10 of the World's Best Bloggers

I quoted "Bloggers.com is dedicates site for Blog Authors. Blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is Web site with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.
Bloggers.com categorizes and highlights Blog Authors' profiles by their interest and contribution - for example some Bloggers publish commentary or news on a particular subject; others maintain blog for personal online diaries. In this site we encourage Bloggers to tell about themselves, share own pictures, share their blog links. We encourage authors of any type of blogs including Textual, art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. They can also discuss on Micro-blogging sites, another type of blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts."

According to Bloggers.com as of 6/21/2011, here's the top10 list of World's Best Bloggers. (Note: please see Bloggers.com for more info about this list. Thank you.)

1 - Odliam [ United States | Arts & Culture]
http://untony.blogspot.com

Born? Yes!
* Basic School smooth and uneventful.
* BS and MS in Electronics.
* I have journeyed up and down this our exquisite and hapless planet.
* Now, I relax getting language balanced, that is, in translations, edition and proofreading, even if only to keep the Martini stirred not shaken.

2 - Tropical Mum [Australia | Personal]
http://www.tropicalmum.blogspot.com

A Canadian-born naturalised Australian, I live in paradise with my husband and two boys. I work part-time as a virtual assistant and study part-time for a technology degree. Our family enjoys the ultimate lifestyle but on a budget. We struggle to pay the bills, but can enjoy a day at the beach watching the kids play in the waves; we count our lucky stars everyday. Follow me as I share a glimpse into what it is like to live in the tropical far north of Queensland. Sometimes I am humorous, and other times, well I'm not.

3 - Sarah [ United States | Technology]
http://templatefaerie.blogspot.com

I love everything having to do with blogging: writing, template design, connecting with other bloggers.

My blog, Template Faerie, is a way for me to share my passion for blogging and help other bloggers at the same time. I discuss how to create and maintain an attractive, unique, and successful blog.

4 - Horses And Heels [United States | Life & Lifestyle]
http://www.horsesandheels.com

My blog Horses & Heels is a trendy blog for men & women interested in fashion, shopping, horses, & cooking. I blog about all of my favorite things, I have an unhealthy obsession with cowboy boots & bb simon.

5 - Jill Wellington [United States | Life & Lifestyle]
http://busymomrecipes1.blogspot.com

I'm a journalist/author who raised two kids while reporting television news and writing books. My insanely zany life with hubby and two small children was cracking me up...mentally and mirthfully.

That's when I started writing a newspaper column called "This is Life?". I never had to pay for therapy. I spilled the entire mess into 500 words every week and they paid ME to release my insanity to the public.

I had to stop when my daughter grew old enough to NOT want her hilarious happenings in the newspaper. Ever since, the hilarity has been building up like a simmering volcano until I discovered blogging!

Once again, it's time for public therapy. This blog forces me to look for the funny side of our human reality and ask myself
"This is Life?"

6 - Balqis [Malaysia | Life & Lifestyle]
http://lilstarrz09.blogspot.com

I'm a simple person who loves reading, writing, music and nature. I started blogging since August 2009 after getting an encouragement from a friend. Topics in my blog are on general matters and everyone is welcome to visit my site and give comments/responses on whatever I write.

I'm quite new to blogsphere cos my blog is one year old this August 2010. I have a positive outlook in life though having to face many life's challenges all this while. Everyone's going through the ups and downs of it. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that there's always a blessing in disguise and I'm counting my blessings.

A little introduction about myself, I'm married with 2 children. I hail from "The Land Of The Hornbills", Sarawak, Malaysia and residing in a very fast developing town, Bintulu, which is my country's economic hub for its huge Liquefied Natural Gas plants, Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis and ASEAN Bintulu Fertilizer plants and deep sea port of world class. It's a beautiful town with its well organized landscapes and I just love being here and enjoy the peaceful life. The communities here are diverse and we are living harmoniously in spite of our different backgrounds. I'll write more about this in my blog.

Come and visit my blog and be my friends. Looking forward to seeing you guys around! Have a nice day!

7 - Evelyn [United States | Green]
http://evelynparham.com

I am vegan, blogger and passionate about inspiring others to make healthy lifestyle changes. I enjoy reading, writing, singing, and making videos.

8 - Reut Rashook [Israel | Green]
http://www.greenparenthood.com

Hi everyone, I am working from home Mom. Please feel free to check out my blog Greenparenthood.com which focuses on natural green parenting, healthy lifestyle, natural food, green tips and ecologic products. Would love to hear from you!

9 - Kira Permunian [Philippines | Technology]
http://lsgeekster.blogspot.com
http://www.kirapermunian.co.cc

Simple Midnight Blogger from the Philippines . Visit my SEO and Social Media Stuff at LS Geekster Online .

10 - AnaLuiza [Brazil | Arts & Culture]
http://hellaheaven-ana.blogspot.com

've started this blog to share the good things people create in arts, science, leisure, ideas, no matter where or when. A dash of humor, a drop of beauty and lots of creativity

Tips from Bloggers.com on how to be their Featured Blogger!

We want to promote Blog profiles who has provided detail information, active and maintaining a Good Blog. To become a candidate of Featured Blogger you must.

a. Complete your user profile. We encourage well written text that describe your interest. Too short profiles means lack of seriousness. User profile must not contain any URL or Email. Go to User Dashboard > Edit Profile for updating your profile.

b. User must change default Avatar and complete other fields in Account. Avatar with real pictures will get better chance.

c. Blog information should be correct and Submitter must Own the Blog. In case we find it suspicious we may ask to show proof of ownership.

d. Any profile or site solely for internet marketing or affiliated marketing will get less chance to be the featured Blogger.

• Reference/Source: Bloggers.com

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10 Weirdest People Caught in Cam at ATMs

An automated teller machine (ATM), also known as a Cash Point, Cash Machine or sometimes a Hole in the Wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public space without the need for a cashier, human clerk or bank teller. ATMs are known by various other names including automatic banking machine, cash machine, and various regional variants derived from trademarks on ATM systems held by particular banks.

Using an ATM, customers can access their bank accounts in order to make cash withdrawals, credit card cash advances, and check their account balances as well as purchase prepaid cellphone credit.

Ok, Blah Blah blah... But what can you say about it's users? Well, take a look at this top10 photos of weirdest people caught in cam at ATMs.

Beggar at ATM.

Looks like Superman's had a tough night.

Sun Protection.

This was Dorothy's first stop after she came back from Oz.

A little too late.

Pay for this.

Group work. Kids at work.

Construction fail.

Construction Fail again.

Batman is out of stuck today.

• Reference/Source: Oddee.com by Gracie Murano[1/12/2011]

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10 Ways That Can Turn Off Your Man

Women are called the “fairer” sex for a reason, they are inherently capable of being more dainty and pleasing that the “grosser” sex, the men. As the saying goes, girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice, which is why they are perfectly complementary to men.

Men get turned on at the drop of a hat, and most women know that it does not take much for them have a man jumping the hoops. But as humans, men are just as prone to being repulsed by certain tendencies in women which induce a complete turn off. So what are the things that can turn off your man?

I stumbled to this 10 list from whatdomenreallythink.com and I decided to repost it here.

These are the 10 common things that turn off most men. Women can come up with an infinite list of things about men that turns them off, because men quite easily can be the more obnoxious sex in more than one way.

The “silent” treatment

Most women have a tendency to use “silent” treatment when they are hurt or angry about a certain behavior in their man. They put on a cold front and refuse to reply in a normal manner. The usual reply to all the queries that a guy puts through would be a pert “nothing”. This is highly irritating to men and in many cases it makes them want to tear their hair off. A man would be much happier if his woman is willing to talk out the issues instead of starting a cold war.

Being a cold fish in the bed

Some women, through no fault of theirs, are completely unresponsive in the bed. A guy is bound to feel turned off and frustrated when he finds that he’s the only moving object on the bed. Sex is supposed to be playful and fun, entailing a lot of movements and noises. The more energetic it is, the more fun and pleasurable. There are many women have are very inhibited and shy about their sexuality which ends up making them act like a cold fish when in bed. Most men take it as a personal insult to their sexual prowess.

Facial and body hair growth

Men are hairy all over that’s the very reason why they are attracted to a hairless body in their woman (apart from the head hair and eye brows of course). Most men are turned on by waxed legs and arms, and they are equally turned off if they detect anything hairy on a woman’s body. Facial hair is a complete turn off for most men especially around the chin or lip area. This is not a judgment but a unconscious reaction.

Being overly possessive

Men are usually the “chasers” and they like to stay that way. If a guy finds out a girl is “chasing” him he is bound to lose his interest in her. To keep the guy interested the girl must remain to be a challenge. If she gets overly possessive about him it would just turn him off.

Too religious

Some women tend to get overly religious or spiritual which can be a huge turn off for men. It’s true that there are many men who are religious fanatics, who take their Gods too seriously, but these very men would find it a turn off to be with an overly religious woman, for very obvious reasons.

A nagging attitude

There is something about men that gets women to nag them especially as the relationship ages. Most men complain about the hard time they have contending with the continuous complaints and scorns that their wife dishes out in the name of “self improvement”. Women on the other hand have no clue what the fuss is all about, after all they are only trying to “improve” their man.

Too attached to her family

It’s quite a pain for most men to have to contend with their “in laws” owing to their wife’s obsessive attachment with her parents. There is nothing wrong with being attached to your parents as long as it does not start eating into the personal time that you should be spending with your husband, this is what most men feel. It’s quite frustrating for the guy to find his wife on phone with her mother through most of the evening.

Female chauvinism

A man and a woman are made in the image of god as the Bible puts it. And it’s quite obvious that a man needs a woman to complete him and vice versa. In spite of this there are certain people, in each sex, that end up becoming chauvinistic. A feministic attitude, or a bossy nature, in a woman is what men find extremely irritating, and it’s a big turn off. Many feminists would like men to conform to certain unnatural standards that are completely contrary to a manly nature, a woman who depicts such an attitude would soon find her man running away from her.

A lazy “home maker”

Men have been brought up to look at their woman as their home maker. There’s nothing chauvinistic about it because that was the natural order of things for a long time and it’s deeply embedded in male conditioning. So men love women who are good home makers and are turned off by a woman who expects the man to cook and clean. This may sound harsh to many feminists but this is what men feel inherently. Men are naturally quite bad at “home” management and so they rely on women to play this part in their life.

Too “career” oriented

There are many marriages that have gone into ruins because of the corporate culture of today’s age. It’s quite common for the husband and wife to be employed in most households, and this gives rise to many ego clashes and misunderstandings especially when the man finds his wife becoming too “career centric” to care for her family. Men have traditionally loved the feminine characteristics in a woman and being a home make is one of them. An overly career centric wife is usually a turn off for the man.

The fact remains that men and women complement each other and its beauty is most evident in an intimate, and healthy, relationship.

• Reference/Source: whatdomenreallythink.com

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10 of World's Most Corrupt Nations/Countries 2010

The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain, and measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among a country's public officials and politicians.

Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the government. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties.

Forms of corruption vary, but include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement. While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking, it is not restricted to these activities.

Here is the ranking of 10 Most Corrupt Nations in 2010 according to Transparency.org:

1 - Somalia

Corruption Score: 1.1

2 - Myanmar

Corruption Score: 1.4

3 - Afghanistan

Corruption Score: 1.4

4 - Iraq

Corruption Score: 1.5

5 - Uzbekistan

Corruption Score: 1.6

6 - Turkmenistan

Corruption Score: 1.6

7 - Sudan

Corruption Score: 1.6

8 - Chad

Corruption Score: 1.7

9 - Burundi

Corruption Score: 1.8

10 - Equatorial Guinea

Corruption Score: 1.9

Notable among decliners over the past year are some of the countries most affected by a financial crisis precipitated by transparency and integrity deficits. Among those improving in the past year, the general absence of OECD states underlines the fact that all nations need to bolster their good governance mechanisms.

The message is clear: across the globe, transparency and accountability are critical to restoring trust and turning back the tide of corruption. Without them, global policy solutions to many global crises are at risk.

• Reference/Source: transparency.org
• Reference/Source: Wikipedia.org

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10 of the World's Weird and Crazy Laws

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10 Reasons: Why You Should Stop Using Facebook?

Facebook privacy policies keep going down the drain. That’s enough reason for many to abandon it. Hey "Facebook Guys", no offense about me writing this list and I'm just voicing my opinion.

I just come to realized the time when I was reading from this article of interestings.net that there is enough reason for me to quit and stop Facebooking.

The author from interestings.net quoted"
After some reflection, I’ve decided to delete my account on Facebook. I’d like to encourage you to do the same. This is part altruism and part selfish. The altruism part is that I think Facebook, as a company, is unethical. The selfish part is that I’d like my own social network to migrate away from Facebook so that I’m not missing anything. In any event, here’s my “Top Ten” reasons for why you should join me and many others and delete your account."

Here are the 10 list why you should stop using facebook:

10. Facebook’s Terms Of Service are completely one-sided

Let’s start with the basics. Facebook’s Terms Of Service state that not only do they own your data (section 2.1), but if you don’t keep it up to date and accurate (section 4.6), they can terminate your account (section 14). You could argue that the terms are just protecting Facebook’s interests, and are not in practice enforced, but in the context of their other activities, this defense is pretty weak. As you’ll see, there’s no reason to give them the benefit of the doubt. Essentially, they see their customers as unpaid employees for crowd-sourcing ad-targeting data.

9. Facebook’s CEO has a documented history of unethical behavior

From the very beginning of Facebook’s existence, there are questions about Zuckerberg’s ethics. According to BusinessInsider.com, he used Facebook user data to guess email passwords and read personal email in order to discredit his rivals. These allegations, albeit unproven and somewhat dated, nonetheless raise troubling questions about the ethics of the CEO of the world’s largest social network. They’re particularly compelling given that Facebook chose to fork over $65M to settle a related lawsuit alleging that Zuckerberg had actually stolen the idea for Facebook.

8. Facebook has flat out declared war on privacy

Founder and CEO of Facebook, in defense of Facebook’s privacy changes last January: “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that has evolved over time.” More recently, in introducing the Open Graph API: “… the default is now social.” Essentially, this means Facebook not only wants to know everything about you, and own that data, but to make it available to everybody. Which would not, by itself, necessarily be unethical, except that …

At the same time that they’re telling developers how to access your data with new APIs, they are relatively quiet about explaining the implications of that to members. What this amounts to is a bait-and-switch. Facebook gets you to share information that you might not otherwise share, and then they make it publicly available. Since they are in the business of monetizing information about you for advertising purposes, this amounts to tricking their users into giving advertisers information about themselves. This is why Facebook is so much worse than Twitter in this regard: Twitter has made only the simplest (and thus, more credible) privacy claims and their customers know up front that all their tweets are public. It’s also why the FTC is getting involved, and people are suing them (and winning).

6. Facebook is a bully

When Pete Warden demonstrated just how this bait-and-switch works (by crawling all the data that Facebook’s privacy settings changes had inadvertently made public) they sued him. Keep in mind, this happened just before they announced the Open Graph API and stated that the “default is now social.” So why sue an independent software developer and fledgling entrepreneur for making data publicly available when you’re actually already planning to do that yourself? Their real agenda is pretty clear: they don’t want their membership to know how much data is really available. It’s one thing to talk to developers about how great all this sharing is going to be; quite another to actually see what that means in the form of files anyone can download and load into MatLab.

5. Even your private data is shared with applications

At this point, all your data is shared with applications that you install. Which means now you’re not only trusting Facebook, but the application developers, too, many of whom are too small to worry much about keeping your data secure. And some of whom might be even more ethically challenged than Facebook. In practice, what this means is that all your data – all of it – must be effectively considered public, unless you simply never use any Facebook applications at all. Coupled with the OpenGraph API, you are no longer trusting Facebook, but the Facebook ecosystem.

4. Facebook is not technically competent enough to be trusted

Even if we weren’t talking about ethical issues here, I can’t trust Facebook’s technical competence to make sure my data isn’t hijacked. For example, their recent introduction of their “Like” button makes it rather easy for spammers to gain access to my feed and spam my social network. Or how about this gem for harvesting profile data? These are just the latest of a series of Keystone Kops mistakes, such as accidentally making users’ profiles completely public, or the cross-site scripting hole that took them over two weeks to fix. They either don’t care too much about your privacy or don’t really have very good engineers, or perhaps both.

3. Facebook makes it incredibly difficult to truly delete your account

It’s one thing to make data public or even mislead users about doing so; but where I really draw the line is that, once you decide you’ve had enough, it’s pretty tricky to really delete your account. They make no promises about deleting your data and every application you’ve used may keep it as well. On top of that, account deletion is incredibly (and intentionally) confusing. When you go to your account settings, you’re given an option to deactivate your account, which turns out not to be the same thing as deleting it. Deactivating means you can still be tagged in photos and be spammed by Facebook (you actually have to opt out of getting emails as part of the deactivation, an incredibly easy detail to overlook, since you think you’re deleting your account). Finally, the moment you log back in, you’re back like nothing ever happened! In fact, it’s really not much different from not logging in for awhile. To actually delete your account, you have to find a link buried in the on-line help (by “buried” I mean it takes five clicks to get there). Or you can just click here. Basically, Facebook is trying to trick their users into allowing them to keep their data even after they’ve “deleted” their account.

2. Facebook doesn’t (really) support the Open Web

The so-called Open Graph API is named so as to disguise its fundamentally closed nature. It’s bad enough that the idea here is that we all pitch in and make it easier than ever to help Facebook collect more data about you. It’s bad enough that most consumers will have no idea that this data is basically public. It’s bad enough that they claim to own this data and are aiming to be the one source for accessing it. But then they are disingenuous enough to call it “open,” when, in fact, it is completely proprietary to Facebook. You can’t use this feature unless you’re on Facebook. A truly open implementation would work with whichever social network we prefer, and it would look something like OpenLike. Similarly, they implement just enough of OpenID to claim they support it, while aggressively promoting a proprietary alternative, Facebook Connect.

1. The Facebook application itself ****s

Between the farms and the mafia wars and the “top news” (which always guesses wrong – is that configurable somehow?) and the myriad privacy settings and the annoying ads (with all that data about me, the best they can apparently do is promote dating sites, because, uh, I’m single) and the thousands upon thousands of crappy applications, Facebook is almost completely useless to me at this point. Yes, I could probably customize it better, but the navigation is ridiculous, so I don’t bother. (And, yet, somehow, I can’t even change colors or apply themes or do anything to make my page look personalized.) Let’s not even get into how slowly your feed page loads. Basically, at this point, Facebook is more annoying than anything else.

Facebook is clearly determined to add every feature of every competing social network in an attempt to take over the Web (this is a never-ending quest that goes back to AOL and those damn CDs that were practically falling out of the sky). While Twitter isn’t the most usable thing in the world, at least they’ve tried to stay focused and aren’t trying to be everything to everyone.

I often hear people talking about Facebook as though they were some sort of monopoly or public trust. Well, they aren’t. They owe us nothing. They can do whatever they want, within the bounds of the laws. (And keep in mind, even those criteria are pretty murky when it comes to social networking.) But that doesn’t mean we have to actually put up with them. Furthermore, their long-term success is by no means guaranteed – have we all forgotten MySpace? Oh, right, we have. Regardless of the hype, the fact remains that Sergei Brin or Bill Gates or Warren Buffett could personally acquire a majority stake in Facebook without even straining their bank account. And Facebook’s revenue remains more or less a rounding error for more established tech companies.

While social networking is a fun new application category enjoying remarkable growth, Facebook isn’t the only game in town. I don’t like their application nor how they do business and so I’ve made my choice to use other providers. And so can you.

Well that's an interesting thought from interestings.net's author, right? What can you say about it? Feel free to leave comments. Thanks!

• Reference/Source: interestings.net [May 5th, 2010]

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10 Nations/Countries Where Facebook Rocks and Rules

I first read the news here at AzraelsMerryland and he explained that “Philippines has the highest penetration of Facebook in the world at 93.9%. Penetration means the total number of Facebook users vs the total number of Internet users in the Philippines.”

The main source of the news came here at 247wallst.com and they showed here the Top 10 nations where Facebook rules the net, and they gave a nice stats based on data provided by comScore, Inside Facebook, New Media Trend Watch, and ZDNet and announced that the Philippines is the number 1 users of Facebook.

Here's the complete list:

10. Venezuela

Facebook: 86.2%
Twitter: 21.0%
LinkedIn: 3.2%
Internet Use: 37.7%

Venezuela has the third highest rate of Twitter use among Internet users. According to research firm comScore, 21% of Venezuela’s Internet users have Twitter accounts. The only countries with higher percentages are Indonesia and Brazil. America, by comparison, has a usage rate of 12%, the eleventh highest. Social media also plays a large role in Venezuelan politics. Hugo Chavez, the country’s president, has 1.5 million Twitter followers. He is the second-most followed political figure, behind only Barack Obama.

9. Colombia

Facebook: 86.9%
Twitter: 14.6%
LinkedIn: 3.3%
Internet Use: 48.7%

More than 86% of Colombians visited a social networking site in September, with Facebook leading the category. Visitors averaged 4.6 hours on the site during the month. Nearly 7 out of 10 Colombians visited a photo sharing site in September 2010 led by Facebook.com. Colombia is the fastest-growing Internet market in Latin America, growing 31% in the past year to reach 11.8 million unique visitors in September 2010, according to comScore. Facebook is by far the most popular social networking site in the country, with visitors having spent an average of 4.6 hours on the site during one month, of a total 20.4 hours spent online.

8. Peru

Facebook: 87.2%
Twitter: 12.5%
LinkedIn: 4.6%
Internet Use: 27%

Although a large portion of Peru’s Internet users are involved with social networking websites, it has a relatively small minority of people who use the Internet at all. As of January 2011, only 27% of Peruvians were online, one of the lowest rates among the Latin American countries. Peru also had the second slowest growth among Latin American countries of Internet users in 2010, according to Inside Facebook. The only country to have slower growth was Brazil.

7. Indonesia

Facebook: 87.5%
Twitter: 22.0%
LinkedIn: 1.3%
Internet Use: 12.3%

Social network penetration in Indonesia is the third greatest in Southeast Asia as of the beginning of 2011, at 90% of those people online. According to comScore, the country’s high adoption rates are due “almost exclusively” to Facebook. In January 2011, 22% of Indonesian Internet users visited Twitter, the fourth-greatest share among all countries. Indonesia, however, has the smallest percentage of Internet users among the countries on this list — 12.3%.

6. Malaysia

Facebook: 88.4%
Twitter: 10.8%
LinkedIn: 2.9%
Internet Use: 64.6%

Malaysia has the second-highest social network penetration in Southeast Asia, with 91%. One of the most increasingly popular social-networking activities in the country is photo-sharing on sites such as Facebook. From 2009 to 2010, the popularity of online photo-sharing increased by 57% in Malaysia. This is the second greatest percentage among Southeast Asian countries.

5. Argentina

Facebook: 89.2%
Twitter: 18.0%
LinkedIn: 6.4%
Internet Use: 64.4%

Facebook has become extremely popular in Argentina recently. As of May 2011, Argentina’s penetration rate was 89.2%. 27.8% of minutes spent online in Argentina are spent on social networks, making the category the second most popular online destination. The first is portals.

4. Chile

Facebook: 90.2%
Twitter: 14.3%
LinkedIn: 5.9%
Internet Use: 50%

Chile has among the highest rates of Internet use among Latin American countries, with 50% of Chileans online. According to comScore, 28.5% of all minutes spent online in Chile are spent on social networking sites, up 8.9 percentage points from the previous year. This makes it the most popular activity online based on “minutes used.”

3.Turkey

Facebook: 90.9%
Twitter: 16.6%
LinkedIn: 3.4%
Internet Use: 45%

Turkey has the highest Facebook penetration among all the Eurasian countries, with a rate of 90.9%. The second highest is the UK, with 81.7%. Internet users in Turkey also spend the third greatest amount of time on social networking sites among all nations, behind only Russia and Israel. The average Turkish social network visitor spends 7.6 hours a month on social networking sites.

2. Israel

Facebook: 91.0%
Twitter: 5.0%
LinkedIn: 6.4%
Internet Use: 71.6%

Israel has the highest rate of Internet use among the countries on this list, with 71.6% of the country’s population being “plugged in.” It is also very involved with Facebook. Besides having the second highest rate of Facebook usage among Internet users, Israelis spend the second most amount of time on social networking sites, behind only Russia. Israel’s social network users spend an average of 9.2 hours on social network sites a month.

1. Philippines

Facebook: 93.9%
Twitter: 16.1%
LinkedIn: 1.9%
Internet Use: 29.7%

Social network penetration is incredibly high in the Philippines, reaching 95%. Facebook is the country’s most popular website, more so than Google, and has a penetration rate of 93.9%. The Philippines is also the eighth most popular country for Twitter use on a global scale, with a penetration rate of 16.1%. The popularity of photo sharing has increased by 46% in the country in one year, largely due to Facebook. Social networking is so popular among Filipinos, the country has been nicknamed “The Social Networking Capital of the World.”

• Reference/Source: 247wallst.com by Charles Stockdale and Douglas A. McIntyre [Posted: May 9, 2011 at 5:20 am]
• Reference/Source: AzraelsMerryland[MAY 16, 2011]

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10 of Best Ways to Make Your Marriage Divorce-proof

For starters, no public squawking at each other. Read on for a few more smart (and funny) suggestions from these happily wed comedians.

Here is a great post from realsimple.com by Samantha Bee and Jason Jones which is a good list related to marriage and divorce! Check it out!

We have been hitched for almost 10 years now, and until recently our number one piece of advice would have been: Don’t write about how to make your marriage divorceproof. It’s hubris! But we like to take risks (that’s piece of advice number two), so we knocked on wood, threw salt over our shoulders, and forged ahead with all the unstoppable energy that a couple with two kids under the age of five can muster. (Eating a pile of old Halloween candy helped, too.) Ultimately, we came up with this list of marriage rules and reminders—all of which, we hope, are cheaper and more fun than therapy.

1. Realize that if you can agree on what constitutes a clean room, you can agree on anything.

If you are the kind of person who wants the vacuum tracks on the living-room carpet to last all week (as in, Jason), you need to understand that your spouse is physically unable to hover three inches off the floor when traveling from point A to point B. You may have to shoulder the burden of raking the shag rug twice a day yourself. Conversely, if you are the type of person who “gets around ” to wiping up a raw chicken–juice spill on the counter (for example, Sam), you should know that if you want to live with other humans, you need to surpass the hygiene standards of, say, the average fraternity-house bathroom. Fortunately, if you can compromise on the red hot–button subject of cleanliness, your marriage is unlikely to be thrown off course by comparatively less volatile topics, like politics, religion, and money.

2. If you’re irritated by your partner, imagine him as a small child.

We know! You totally don’t want to try this! It sounds awful! (And maybe even not that much of a stretch.) But trust us—this is an amazing way to see him from a fresh angle. Here’s what to do: While your partner is puttering around and looking idle, imagine him at age five. Awww. Isn’t he adorable? And so smart! It’s easy to forget how appealing your spouse is when you are looking at him through a prism of all the chores that he has yet to accomplish (fixing the garage-door opener, booking the tree-removal service…we could go on).

3. No fisticuffs in public.

Take this example: We were at a picnic with a group of friends when the wife of one of the couples present casually announced that she had bought their family a house. In another country. Without consulting the husband. He turned about 14 shades of red, and they began fighting at the top of their lungs. Cut to everyone else with their heads down, forensically examining their egg-salad sandwiches as though they contained the secrets of the human genome. You do not want to be That Couple Who Ruined the Otherwise Delightful Picnic.

4. Marry someone with a backbone who appreciates that you possess one of your own.

That said, try to have bendy backbones if possible. Don’t attempt to win every argument and get your way all the time. Who could bear all that responsibility, anyway? Repeat this spouse-mollifying phrase after us: “Yes, honey, I will see the Transformers sequel on one of our precious and rare date nights. But on our next excursion, I get to choose a period piece featuring people in bonnets who churn their own butter.”

5. Procrastinate.

Yes, we know things need to be done, but seriously. Put your BlackBerry away and stop worrying about the broken garage-door opener. Have dessert in lieu of dinner. Watch old John Hughes movies. Hold hands. There, aren’t they smoother than how you remembered them?

6. Have sex with each other.

And if you can’t have sex with each other for some reason, let your spouse know that you are thinking about having sex with him and that you are looking forward to the next time you are both available for sex. Like, in 2012. Try sending a “sext”; apparently it’s all the rage.

7. Accept that everybody needs alone time.

Sometimes your spouse needs to go to the bathroom for 45 minutes. Look, he’s not going to the bathroom the whole time; he’s trying to get away from you. And that’s OK. Maybe you’re being annoying. Sometimes you can be kind of annoying, you know.

8. If you have to fight, walk and fight.

In our experience, arguments stem more from being cooped up together in tight quarters than from the issue at hand. Plus, getting fresh air is good for you, and it will give you more energy for No. 6. (Hey, everyone knows that makeup No. 6 is the best kind.)

9. Let your spouse in on 90 percent of your day-to-day routine.

Save the other 10 percent for your bathroom time. Sam, for example, will never allow Jason to see her lurching to put on a pair of panty hose, and he never wishes for her to see him struggling to shave the back of his neck. It’s those small things that keep the mystery alive.

10. When you buy gifts for each other, give them at least a full minute of thought.

Sam’s mother once gave her partner a giant meat grinder for Christmas so that he (an extremely reluctant cook) could make her tastier hamburgers. In our opinion, gifts that require someone to perform a household task don’t count as gifts. A present should convey the message “I love you, but most of all, I get you.” (Yes, that’s a tough sentiment to express with a big-box–store gift card. Ahem.) Like playing chess or figuring out Facebook privacy settings, delighting a longtime spouse is a genuine challenge—which (duh) is what makes it worth the effort.

• Reference/Source: realsimple.com by Samantha Bee and Jason Jones

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10 Most Habits That Make You Happier

Where do I find such great article? Of course, Askmen.com is always at first. Now here's a write up on what makes you happier...

Why are some people happier than others? Is it money? Possibly. Their personality? Their outlook on life? All good theories, but although man has been searching for the key to happiness for centuries, no one's really thought to leave the search to science -- at least not until very recently. In the past decade or so, social scientists have been quietly zeroing in on exactly what makes us positively giddy. And it's all finally starting to come together.

Here are the top 10 habits that are scientifically proven to make you happier.

10 - Make Daily Lists/Updates Of Short-Term And Long-Term Goals

In 1932, an Austrian psychiatrist named W. Beran Wolfe summed up his life philosophy by saying, “If you observe a really happy man, you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden, or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert.” Turns out, Wolfe was right. This idea of keeping busy, setting goals and committing to them does improve happiness. Find a happy man, and you will find a project.

9 - Plan Out Your Meals For The Week

While it’s fairly well known that certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies can bring you down, your food and mood do share a complex relationship. Unfortunately, scientists haven’t quite identified exactly which are directly correlated with which, especially over the long term. That being said, planning your meals is still an important way to ensure that you’re getting the right mix of micro and macro nutrients to avoid any ill-advised deficiencies.

8 - Schedule Your Vacations Two Months In Advance

Vacations are a great way to kick back, relax and let all the troubles of the world fade away -- at least that’s the idea, right? According to a 2010 study that followed 974 Dutch vacationers, going on a vacation doesn’t improve your happiness at all, at least not after you’ve returned. But the benefit lies in the weeks leading up to your vacation. In the study, the effect of vacation anticipation boosted happiness for a full eight weeks. So by scheduling vacations -- even minor trips -- often and well in advance, you’ll always be looking forward to your next adventure.

7 - Plan Out Your Social Activities Four Days In Advance

Okay, it may sound like a bit of a stretch, but planning your social activities in advance will let you better target specific factors that influence happiness. Allow us to explain. Aside from just socializing and nurturing your relationships, you may choose to spend some time with some of your more positive friends or you could plan an activity where you help a friend in need. Nurturing relationships, cultivating optimism and performing acts of kindness have all been linked to improving happiness.

6 - Try One New Hobby Every Three Months

Hobbies are a great way to lift your spirits. Not only does a new hobby give you a chance to set and commit to goals (a key determinant of happiness), but hobbies also offer the opportunity to make new friends and socialize (another important determinant of happiness). By diversifying your hobbies to include larger social activities and more personal, intimate projects, you’ll be able to address both the external and internal factors that determine happiness.

5 - Take A Nap

We all need a little time to unwind, but for many of us, that time doesn’t come until the very end of our day. Unfortunately, that’s just not good enough. Research continues to grow in support of short naps, whether to sharpen the mind or improve your mood. Although timing will always be an issue and napping isn’t always an option, trying to squeeze a short nap into your day, even every other day, will make you a happier man -- unless you're caught sleeping on the job.

4 - Unplug To Relax

If a quick nap isn’t possible, your next best bet is a mental break. “Unplug” and go for a walk, listen to music, meditate, or try some deep breathing exercises -- anything to give your mind a chance to unwind. Meditation, for example, has been shown in a number of studies to reduce stress. By including some method of relaxation into your daily routine, you’ll be sure to stay refreshed, rejuvenated and revitalized.

3 - Get Sunlight Every Day

Even just a few generations ago, our ancestors were outside much of the day, soaking up the sun as they worked the fields. Nowadays, however, the typical working man or woman may see less than 30 minutes of sunlight each day (in the winter). Unfortunately for all of us, there are piles of evidence that point to how the weather affects your mood. In fact, there is an entire disorder relating to the lack of sunlight during the winter, seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The good news is that any bright light, not necessarily sunlight, can help to break the spell. Although there’s no definitive rule of thumb, many experts recommend at least 30 minutes of direct sunlight or bright light to help break out of the funk.

2 - Have Regular Sex

As if we needed to tell you, sex makes you happy. But what you may not know is it’s more valuable than, of all things, money in that regard. Back in 2004, after analyzing survey data on 16,000 people, Dartmouth researchers studying the health benefits of sex found that increasing intercourse from once a month to once a week led to an increase in happiness equivalent to that generated by an additional $50,000 in income to the average American. If only there was a way to successfully communicate this information to wives everywhere, huh? It may not be exactly clear whether more sex directly equals more happiness or if happier people just tend to have more sex. Either way, though, it’s hard to imagine many people frowning during the dirty deed.

1 - Treat Exercise As A Non-Negotiable
Whether you’re trying to lose weight, fight disease or simply boost happiness, exercise should almost always be on the table. In fact, it might just be the single most important activity to improve your health. It therefore follows that you should treat it as a non-negotiable. Sure, you might skip the gym from time to time, but generally speaking, you should be including both structured (e.g. cardio training) and non-structured (e.g. taking the stairs) activities into your daily routine. In the long run, no pun intended, you’ll thank us -- with a large smile upon your face.

• Reference/Source: askmen.com by Jacob Franek(a Toronto-based health writer and epidemiologist with experience in all facets of health care.)

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