep the newbies in mind when writing your entries.

Blogs, unlike other websites, have a personal tone. Readers like to feel the author’s personality, his humor, and his sentiments when reading the entries. Readers should feel like the author is actually sharing information with them, communicating with them, wanting to have a conversation with them. Stay relaxed but focused. Readers shouldn’t feel like they are at the receiving end of a lecture or a marketing pitch. When readers feel at home in your site, they will leave comments or questions for you to answer. Don’t be rattled. This is a good thing. Readers are reaching out to you, this can actually lead to an increased traffic. Respond in a warm and welcoming manner. Reply as if you’re talking to a long-time friend. Establish a relationship, this will keep readers keep coming back for more!