Renek Gaszewski [Blog]

In a world of Dateline predators and inappropriate content on MySpace, we sometimes lose site of the fact that there are good internet sites for teens. There are many sites dedicated to higher learning and fun teen activities for the millions of teenagers that access the internet each day. An often overlooked online activity that can be both fun and rewarding for teenagers is online teen surveys.

Each year corporations spend billions of dollars on advertising. They hire market research companies to test there advertisements and do research on the best ways to market to certain demographics. One of these key demographics is teenagers 13 to 17 years of age. Several of these companies offer cash and prizes in exchange for teen opinions on new products, movies, and teen trends in general. Online teen surveys are a great way for teens to express their ideas, influence the new products and services that enter the teen market, and earn cash and prizes.

Sounds good, but how does it all work? The market research companies usually host an online panel that they invite you to join. After you join, they then gather information about you, specifically age, hobbies, interest, etc. so that they can match you up with the surveys that are best suited for you. After you become a member, you will begin to receive survey invitations via email. Upon completion of the survey you will receive any incentives that were promised in the email. While volunteering this type of information online does not seem like a good idea, especially for teens, it is actually a safe, confidential environment for teens to express their opinions. This is of course if you stick to the legitimate market research companies, and not the thousands of scam sites on the internet.

Taking online surveys is a completely free process, and if a site requests money then that is usually the first sign that it is a scam and should be avoided. True market research firms are prohibited from charging fees. Also, if a site ask questions to personal in nature and seems suspicious (no company street address, contact information, etc) it should be avoided. Some quality paid survey sites that are offer teen membership are WhaddYaKnow (A division of GreenField Online), E-Poll, NFO MY Survey, Your2Cents, and American Consumer Opinion to name a few.

Teen Surveys can be a good after school activity, and serve as a mini-part-time-online-job for teens that will allow them to earn a little cash, gift certificates, and prizes. Parents, it is important for you to monitor your teen’s online activities, and make sure that they only join quality paid survey sites like the one’s mentioned in this article.

For more information on paid surveys, as well as a quality directory of online market research panels for adults and teens, please visit Online Paid Surveys and Teen Surveys.

The directors of the Miss California USA pageant are looking into whether title holder Carrie Prejean violated her contract by working with a national group opposed to same-sex marriage and by posing semi-nude when she was a teenage model.
Pageant spokesman Roger Neal said Tuesday it appears Prejean has run afoul of several sections of the 12-page contract that all prospective contestants were required to sign before competing in the November state contest.
The detailed document prohibits the titular Miss California from making personal appearances, giving interviews or making commercials without permission from pageant officials. In the last 10 days, Prejean has made televised appearances at her San Diego church and on behalf of the National Organization for Marriage, a group opposed to same-sex marriage.
The contract also contains a clause asking participants to say whether they have conducted themselves “in accordance with the highest ethical and moral standards.” As an example, it asks if they have ever been photographed nude or partially nude.
“As you can see from the contract, she violated multiple items,” Neal said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
A photo of Prejean wearing only pink panties with her back turned to the camera appeared Monday on the gossip blog theDirty.com. She issued a statement early Tuesday saying she posed for the shot when she was a 17-year-old model and objected to its release as an attempt to belittle her religious faith: “I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos.”
Prejean spokeswoman Melany Ethridge said she could not comment on the contract because she was unfamiliar with its contents. Ethridge said she had not heard the pageant directors were reviewing it.
Prejean, a San Diego native who attends San Diego Christian College, was named the first runner-up to Miss North Carolina in the Miss USA pageant April 19. Her response to a question during the pageant that she opposed same-sex marriage made her a media sensation, darling of religious conservatives and the target of embarrassing disclosures.
Her post-pageant activities also have estranged her from the two directors of the state pageant, who under the terms of the contract have almost unlimited control over Miss California’s activities, including the right to revoke her crown for breaching its provisions.
On the day last week that Prejean was in Washington with National Organization for Marriage leaders to announce her support for a new advertisement the group created based on her pageant experience, Keith Lewis, co-director of the California contest, expressed concern.
“There is a contract that all participants sign that is very involved and very intricate and limits a lot of their activities,” said Lewis, a Los Angeles talent agent.
Meanwhile, the Miss Universe Organization, which also owns the Miss USA pageant, confirmed Tuesday that it had sent a letter demanding the National Organization for Marriage to remove the Prejean spot from the air and the group’s website. It includes footage from the April 19 pageant.
The Miss Universe Organization “neither sanctions nor disapproves of the viewpoints expressed in the advertisement but cannot allow its copyrighted material to be used without permission to support the National Organization for Marriage’s political agenda and fundraising efforts,” organization President Paula Shugart said.
NOM executive director Brian Brown said the group did not plan to comply with the pageant’s request.
“It is clearly fair use, and all they are attempting to do is silence us by using false legal claims,” Brown said. “But they have another thing coming if they think these ads are coming down. None of us are relenting, least of all Carrie.”
NOM President Maggie Gallagher also issued a statement Tuesday sympathizing with Prejean over the release of her modeling picture and saying it did not disqualify her as a traditional marriage advocate.
“Of course Carrie is not perfect,” Gallagher said. “On a personal note, as a former unwed mother, I want to say to Americans: You don’t have to be a perfect person to have the right to stand up for marriage.”

If you have hopes of becoming a professional photographer, or even just of trying to get your work published in a public forum, you will need to create a photography portfolio. So what’s so important about a photography portfolio anyway?

There are many reasons why having a portfolio of your work available for others to view. If you are seeking employment as a photographer, then the need for a portfolio is obvious. If you are not seeking a photography job, there are still good reasons to have a portfolio. For one, you love photography and you take a lot a pride in your work. They are important to you. Most likely, some of them are very good. Why not create a portfolio that showcases your best work so you can show it to others (even if it’s just friends or family that comes over for a visit)?

Building a Photography Portfolio

Before we get into what goes into your portfolio, let’s discuss the portfolio itself. What should it be made of? How big should it be? You may have seen portfolios with covers made of all types of materials such as plastic, leather and even stainless steel. These fancy covers are usually much more expensive and may not be practical for a beginner. If you are competing for high-price jobs and want to stand out from the crowd, these expensive covers may be a nice touch. But for most people, a regular black plastic cover will work just fine. It’s what’s inside the portfolio that is most important, right?

So, you are probably best to stick with a plain black plastic cover and work hard on beefing up what’s inside. Don’t decorate your portfolio with cutesy stickers and such; this will look amateurish and unprofessional. It’s not a scrapbook; it’s supposed to represent your high-quality work.

Now, as for size, this is going to depend on the size of your largest pictures. An 8 X 10 is probably going to be your largest. If your pictures are not this big, you don’t need a portfolio this big. Your biggest will most likely be an 11 X 14 and it could be as small as a 4 X 7.

The most important thing for you to remember is convenience - both for you and for the person who will be looking at your portfolio. You want to keep it professional and easy to hold, carry and look over.

Using a Photography Portfolio

So now that you know what a portfolio is and what type to get, how do you actually use it? Well, we mentioned you are going to fill it with your best work. This means you want a portfolio that can easily be changed. You may want to pull out old ones and add in new ones. You don’t want to go for a job carrying along every picture you’ve ever taken. You’re going to want to have 15-20 of your best work. You are also going to want to be sure your pictures are relevant to the job. If you are trying out for different types of assignments, you may want to create portfolios that work for each of the types of work you are doing.

Of course, you only want to show your best work but you want to give the impression that you can handle any type of assignment given to you ad not that you are “stuck” in only one type of photography.

You want to showcase your best work; this is best technically as well. You may have a photo that is really important to you because of the image it represents or the memory it brings but if it is not technically perfect, it doesn’t belong in a business portfolio. Save that one for your coffee table.

See: Gaszewski.spaces.live.com…
(Gaszewski)

Women around the world are being told they can now have an orgasm at the touch of a button.
The makers of “Slightest Touch” say their device can give women longer, better and more intense orgasms.
They claim their device can trigger an orgasm without touching a woman’s genital area.
According to the manufacturers, Slightest Touch works by stimulating the body’s sexual nerve pathway.
‘Turned on’
Women start by drinking an electrolyte sports drink 20 minutes before using the device.
They then apply two white electrode pads inside their ankles.
These pads are connected to the Slightest Touch device, which is about the size of a personal stereo.
With the flick of a switch, women can literally get turned on.
The device stimulates the nerves sending gentle pulses up the woman’s leg for between 10 and 30 minutes leaving women on the verge of climax.
“The Slightest Touch does not provide an orgasm,” said Cherisse Davidson, the company’s director of customer support.
“It gently stimulates the sexual nerve pathways taking the woman to a pre-orgasmic plateau where she dangles on the edge of orgasm for as long as she wants.
“From there, gentle stimulation can then effect the orgasm.
But Ms Davidson, who first tested the device three years ago, insists it is effective.
“It can be of great benefit to many women,” she told BBC News Online.
“I’ve been using mine for three years and I just love it.”
She said the product can help women who simply want to improve their sex lives and those who have problems achieving orgasm.
However, the Slightest Touch, which sells for $139.95, is not suitable for everyone.
It is not recommended for women taking anti-depressants, those who are pregnant or those with some underlying medical conditions such as heart problems.
The product which was launched in the United States six months ago is now starting to getting attention in Europe.
Ms Davidson said the company had now sold almost 4,000 devices - some to customers in Britain.
However, the UK’s FPA, formerly the Family Planning Association, urged women to get professional advice before spending their hard earned cash.
“If women feel they have problems with either sex or relationships, it’s better to go and get professional advice about the possible causes, before spending a lot of money on a particular product,” said a spokeswoman.