This is a sponsored post by Zenni Optical.  They are the number 1 online eyeglasses store offering high-quality prescription eyeglasses. Prescription eyeglasses are a necessary health item that need to be brought from reliable brands. Apart from the regular features and safety of a presecription glasses, Zenni Optical aims at providing a lot of additional features that will make your life easier.

These eyeglasses are coated with  new generation features such as oleophobic coating (which means it is fingerprint resistant), AR and hydro-phobic coating. Together the user can have a hassle free use of his/her eye wear, where they do not have to worry constantly about keeping their lenses crystal clear. For most users the biggest issue is the oil from fingers and fingerprints, that simply would not go away.

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They have a great pricing which starts from $6.95 prescription eyeglasses. This means they provide high quality glasses at incredible pricing.  83k fans on Facebook is testimony to their popularity and reliability among their loyal customers.

Passing years scare me. And with good reason. I have never been a fan of growing up. I am just 22 but I can tell you I have seen most things that many never will and felt things that many people would not ever want to feel about themselves.

Credit: peter-loza.deviantart.com

I am very attached to my folks back home. But back when I was 18, the naive teen in me was excited about leaving home and being all independent. I am talking about leaving for college after school. Now its 5 years since I have had a stay at home. In the last 5 years I have never had the peace of mind to stay with my mom and dad for extended periods. All my trips have always been a touch and go. Always giving me an incomplete feeling when I leave. And I cant help but think that maybe I should have stayed back and went to a college closer to home.

Because when everything is said and done, we will all see our share of misfortune and experiences with time. But the time that you get to spend with your parents is only limited.

Year 1995

I yearn for the Christmas when I was younger. When I was younger, the 25th morning were always insanely exciting for me. It was the morning when Santa would have left me a present on my study table. My eyes would pop open with a sudden jolt on Christmas morning and before anything would set upon the study table. And there it would be, the gleaming box of present. It was there every year for the next 5 years. Until I realized.

Let me tell you one thing, when a boy understands that Santa is not real. There is only one feeling. Pain.

If it wasn’t for my general realization of this fact, my mother would not mind placing gifts at my desk for every Christmas till I am 100. Trust me, she hated herself when my bubble burst about Santa’s existence. I think that is Love. I really do think of it as something divine.

Year 2011

Christmas in 2011. I wake up in my empty rented room. There is no gift. No mom with her radiant smile to make me feel all  Christmas-y. There is an ash tray that needs emptying. I barely feel like getting out of bed. After all it is just one Sunday I get off from work. I check my cell – I don’t even have the balance to call her up. It hurts.

I regret where I brought my life. I regret not being with mom more. Because now its too late.

Collegefallout has finally featured in AllTop under the Startups section of the site. AllTop is an aggregator that lists the top blogs around the web and classifies them according to their niche. It is also founded by one of my favorite speakers and VC’s Guy Kawasaki.

It is a pretty big deal to get listed on AllTop with all the best blogs and feels very great to have reached there.

Now you can find my blog’s latest feeds alongside some of the biggest names such as Growthology, OnStartups, Fast Company, VentureBeat etc. through AllTop.

If you have never checked out AllTop, I would suggest you do to get the best sites in the niche that interests you!

Signing off.

Email is one of the most used tools for quick and easy communication with others. So it is worth spending a few minutes on understanding how you can get more efficient and effective at email communications.  Whether it is advertisement inquiries for your blog, business inquiries or to reach out to old contacts/friends we all make use of emails.

This post assumes that it is an email that needs to be sent to some professional, perhaps someone you do not know very well personally.

Here are some useful tips that you can use to better your email communications:

Use points

Whenever you are sending an email that needs to drive in many important points to the recipient, in that case using points is the best practice. Use bullets or numbered lists to provide a clear structure to your message. It first of all helps emphasize on the important points and the recipient will be able to go through the email quicker.

Be Specific

Don’t write an email like a blog post. Unless extra details are asked, you don’t need to overly elaborate anything. Simply stick to the facts – it’ll help you keep your message crisp. And people will stop dreading to see your name in their inbox.

Format well

Formatting is important, especially if you are sending a professional email. Emphasize important words with bold lettering. Use Italics where the need is felt. However, when you do this, remember not to overdo it. If every other word on your email is bold then it kind of defeats the purpose.

Careful when you are getting personal

It is absolutely fine if you want to connect at them at a very personal level. But there are a few points you should remember:

• Avoid excessive compliments: Complimenting a lot will only be counter product. Especially busy people are really impatient with unknown emails. They just want you to get to the point.
• Personable: When you are trying to be personable use signing off techniques like “Enjoy your weekend” or “Best of luck with that XYZ project”. Don’t overdo it again and try not to get too personal.

What tips would you suggest others to keep their email efficient? Share them below.

If you’re just starting out in your career you may be tempted to take the first job that comes along in order to be able to pay the bills. Your college years were long and arduous, and have prepared you for the profession you’ve chosen, but now you have student loans that need to be paid. It may be a good idea to take that job you’ve been offered–you need to start somewhere–but you also want to be sure this is the right type of company for you. Checking into the background of a potential employer may be a good idea. Following are a few pointers on what to check for.

 It’s Your Career

Because your future happiness and well-being depend to a great extent on your income, the job you’re considering applying for could determine the course of the rest of your life. It’s your career. You want to make sure you’re going in the right direction, and the company you work for should reflect your values. Otherwise you’re simply a mercenary. You also want to make sure the company is going to be around for awhile, and checking into their business history can help you determine whether or not you should consider their job offer, or keep looking.

Begin Your Search

How in depth you want to search into a company’s background will determine the steps you take. Although it is possible to hire a professional investigator there are some things you can do on your own. The first step is to find out what the official name of the company is. Many businesses operate under assumed names or DBAs (Doing Business As). For various reasons a business may change its name over the years; they could have expanded their operations and their new name could reflect the addition to their business line. The company’s name will be on file at the Secretary of State’s office in the state in which the company is registered. Their file should contain the various names the company may have used in the past. This can be conducted over the Internet, which is a valuable resource for searches of this type. As your search continues you should include the assumed names and DBAs. You should also make a note of the addresses the business has used over the years. This will help you narrow down your search, and ensure you’re checking into the correct company’s records.

Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau is a good place to look for information. The BBB will be able to tell you whether or not there have been complaints filed against the company. Your online search will show a letter grade assigned to the company by the BBB, which indicates the company’s reliability. The contact information for the company will be listed, as well as an complaints filed by consumers or any action taken against the company by the government.

Uniform Commercial Code

A search of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing system in the state of record of the company will give you some insight into the company’s financial status regarding any secured loans they may have taken out. The UCC files can be accessed through the Secretary of State’s website in the state in which the company is registered. These files will provide a list of any outstanding loans the company may have in which the property is secured. Knowing this will help you determine whether or not the company is financially stable.

More Financial Information

If the company is incorporated and is publicly held you can access further financial information through the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website. Their online records will provide public information regarding the company’s securities transactions. The company’s annual and quarterly reports are a matter of public record and you can use this information to determine their financial standing and research their board of directors.

Potential Legal Troubles

One thing you most definitely want to know is whether or not the company is, or has ever been, in legal trouble. Most companies that have been around for awhile have been sued for one reason or another–after all, we do live in a litigious society–but knowing whether or not there is any pending litigation could help you determine if this is the company for you. It may be worth the modest fee you’ll have to pay to conduct a search using an electronic legal database such as LexisNexis.

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes for BackgroundCheck.org, a site that can help anyone do a criminal background check.

I have picked this up from Neha’s blog. A friend said that my blog lacks a personal touch and that my readers hardly know me as a person. So I figured this is a very interesting way in which you guys can get an idea about me. It is technically a FAQ on myself!

Also, I am kind of at a loss on what to key in today at Collegefallout so…

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
“Damn, the beard looks good. But got to shave for the big presentation I have to give.”

2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?
3 bucks.

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
Four.

4. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
An unknown number.

5. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
Sayonee by Junoon.

6. What are you wearing right now?
Formal striped shirt and trousers. (yes yes, you read it right)

7. Do you label yourself?
Nope.

8. Name the brand of the shoes you currently own?
Woodland, Bata.

9. Bright or Dark Room?
Bright. Dark when I am sleepy or cranky.

10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
Neha: It’s a nice personal blog. She is heart broken though.

11. What does your watch look like?
Styled black strap and a big circle dial. Very formal.

12. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Under the influence…asleep

13. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
“Ok chu****.. now m watching a movie.”

14. What’s a word that you say a lot?
Chal cool. Sahi hai. Awesome. WTF.

15. Who told you he/she loved you last? (please exclude spouse , family, children)
Wont name the person here. Been long enough though.

16. Last furry thing you touched?
Dumb question. I don’t even remember.

17. Favorite age you have been so far?
This one, I suppose.

18. What was the last thing you said to someone?
“No. You can’t transfer music from this iPod to your lappy.”

19. The last song you listened to?
Saigal Blues from Delhi Belly.

20. Where did you live in 1987?
Wasn’t born. Lmao!

21. Are you jealous of anyone?
Not anyone in particular. Very difficult to get me jealous.

22. Is anyone jealous of you?
Who knows!

23. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
Game face, a locket and brass Kadha.

24. What’s your favorite town/city?
Gurgaon/Delhi.

25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
Don’t really remember. I guess its been 7 years minimum.

26. Can you change the oil on a car?
F***k. No.

27. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
Committed with senior. Placed somewhere. 

28. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Hmm…on and off. (read the above answer)

29. What is your current desktop picture?
Megan Fox, bent over. (Oh yeah!)

30. Have you been burnt by love?
Yep. Still reeling. 

This is the first time that I am sharing the monthly traffic report for CollegeFallOut. I have seen that for some reason, people really dig it. So here you go.

The blog has really improved in the terms of bounce rate. Until last month, CFO was averaging a bounce rate of 72% – which is quite unhealthy for any blog. Now it has come down to 31%.

I shared my concern regarding high bounce rate on this post earlier – 2 factors affecting Collegefallout.

In relation to the last month, October finally saw CollegeFallOut crossing the 100+ visits/day mark.  For a long time, this blog only saw a two-digit traffic. The site also scores very high on the average time – 2.05 minutes is the site average.

The site time average and pages/visit tell me that my content quality is quite decent and I should concern with getting more traffic to the blog.

So the main thing that is required now is to increase the site traffic. I am seeing a monthly growth is traffic and I hope that it will quickly snowball into much higher traffic stats.

It’s been an exciting day for CollegeFallOut. If you have just visited the blog for the first times since yesterday, you will see a big change in the look and feel of the blog. This blog has started to look much more sharp and attractive.

It is all because of the brand new CollegeFallOut logo, here is a preview for you below. And yeah, I have also played with the header of my theme to make it look more classy.

CollegeFallOut Logo

My new digs on CollegeFallOut include the Favicon icon. The blog logo and the Favicon took a hell of a lot of time and pain-staking effort to design. I have to thank my room mate Bharat Hegde for his creativity and designing expertise when it comes to logos.

Let me know how you feel the new logo looks!

For most internet business, the start-up costs do not end with the purchase of domain name and designing of the website. A major operational cost of any internet business is the web hosting. And with more and more players entering the web hosting industry, it has become a mind-boggling to choose just any web hosts.

Due to the huge competition in the web hosting industry, most web host are trying to attract the webmasters by reducing the monthly fees or by upgrading their features. Basically, it has never been better for a webmaster who is looking for affordable and reliable web hosting solutions. However, the sheer number of choices can become overwhelming for any one. This is why a good review guide online for the best web hosting available has become a boon to webmasters. Webhostingclue.com is a website that does exactly this.

Internet entrepreneurs today know that each and every penny they save is important to regulate the cash flow. That is why high-value coupon codes and a good review can help them select a good yet affordable web hosting company. At Webhostingclue.com you can find a comprehensive web hosting review on the top companies that are currently present.

Apart from the reveiws, there are also the latest coupon codes that are given. Most of these coupon codes are of very high value and can help internet businesses get a good deal out for their servers. Another very big advantage for users is that Webhostingclue.com helps you save a lot of time.

It can be very time-consuming to browse through so many web hosting company websites, then look into their feaetures and move to the next company. Scouting for a good web host is difficult and time consuming, but Webhostingclue.com makes it very time -effective.

At the website home page, users can find a clean tabulation of the top 10 web hosts. One can also browse via the categories such as Best Blog Hosting, Best VPS hosting, Best Dedicated server hosting etc., which is all very easy to navigate. The best part of all is the separate page that is set only for the Coupon Codes. The best coupon codes for almost all the web hosting companies are provided in the table.

Webhostingclue.com is one of the most trusted webhost review and guide by users. They update their offers and coupon codes regularly which makes it one of the best places any webmaster can visit to choose good web hosts.

Hello Everybody,

CollegeFallOut is now ranking in top 10 for the keyword “Internet Entrepreneurs” in Google India. For the same keyword, CollegeFallOut ranks in top 20 results in global searches of Google.

When I began this blog, I flatly aimed for the keyword “Internet Entrepreneurs”, with no longtail keywords. It was not a wise SEO decision actually. Since new blogs rarely rank well for such mainstream keywords. However, I guess the persistence is paying off now.

In India, there is not a very significant search volume for the term “internet entrepreneurs”, however, the global searches are quite good. This is why it is important for me to continue working on building keyword rich content until I rank in the top 10 for global searches.

Currently, I am facing quite stiff competition from authority blogs for the same keyword by top bloggers like Michael Dunlop and Yaro Starak. Michael Dunlop runs one of the most popular blogs for young entrepreneurs online.

I hope with continuous work to provide more value to readers, I can enter this keyword niche strongly. I also have to thank all my regular commentators on this blog for their support, which keeps me motivated.

• Shabnam Sultan (6)
• Robin (5)
• Shekhar Sahu (5)
• Arafat Hossain Pi… (4)

As always, Wishing You All Success.