This is too odd… right after making the post about my son turning 18, I came across MEGA Brands, a most interesting and unique gift store online.

I say “gift store” but it’s more along the lines of a Toy R Us (with the R facing in the right direction!) taken into the 21st century.

Looking around I thought, “Ah, these are toys and gifts for young kids.” But I was wrong. I found a section under their “Shop” “Puzzles” and sitting right there was the perfect gift – at least I know my son was intrigued (trying not to show it of course), and that his friend next door (who is really into complex “toys”) would really love.

It’s called “Struxx Robotrixx” and you’ve got to see this one to believe it

Remember “erector sets?” “Tinker toys?” Even “Lincoln Logs?”

The Struxx Robotrixx might remind you of those days gone by but, wow, here’s technology taken to a whole new level!

Actually though the toy is for ages 8 and up (small parts so there must be a liability there somewhere), what a great way for children of (almost) any age to learn about the three basic parts of construction:

o The ball
o Socket
o Rod

Sort of like learning mechanical science only your kid would be none the wiser

If truth be known, and I was looking for a hobby of my own, these little beauties might serve the need. No ship-in-a-bottle for me. With the ability to integrate sound and light, motion detection, and the gearbox, the modeling available includes a:

o Jaguar
o Shark and/or
o T-Rex “that really roars.”

Ah, vindicated! Their website does say, “Great for beginners and experts alike.”

Just don’t forget the batteries (4 AA’s).

OH! BTW, I just found Mega Brands Kid Zone section – summer’s coming! Don’t forget this little gem for when your kids are driving you nuts LOL!

We often concentrate hardest on what to do online with regard to marketing and advertising online. Marketing programs, products, and services is an art form, not to be undertaken lightly. Serious consideration to how you are going to go about achieving your objective – traffic, new clients, new sign ups, etc., – is critical to your success.

However, how many of us seriously take the time to investigate contacting those not online on a regular basis? Believe it or not for all us cyberspace crazies, people do enjoy getting special messages yes by snail mail! There are those (and yes I count myself among them) who joyfully go to their mailboxes each day in the hopes of letters from friends and family and even interesting internet offers.

So the question is… When was the last time you researched offline advertising to add to your online mix?

Well not only is today a holiday in many parts of the world (particularly the U.S. I’d imagine), but it’s also your lucky day

Vistaprint is offering great specials for those looking for offline ways of connecting with potential and existing customers. Vistaprint postcards come in a variety of sizes and colors and layouts. You can even design your very own (or for those graphically challenged they have plenty of choices ready-made for you).

Browsing their ready-made postcards is a breeze. They actually give you the option to select one from the “board” so to speak or search by keyword, industry, style, or purpose.

Or, of course, if you are logo and word-ready, customize your own.

The one thing we do know personally about Vistaprint (we have used Vistaprint in the past for our business cards) is that your order arrives exactly the way you ordered it, and in a timely fashion. And, it goes without saying, that their prices are very affordable for just about any entrepreneur, business, or home business marketer.

My suggestion this Spring and on into the year is to supplement how you market online with branching out to reach those offline.

Yes postcard campaigns can get expensive, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with your visit to Vistaprint’s postcard possibilities.

And Happy Easter!

You’ve got to admit that blogs that give you visuals help ease the “text only” versions, and tonight I was lucky to come across a free to join website called Acobox.

Sort of along the Flickr line, Acobox gives you free signup access as either a blogger or a photographer (actually as a blogger I do see I have the ability to upload images to their site).

Then you just go hunting for interesting pictures they call “hotlinks.”

For example, you’re looking at one right now.

It was very easy to get and insert, too – don’t you just love that!

This particular image came from their Animals Gallery under Birds, which lists 316 additional images. And, of course if you opt to add yours into their system, just think of the advantages of having your images hotlinked on other peoples websites and blogs.

The only trouble I seem to be having is what I see inside the wp-admin is space between the picture and my words. Outside on the blog, the words hug tight to the image. I’ve tried playing with the horizontal alignment, but it doesn’t seem to do much of anything (sorry I’m a bit of a stickler, but I’m sure there is a workaround for this).

Oh and as the title tells you, this isn’t just for bloggers. Website owners can come to Acobox and get their images, for free, too!

So don’t be shy. Again sign up is free, and I had this image inserted in the blink of an eye.

Enjoy!

Last night while posting about a free PDF creator, I also noticed something unusual about some (not all) of our links here at Online Internet Marketing Strategies. What I noticed was while we have the “dofollow” and “commentluv” plugins on this WordPress blog, they don’t always work properly.

So I went searching for a surefire cure to what we perceive as a problem (we want to give everyone who does comment the benefit of commenting!).

I found… (more…)