Category Archives: Pet products

Fundraising with Pixel Advertising Raises Money and Awareness for Nonprofit Organizations

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Pixel advertising is a form of internet advertising that is increasing in popularity. Publicity surrounding a pixel advertising website created by a British college student who needed to raise money to pay for his education has created great interest in this type of advertising.

The website, called the milliondollarhomepage.com, has earned its creator, Alex Tew, hundreds of thousands of dollars since he launched it in August, 2005. Tew’s website homepage is a grid that is divided into one million pixel blocks. The pixels are sold to advertisers in blocks of 100 pixels, each measuring 10 x 10 pixels. Each pixel block becomes part of a colorful mosaic of advertising on the website. At $1.00 a pixel, when the page is sold out,Tew will have raised one million dollars for his education with this creative advertising technique.

Could your nonprofit organization, club, or group raise one million dollars by selling micro advertising pixel blocks? It is possible. Anyone can set up a pixel advertising website and The Million Dollar Homepage has inspired many businesses and organizations to create their own pixel advertising campaigns. Your organization may already be selling advertising space in your programs or other printed materials. Selling pixel advertising is just like selling any other form of advertising except that the advertisement appears on the world wide web for as long as you keep your website up. The potential of millions of people seeing their advertisement, for a year or longer, is a great selling point to advertisers and donors.

What do you need to get started with pixel advertising fundraising? If your organization already has a website you can set up pixel advertising on a page of your existing site. Or, you can buy a new domain name and set up a website solely for your

pixel fundraising. You will need a web hosting account for your site and a pixel advertising software program. You can buy a software program online and install it yourself or have it professionally installed. Your organization will also need to set up an online payment processor,such as PayPal. When your website is set up you will need a person in your organization to administer and monitor the program. You’ll be able to sell all the advertising online through the software program as well as process the payments online.

Does trying to raise one million dollars sound a bit unrealistic for your organization? When you set up your software program you will be able to set your own selling price for the pixels. So, your organization must decide how much money you need to raise and what the theme of your advertising website will be. If you want to raise fifty thousand dollars, then you would sell your pixels for five cents a pixel. This would make a one hundred pixel block cost only five dollars. You can also change the minimum number of required ad block purchases. If your minimum required ad blocks are one thousand, then your minimum ad block would cost a very reasonable fifty dollars per ad space. You would also only have to sell one thousand ad spaces in order to earn fifty thousand dollars. Even if you sold your pixels for a penny a pixel, you could still earn ten thousand dollars from one pixel ad page.

How can nonprofit organizations use pixel advertising? You could sell pixels and donate the money to a charitable organization such as The American Red Cross. Or, set up a pixel page to raise money for a specific project such as building a playground, or a spring school class trip. Pixels don’t have to be sold to only businesses. A school group could sell pixels to alumni or parents of a graduating class. A graduating class could set up a pixel page and raise money for their graduation night party.

The possibilities for fundraising with pixel advertising are limitless. A well-designed and promoted pixel advertising campaign has the potential to raise money and awareness for your organization. This form of advertising fundraising is well worth considering as a part of your organization’s fundraising strategy.

Creativity is King in the World of Independent Film Production

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A creative mind is a low budget filmmaker’s most valuable tool. It all starts with an original thought; from there it is all about nurturing that thought until it grows to be a brilliant idea. After that it is a matter of getting that idea made into a movie using every ounce of energy and resources you can possibly muster up.

Most of the successful films that are showing at film festivals these days are movies that were made at a fraction of the cost that it takes to make a major Hollywood studio film. Advances in technology have made it so that just about anyone can make a movie. Film cameras, video cameras, sound recording equipment, and just about any other kind of equipment that one needs to make a movie can be purchased at very affordable prices these days. The equipment that is available these days can provide a very low budget movie with a production value that looks like James Cameron had something to do with the project. This professional look coupled with a unique story can help any film’s chances at being accepted into film festivals like Houston Worldfest, Cannes, Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, etc…

Try as they might, the major Hollywood film studios will never have a monopoly on creativity. They spend millions of dollars on marketing research in an effort to figure out just what it is that the film-going audiences of the world look for when they go to the movies. Despite all of this effort, they still have not come up with a formula. The tastes of people who go to the movies are as hard to predict as an earthquake is, for the pattern changes all the time. Because of this fact, the door is left wide open for the creative types of the world to enter the game. All they need to do is come up with a unique idea that they can transform into a movie, enter their film in festivals like Sundance and then let the judges decide. While the big studios have tried to take over the film festival circuit in recent years, it is still the little guys with the small, yet creative films that are King in that realm.

It does not cost as much as you would think to make a movie that can be entered in contests like the Sundance Film Festival. Sony is about to release a line of High Definition camcorders that are perfect for anyone who wants to make movies on a shoestring budget. While movies made with these cameras will not be shot on “film” (like movies have been since the beginning), they will (almost) look like they were. These new cameras will be able to give a high quality image that is comparable to the image that film provides. The two camcorders are the PDW-F330 and the PDW-F350, and they offer all sorts of film production features that even the most film-loyal professional filmmaker must respect. Both cameras offer true 24P recording in both SD and HD, interval recording, and slow shutter recording to name a few. The F350 model also offers true variable frame rate recording capabilities which are also referred to as the “slow motion/fast motion” features. Features like these are very valuable to anyone making a low budget movie for it allows them to include motion effects in their films without the use of an expensive film camera or a high priced film lab. Both of these cameras will be on the market in March of 2006. The F350 will cost about twenty five thousand, while the F330 model will only cost about sixteen thousand dollars. A PDW-F30 deck will be available in June for about nine thousand. These are small prices to pay to be a self-sufficient independent filmmaker.

A low budget filmmaker can invest in a relatively low-cost HD camcorder and deck and have everything they need to make as many movies as their mind and body can crank out. All they will need after that is a creative mind, a few thousand dollars, a few ambitious friends for their actors and crew, some script writing software like Final Draft, and an iron resolve to make a movie. They do not have to worry about the high costs of film stock, film processing, or film-to-DVD transfers. All they will need is their camera and a $30 disc (23.3GB) and they will be set to film an entire movie. Buying discs for a camera is a lot cheaper than buying film and all the financial baggage that comes with it.

Once they shoot their movie with one of these cameras, a low budget filmmaker can go right to their computer with the disc and start editing it using one of the many affordable editing programs that are available these days such as Final Cut Pro. They can do all of the post production work for their movie on their home computer, as long as they are willing to shoulder a mother load of work responsibilities.

Technology has allowed independent filmmakers to bypass many expensive steps in the filmmaking process. Instead of paying a bunch of people hundreds of dollars an hour for film services that are only available in cities like Hollywood and New York, they can now do all of these steps in the comfort of their own home on their own computer.

For anyone who has ever had a dream of making their own movie, there is no better time than now to make it happen. The playing field has been leveled in terms of technology, but you still need a creative story to get anywhere on the film festival circuit. The affordable equipment can get you on the field, but you must bring a good game to win. A creative mind is your best player in this game, so if you have that part taken care of you are halfway to making your film vision a reality. Nurture your creative idea until it becomes a unique script and then dedicate your life to making this script into a movie. If your idea is as good as you think it is you will do quite well on the film festival circuit. If this happens it could lead to a decent distribution deal for your movie. If you stick with it and continue to make films you may even find that you have made yourself a career as a professional artist who makes independent films, and that dreams really can become reality.

Copyright 2006. Michael P. Connelly

Keep Your Dog Happy and Healthy With Products and Services From an Online Pet Shop

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Have you thought about buying pet supplies and getting helpful info through an online pet shop? With the right internet pet resources, dog food, toys, grooming items and even certain types of medications can be found. Sometimes, the best for your pet will require shopping online.

Dog Training and Grooming

Have you discovered that your local area stores are rather lacking in grooming tools and training paraphernalia for your dog? If so, look to an online pet shop that delivers in your area for a selection of items that will help you help your dog. Grooming in particular can be difficult unless you have the right tools. It doesn’t matter whether your dog has a thick coat or one that is long and wiry, having the best comb, brush, slicker or rake can make a difference. Nail clippers, shampoo and conditioner, toothbrushes and scissors are also key tools for a healthy, well-groomed dog.

Training aids such as head collars and leash training leads can greatly assist you in behaviour modification and other types of teaching for pets. Anti-bark sprays and collars can help curb your dog’s enthusiastic barking while whistles and clickers can offer assistance in walking and dealing with the public. There are also a number of toilet training products to help curb potty accidents indoors. These training items cannot always be found at a brick and mortar pet store around your neighbourhood.

Dog Food, Toys and Other Products

Your local pet shop will likely have a small selection of dog toys and kibble. However, shopping online will greatly expand your choices. What if your dog has special dietary needs or you cannot find the right formula that would provide the best health benefits? Moist and dry dog foods along with natural options that contain extra vitamins and minerals or even probiotics are available online.

Toys are a must for a happy dog ownership as they can keep your pooch occupied and out of trouble. Squeaky toys, balls, chew bones and ropes are quite popular and may not always be found at your local pet store. However, an internet shop would have a vast array of choices.

Other products for your pet’s health and happiness may include flea and tick medications, dog beds, dog doors, crates and kennels, bowls and feeders, identification tags and even food storage containers. Plus, there may be dog items that you did not even know existed if not for purchasing items through an online pet shop. Be the best dog owner you can be and look to the internet for all your pet needs. You could save time, effort, money, and find that there are great items on offer that could help you be a great pet parent.