personally, I do as I do and chasing stats is not something that I find useful.

I found Kiva last Christmas when Cheryl gave me a gift certificate to it, for my Christmas present. Since then, I have made 8 loans to entrepreneurs in countries where even to make it thru a day is a struggle so profound that it makes our whining about a self-absorbed or nit-picky client seem so petty.

If you need a reason to give, well, just consider that you probably got up this morning, put on some decent clothing, had a cup of coffee, and perhaps even ate breakfast, if you have children, you gave them breakfast, then went to work at your own business.  There are thousands of people just like you who do the same, but perhaps were unable to feed their children this morning, or went without so that the children could eat. They went off to their business to try to just be able to afford to make enough for dinner tonight, or to get some shoes for the one child that can afford to go to school. An entrepreneur just like you.

With every contract that comes into KidoImages I am now putting in a new loan to an entrepreneur just like me, who is trying to make it, trying to expand a bit, to make a life better for their future and their children. I try to make loans to women, and in the agricultural field, mainly because if they fail to repay the loan, at least they will have more food. Very few fail to repay. Kiva has an incredible rate of paid back loans. The people who recieve the loans are grateful, and proud. Just like you.

So take a few minutes, and set up an account at Kiva, link is over on the right side of this blog, and see if there is someone who can benefit from just $25 from a loan you make. There may not be many loans available today, since it is Blog Action Day, but usually on the first of the month there are hundreds of loans availble to be made.

Do it for you

Do it because of this: every time I have made a loan, i have signed a new contract within a week. I made loans when I was slow, and as soon as I did, I was returned the favor in a new contract. Maybe it was just co-incidence, but I think not.

An interesting post on blogging. If you run a web design business, you really should have a blog on your site, not a personal one, but a business one. What to write it on? Well, you are a creative person, so create that space!

Agree? Converse!

Great advice. but they miss on the point

Color schemes
Make sure your color scheme is easily readable by your visitors. Red font on a black background is hard to read. As is light grey on white. So make sure what you are using is easy for people to read.

The use light grey text on a dark grey backgound. Very low contrast and to me, very hard to read. Just like my blockquote above.

I write only 2 blogs… right now. If you are looking to start a blog, and want it to succeed, you should read this post. Scribefire has daily blogging tips that are very much on target. Of course, if you just want to blog in the woods, and have no one hear you, that is fine as well.

Lead Inspectors: 20 Twitter Services to Enhance Your Experience

For those who send newsletters out, this is a good read. The person is from Campaign Monitor