Education & Technology

1. Cleopatra

The most expensive movie in cinema history. But the epic drama starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton didn’t punch its weight at the box office.

Studio: Fox
Release Date: June 12, 1963

Budget: $290.2 million

U.S. Box Office: $381 million
Foreign Box Office: Not available

2. Superman Returns

After a long hiatus, the Man of Steel returned to the big screen this year with a new star (relative unknown Brandon Routh) and an old look (Routh’s take on the hero looked a whole lot like the late Christopher Reeve’s 1978 performance). But the $400 million that the film took in worldwide was still considered a disappointment.

Studio: Warner Bros.
Release Date: June 28, 2006

Budget: $268.5 million

U.S. Box Office: $199 million
Foreign Box Office: $190 million

3. Titanic

James Cameron’s love story, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, was declared a flop before it opened. Then it went on to bring in $2.3 billion from theaters around the world.

Studio: Paramount
Release Date: Dec. 19, 1997

Budget: $250.2 million

U.S. Box Office: $751.6 million
Foreign Box Office: $1.6 billion

4. Waterworld

With a colossal budget and poor box-office performance, Kevin Costner’s non-thriller did have one winner: Hawaii. The project poured more than $35 million into the state’s economy.

Studio: Universal
Release Date: July 28, 1995

Budget: $231.6 million

U.S. Box Office: $116.8 million
Foreign Box Office: $232.9 million

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Johnny Depp’s first stint as Jack Sparrow, in 2003′s Pirates of the Caribbean, was a surprise hit, which means that Disney reached deep into its wallet for this year’s sequel. Like clockwork, the film grossed $1.1 billion worldwide. Will the third installment, due next May, pay off again?

Studio: Buena Vista
Release Date: June 7, 2006

Budget: $223.1 million

U.S. Box Office: $419.8 million
Foreign Box Office: $635.8 million

6. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Now in his 20s, John Connor, the film’s protagonist, finds himself running from a female terminator, T-X, in the third installment of the Terminator series. The movie underwhelmed audiences around the world but apparently impressed California voters, who elected star Arnold Schwarzenegger as their governor in 2004.

Studio: Warner Bros.
Release Date: July 2, 2003

Budget: $219.5 million

U.S. Box Office: $165 million
Foreign Box Office: $310.5 million

7. Spider-Man 2

Critics and fans alike loved the second installment in the Spider-Man series. The sequel scaled its way to the top of the box-office charts, raking in more than $800 million.

Studio: Sony Pictures
Release Date: June 30, 2004

Budget: $212.8 million

U.S. Box Office: $397.4 million
Foreign Box Office: $436.6 million

8. King Kong

Fans turned out to see the giant ape grace the silver screen for a third time last year. In addition to its box-office gross ($563.3 million), the Peter Jackson-directed flick, starring Jack Black and Naomi Watts, scored three Academy Awards.

Studio: Universal Pictures
Release Date: Dec. 14, 2005

Budget: $212.3 million

U.S. Box Office: $223.6 million
Foreign Box Office: $339.7 million

9. X-Men The Last Stand

Despite mixed reviews from critics, the climax of the X-men trilogy, starring Hugh Jackson and Halle Berry, grossed more than $400 million worldwide.

Studio: Fox
Release Date: May 26, 2006

Budget: $209.3 million

U.S. Box Office: $233.6 million
Foreign Box Office: $223.6 million

10. Wild Wild West

Again a man in black, Will Smith starred in Barry Sonnenfeld’s film based on the 1960s television series of the same name.

Studio: Warner Bros.
Release Date: June 30, 1999

Budget: $206.4 million

U.S. Box Office: $138.2 million
Foreign Box Office: $131.5 million

Source: http://www.forbes.com/

1. Decide on a stand alone domain name www.myblog.com or directory of existing site www.mysite.com/blog. Sub domain is also an option blog.mysite.com. Avoid hosted services that do not allow you to use your own domain name!

2. Obtain and install customizable blog software – WordPress and Moveable Type are my favorites.

3. Customize blog look and feel templates – aka design.

4. Research keywords and develop a glossary – Keyword Discovery, WordTracker, SitePoint, SEOBook Keyword Research.

5. Optimize the blog:

   • Template optimization – RSS subscription options, social bookmark links, HTML code, Unique title tags, URLs, Sitemap

   • Add helper plugins specific to WordPress or MT

   • Create keyword rich categories (reference your keyword glossary)

6. Enable automatic trackback and ping functionality.

7. Create Feedburner Pro account and enable feed tracking.

8. Setup Google acount for Sitemap, validate and prep for future submission.

9. Identify authoritative blogs, web sites and hubs for outbound resource links and blogroll.

10. Format archived posts, related posts.

11. Enable statistics for tracking – Performancing, Google Analytics, ClickTracks.

12. Submit RSS feed and Blog URL to prominent RSS and Blog directories / search engines.

13. Engage in an ongoing link building campaign.

14. If podcast or video content are available, submit to Podcast and Vlog directories.

15. Submit blog url to paid directories with categories for blogs – Yahoo, BOTW, bCentral, WOW, JoeAnt.

16. Optimize and distribute a press release announcing blog.

17. Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads. If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.

18. Research and comment on relevant industry related blogs and blogs with significant centers of influence.

19. Post regularly. If it’s a news oriented blog, 3-5 times per day. If it’s an authoritative blog, 3-5 times per week, but each post must be unique and high value.

20. Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your blog – Google Alerts, Technorati, Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask Blogs and Feeds.

21. Always respond to comments on your blog and when you detect a mention of your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.

22. Make contact with related bloggers on AND offline if possible.

23. When making blog posts always cite the source with a link and don’t be afraid to mention popular bloggers by name. Use keywords in the blog post title, in the body of the post and use anchor text when you link to previous posts you’ve made.

24. Use social networking services, forums and discussion threads to connect with other bloggers. If they like your stuff, they will link to you.

25. Remember when web sites were a new concept and the sage advice to print your web address everywhere you print your phone number? The same advice applies for your blog.