“Scientists confirm that East Antarctica’s biggest glacier is melting from below” – Washington Post

“Alaska’s Glaciers Melt Faster as Climate Change Speeds Up” – Climate Change News

“NW’s melting glaciers, in a word: ‘DISASTROUS’ – Seattle Times

“Melting glaciers blamed for subtle slowing of Earth’s rotation” – Yahoo News

“Earth May Spin Faster as Glaciers Melt” – Discovery News

“How the world’s newest glacier is forming on Washington’s Mouth St. Helens…site of the deadliest volcanic eruption in US history” – Daily Mail. Com

With so many conflicting studies and headlines being announced about glaciers and climate change, how do you know what to believe?

When we learn about the scientific process, the first steps involve asking questions to form a hypothesis and then testing that hypothesis. Some studies are very narrowly focused others are broader, and the results make assumptions based on the findings of the experiment. Because the scientific method is always questioning, the curious must repeatedly confirm that data is accurate and without bias to take the findings as fact.

But…what happens when a scientist has a strong bias toward the outcome? Errors and biases in studies are caught all the time. One of the more famous biased studies in history was Crania Americana by Samuel George Morton. Read more about it here.

Media bias is another reason so many conflicting headlines are reported each day. When a reporter has a story to write they may interview a scientist who has done a study that closely aligns to their angle, or focus on one fact in a much larger study. This is why it is so important to dig deeper into research to find the truth and even conduct studies of your own.

So… Are the glaciers melting? The answer is yes, some glaciers have greatly reduced in size. Here is a time-lapse video of a glacier melting at a rapid pace. 

Are glaciers growing? Yes, there is a new glacier growing into the crater of Mount St. Helens.

Read The Glaciers are Melting! and get the facts that may help you come to your own conclusion!

Chicken Little may have thought the sky was falling but Peter Pika is sure the glaciers are melting and is off to talk to the Mountain Monarch about it. Joined along the way by friends Tammy Ptarmigan, Sally Squirrel, Mandy Marmot, and Harry Hare, they all wonder what will happen to them if the glaciers melt. Where will they live, how will they survive? When Wiley Wolverine tries to trick them, can the Mountain Monarch save them? More importantly, can the Mountain Monarch stop the glaciers from melting?

 

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If you use social media networks to publish your content, you should realize that one title or headline won’t have the same click-power as others. And, even if it’s effective now, it doesn’t mean it’ll be click worthy a month or so down the road. If you’ve read about writing effective titles, you know they need to almost instantly grab the reader. Along with that, it must have enough

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Headlines That Increase Website Traffic and Website Conversion Rates

Marketing research from MarketingExperiements.com shows that headlines are the most important factor if you are striving to increase website traffic and website conversion rates.

Let me pause one moment and explain what conversion rates are.

The conversion rate is the number of visitors to your site in comparison to the number of visitors who say YES to your call-to-action. Your call-to-action may be clicking on your opt-in box; it may be buying your book or product; it may be signing-up to an ecourse you’re offering . . . you get the idea.

An example of a conversion rate: If you had 100 visitors to your site and one of them said YES, you would have a 1% conversion rate.

Okay, back on track.

In an experiment, in which various elements of a website were tweaked to determine which would have the greatest impact on conversion, having an effective headline was more important than changing elements of the landing page or shopping cart process.

In fact, changing a headline generated 29 percent more leads. That’s close to one-third more leads.

While quality and informative content is a must, the headline is kind-of-like the magnet for your website. It’s what will attract the surfer/browser to stop, pay attention, follow what’s going on, and follow the process to opt-in or buy.

As a writer/marketer, you need to have your message focused on what the customer’s interests are. This is especially critical for the headline. You need to craft a headline that will:

1. Quickly grab a surfer or visitor’s attention.
2. Clearly define the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) or the value. If the visitor knows what the benefits are, he’ll be more receptive to ‘following the yellow brick road’ you have in place for conversion, to say YES to your call-to-action.

To increase website traffic and website conversion rates, the most effective headlines are ‘value-centric.’ This relates to number one and two above. You need to ‘hit’ the target customer’s interests and you need to convey the value of opting-in to your mailing list or buying what you’re offering. And, you need to let the visitor know just how significant the benefit/s will be.

An effective title might be: Get Paid to Guest Blog.

In five simple words you’re telling the reader what the benefit is and what’s involved.

“The Value Litmus Test,” an article at ValueCentricSelling.com, explains that along with having the value front and center, you should also provide the ‘timeline.’ This is another factor that will help bring in that traffic.

The timeline is the length of time it will take the customer to achieve the benefits specified or promised. This may not always be applicable to your product or service, but when it is it’s important to include it.

An example of using the timeline strategy is the 7 Day Ebook by Jim Edwards. You immediately know this product is promising that you can write an ebook in seven days. It meets all the qualifications for an effective headline.

Another example of ‘timeline’ is the Five Minute Writer by Avril Harper. This title also lets the reader know the time element involved. In as little as five minutes a day you can earn money writing. While the title doe

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If you’ve been reading the headlines on just one news service in the past few days, you’ve probably come away shaking your head and wondering what the future holds for you and yours.

Here are some examples of things in the news.

• A legislator in California has proposed that the 13 counties south of Los Angeles be separated from the main body of the state and granted statehood, to become the country’s 51^st. The apparent reason behind the proposal was that the state is simply too big to govern efficiently and needed to be pruned, so to speak. The proposed new state would be called “South California.”
• The huge iceberg that calved from a Greenland ice shelf last August is now in Canadian waters—Labrador, to be exact. Curious how it went west rather than east as common thought would expect, isn’t it? It’s being monitored by satellite from a beacon planted on its surface. Its original size was one-quarter of its parent ice shelf. That’s many billions of gallons of fresh water floating around desalinating the North Atlantic as the berg melts.
• All of those extended unemployment benefits and past government tax cuts will expire in January, leaving millions without any available income.
• Immediate results of Minnesota’s government shutdown due to lack of finances are beginning to come to the front. The Minnesota Zoo will suffer greatly if not funded soon, for instance. 

These are just a few of the headlines from yesterday and today. Granted, the Minnesota Zoo’s problems don’t seriously affect any of those living outside that state. Its fate does point to those smaller and less visible victims of gross financial distress plaguing each of the states this year.

 Costs of everything have risen, populations have increased and revenues have fallen due to the housing crunch and employment downturns.

 With unemployment benefits being suspended in January, Minnesota may not be the only state taking a leave of absence in the coming months. Those states hardest hit may follow suite in alarming numbers. And your state may just be one in the flock.

Canada is the one having to deal with the iceberg and its potential for danger—for now, at least. As the berg dissipates in the Atlantic’s northern waters the cumulative effect of all that fresh water in the Northern Atlantic will affect everyone. It’s become a favored climatological theory that desalinization of those waters helps bring about the slowing of the oceanic conveyor belt and hastens the cooling of the Earth to the point of a little ICE AGE.

And the one headline that really should clue the populace as to how shaky things are, both socially and economically, centers on the California issue. For a state—any state—to propose a split of both territory and legislation to the point of putting the motion before the state government is a rare event. It puts the spotlight even more brightly on the condition of some states to conduct business and remain solvent.

For any state to suggest such a territorial split encourages others to consider their own situations and conditions. The social ramifications are staggering for the coming year. At the moment it’s not important if the motion passes. The idea has already fallen ou

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Each week we gather at tables, on sofas, or lean back in bed and take note of headlines in the news. Whether dramatic or funny, people gather in the information and decide from that point how much they’re willing to invest in the facts and speculation they’ve just read.

This past week has—on Yahoo! News alone—kept many balls in the air while juggling subjects across the spectrum. The amazement comes from trying to assimilate all the information and decide how any/all/some of it affects the individual.

• Just today a gripping article was posted on Yahoo! News– http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110625/us_ac/8696821_the_american_police_state_is_the_new_normal/   regarding our country’s new police state norm. In the article are examples of how police, under the guise of new, stiffer mandates by authorities and broader powers of police activity, have come to represent a growing new category of police bullies.

In a country where schools, parents, etc. are trying desperately to decrease the incidents of bullying among children, recognizing that our safety officers are actively displaying the behavior with impunity brings with it thoughts of 1984 to the max.

• Minot, ND is underwater from the flooding of the Souris River. The damage estimates have yet to be firmed up for the town’s residents. This is another example of this year’s crazy weather’s aftermath. This is especially true when taken in light of the expanding drought throughout the south. That drought situation was in evidence throughout the Southwest last winter, as well.

 

• Venezuelan President Chavez is reported to be in critical condition in a Cuban hospital after emergency surgery. The situation, according to the report, has made an already shaky situation worse as the Venezuelan government deals with an absentee president who may or may not have cancer.

 

• A bus-sized asteroid is slated to make a near-miss pass of the Earth on Monday. The estimate is that it won’t come as close as the much bigger one that whizzed by us in February. If this one dips a bit closer than expected, it would burn up on entry and create no problems for us. So say the scientists tracking it.

 

• On a lighter note, spinner sharks are now jumping over surfers in Florida. The event was billed as a new “spin” on “Jumping the Shark” of Fonz fame.

 

• Clean-up workers dealing with the Amtrak crash site in Nevada fear they will find more bodies in the wreckage of the burned out cars. The National Safety Investigation Team has not yet given their report on the incident other than to say that the semi driver slammed on his brakes before doing a head-on into the fourth car of the train at the crossing. None have stated why they thought he missed seeing both the working signal lights and gates.

 

• The organized hackers of LulzSec are disbanding permanently, according to reports. They released a statement that said little of g
  2 Comments on Headliners—A Matter of News, last added: 6/26/2011
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  Marie Elena said, on 6/26/2011 6:18:00 AM
  

  Clauds, I have a daughter who won’t watch the news anymore. She finds it too disturbing. Can’t say I blame her, though I feel the need to at least be aware of what is happening in the world.

  Sometimes — no — OFTEN I can’t get over what is considered “news,” and how it is presented. As you point out, we are in the information age. It can be overwhelming.

  When I think of the changes that took place in my grandparents’ lifetime, it is mind-boggling.

  Great post, Clauds. I love how you make us think out here.

  claudsy said, on 6/26/2011 9:23:00 AM
  

  Sometimes, I wonder, Marie, whether knowing anything that goes on beyond my living room is of value other than as scare tactics on the part of those “in the know.” Other times I can laugh at the absurdity of the world and those who live on it.

  Six of one… and all that.

  I’m glad that you enjoyed my morning musings.

  Claudsy

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I scan the headlines of quite a few newspapers online and often I’m struck by how unbelievable many of these stories are. They’re true - just unbelievable.

No - I’m not talking about Charlie Sheen! There’s quite enough of that.

A recent story in my own town concerned a 48-year-old man who for the past two and a half years has been in an online relationship with a woman who didn’t exist. How was this revealed? Well, the alleged woman claimed to have been kidnapped and asked for more money. The man went to the police who after a fairly easy internet search found that the picture of the alleged woman was from a sample driver’s license for the state of Florida. The man was devastated to find out that she didn’t really exist but I suspect that the more than $200,000.00 he sent whomever it was at least added fuel to the fire of his anguish.

Then there’s the woman who in her early fifties has cashed in her life savings, her retirement accounts, sold her house and moved to a different state following a guy she just met who has promised her the world as long as she cashed everything in so they could start a new life together. She resists all attempts from her children and her siblings to make sure she’s okay- in fact she’s down right hostile when they ask how she’s doing now that she’s followed this guy to another state.

As writers we try to create believable characters that the reader can relate to but in real life, the people - or the characters - described above make you want to shake them until they come to their senses.

I mean, really, who does this stuff? Well, more people than you can possibly imagine.

One common element, despite gender or race, or even socioeconomic status seems to be age. Most of these bizarre and unbelievable behaviors tend to happen when someone is in their late forties into the mid-fifties. We often dismiss this as a mid-life crisis but a psychological perspective indicates that it may be in response to childhood trauma of some sort.

Whatever the reason is, writers often have to create characters more believable than real people. Truth really is stranger than fiction.

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20 Young Writers Earn the Envy of Many Others

Yes, New York Times Headline Writer, my envy is vast!  It contains multitudes!  Well, not quite multitudes.  More like twenty little sharp needles of bitter, concentrated envy.   Why why why New Yorker elitists didn't you pick ME?!?  I coulda been a contender!   You know I'm out here, because I write to you every week to tell you how wrong you were to never publish a story by David Eddings!

Clearly, the only thing your editors appreciate are boring realistic stories about middle-aged professors who have affairs.  Like the stories by Daniel Alarcón and Chris Adrian in Best American Fantasy.  And Sarah Shun-lien Bynum's Madeleine Is Sleeping.  And the title story of Wells Towers's Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned.  And all of Karen Russell's stories, certainly.  Dirty realists!  Nasty rotten winning smug literary brats!  Baaaaaaah!  (Russell has even been photographed at that Communistic dirty realist gathering, the KGB Fantastic Fiction series!)

Sure, the New Yorker editors say they just want to offer some names of writers they think show a lot of promise for the future, but I know what their real purpose is.  It's to torment me!  That's why they keep sending me their magazine every week!  To show me how much they disdain me!

At least the New York Times headline writer knows the truth, even if she/he didn't mention me by name.  I know that headline writer was thinking of me.  They always are.  It's why I read the Times every morning -- to see what they're saying about me today...

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Surprising Snipits!

Did Starbucks really lose a taste test - so we all are just under a brand spell?

Did Democrats and Republicans really work together to trim down the stimulus plan or am I getting excited too early in the game? PS Why was all this crap in the STIMULUS package anyway?

Snakes are not bad enough. Now I have to worry about a reptile that is one ton?

Does anyone really care that Michael Phelps toked on a dubie? Give the guys a break!

Did a former Klan leader really apologize to blacks for his attacks and views? There is hope for the world.

The guy who painted the Obama Hope poster is arrested? Do we not have anything better to focus on than a getting a guy who painted Hope? This poster has been out for months now? Don't we have bigger fish to fry (cliche alert!)

Christian Bale's Fbombs - 36 in 4 minutes. Does he get to be logged in Guinness World Book of Records? He must be so proud. Maybe I will try and beat him.

This is just sad. Some people get lost in our justice system.

Jennifer Anniston got a gray hair? There is a god! :) Maybe her boobs will sag now too.

I'm sure everyone knows not to eat too much pizza right? Did Papa J really need a news conference to tell us this?

Time's take on 25 things Meme cracks me up! But do we really need to analyze it?

If I did a detox for 30 days on my email - I think my computer and sanity would explode. How about you?

Yeah - now we can all be trekies. A watch phone? cool

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I found a few headlines today that just struck my funny bone, so I thought I'd share the silly. Go on and click on the links for the full stories.

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