Volkswagen envisions vehicles which communicate with each other, meaning that driver involvement is kept to a minimum, traffic is a thing of the past and accidents are completely avoided. Of course, no vision of the future would be complete without the elimination of fossil fuels, and VW sees to it that biofuels and electricity power the cars of the future. Interestingly, the not-so-futuristic up! concept is used as the starting point for the German automaker's future designs. Head on over to the micro-site for more.

Celebrities in Lego

Astrid Munoz

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Landers

Audrey Tautou

But there's another great advantage provided to publicity seekers
by the Internet -- the ability to create an "online news room".
In the "old days", the press kit reigned. Big bulky folders
loaded with press releases, glossy photos and slides were
standard. They were expensive to design, costly to reproduce and
required lots of manpower and postage to assemble and distribute.
Today, you can simply direct a reporter to a web URL, where all
your press materials and high definition artwork awaits, ready to
be used. It's a huge time and money saver.

A quick note: the traditional press kit isn't dead. It's still
handy to create some physical kits to use with key journalists,
as the very novelty of printed material can give you an edge at
times. Also, some journalists still prefer a physical kit. Press
kits are an important tool at trade show booths & press rooms,
and special events. However, gone are the days of sending out
large press kit mailings. Keep the kits for targeted use only.

Creating a useful online news room is really pretty simple. One
of the main things a busy reporter wants is easy access to press
releases, corporate and executive info and artwork. A well put
together media room should provide a seamless walk-through.

Where Should the News Room Go?

There are two schools of thought on where to put your online news
room. Some companies prefer to have it as a section on their
main site, visible to all as a link on a menu bar or other
navigational element. Others build entirely separate sites just
for the media.

There are pros and cons to each. Putting it as part of your main
site allows a journalist to "poke around" your site, absorbing
more of the feel and culture of your company and its products. It
also makes it easier if the reporter wants more information about
a particular product than can be found in your media materials.
Of course, since you'll need to provide clear links to the online
news room to help such reporters find their way back, anyone
visiting your site can access your press materials. This is
probably not an issue but, if you feel potential customers may
become confused if they wander into the online news room, this
could be worth considering.

Creating a separate site allows you to tailor everything to suit
the needs of the reporter and prevents the possibility of
confusion for potential customers visiting your main site. The
reporter however, will be unable to quickly "poke around" the
main site as described above, so you may consider that in your
decision. If you do choose a separate site, give it a name that
incorporates your company (if you're the Acme Company, go for
acmepress.com or acmeonlinenewsroom.com). Also, provide clear
links to your main site throughout, and code them so that they
open in a new window, allowing the reporter to see your main site
without having to backtrack to the online news room.

Some Do's and Don'ts

DON'T force journalists to register or sign in for access.
They're busy folks and may very well decide not to bother. Make
life as easy as you can for them.

DO offer the opportunity for journalists to enter their e-mail
address if they wish to be kept abreast of the latest news from
your company, but don't link it in any way to the ability to
access any portion of the site. DON'T confuse non-journalists who
may wander into the site. Make it clear at the top of your main
page of your online news room what it and who it's for.

DO provide a link to your consumer FAQ page and an e-mail link
for customer service to give non-journalists a place to go to get
their questions answered. This will save you a great deal of
time responding to messages from non-journalists asking "why am I
looking at a press release? How do I download a new driver" or
some such thing. Here's what Gateway says, "Gateway press
contacts are only able to provide assistance for qualified
members of the news media. They are not qualified to respond to
product or technical support needs...If you are not a member of
the news media, please feel free to visit our pages for Product
Service and Support."

DON'T try to lay out the online news room if you're not a
talented web designer. Don't use flash, heavy java scripts and
other doo-dads. The face you put forth to the media must be
highly professional, and the ease of navigation and logical flow
of the news room is vital.

DO hire a professional designer who has a portfolio that includes
simple, easy-to-navigate, clean-looking sites.

What To Include in Your Online News Room:

Personal Contact Info. The name, address, e-mail, phone number,
fax number and cell phone number of your primary media contacts
must be front and center. If you have an Instant Messaging ID,
put it in there, too.

Press Releases. Place press releases in chronological order
(most recent at the top). Keep traditional press release
formatting and use easy-to-read fonts.

Executive photos, product photos, charts, graphs, and other
appropriate artwork. Provide multiple versions -- 72 dpi (lower
resolution) for online publications and websites, and 300 dpi
(higher resolution) for offline publications. Put instructions
such as To download, right-click and choose "save" next to the
graphics. Make sure your pitch letters and press releases
provide links to the appropriate artwork on your site.

Backgrounders, executive bios, white papers, investor relations
info (if applicable), fact sheets, speeches, awards, streaming
media of: press conferences, product demonstrations, president's
speeches, etc.

Search Tool. Make it easy for journalists to find just what they
want, by making all your press materials fully searchable.

Online News Rooms to Study:

The best way to learn how to put together an online news room is
to see how some very smart folks have done it. Here are three
outstanding examples....

Bill Stoller, the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as
one of America's top publicists. Now, through his website, eZine
and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for
PR-Hungry Businesses
he's sharing -- for the very first time -- his secrets of scoring
big publicity. For free articles, killer publicity tips and
much, much more, visit Bill's exclusive new site:

Winner of the unseen technology award at the Interior motives design award 2007, the MAG magnetic vehicle concept from Slovak designer Matus Prochaczka showcases two special technologies in one vehicle. Using magnetic power, the vehicle uses an electric engine that has a polarity which is the same as in road. Of course this will also require the roads to be made of huge concrete panels with magnets formed in them.




This effect will produce an upward force, which can lighten 50% of vehicle weight. The construction of car follows this technique with a ring bearing system letting the electric traction be born directly by the back tyres.



The seats feature a range frame coated by 3mesh dense net that consists of two nets, joined together by fibers running perpendicular to their surface.



Two outer layers and the pile yarn independently form the final materiel and make it possible to adjust the hardness and the spring characteristics of the seat.



This makes the material usable in adaptable seating and can contour the passengers’ body by using soft construction foam in seating areas making it the ultimate clean, green, vehicle of the future.

Alcohol is harmful for your health

Victoria Principal

Victoria Silvstedt

Vida Guerra

Viera Schotterova

The network marketing opportunity must be simple in design so that it is easy to understand and easy to follow.

2. Time efficiency

The network marketing opportunity must facilitate work on a part time or on a full time basis so that one may work on his or her business as much or as little as he or she can and still earn a profit.

3. Net gain

Although some money may have to be invested in order to make real income, a home business based on network marketing must be feasible even for those with very little money to invest.

Everyone knows that money can be made for those who already have money. An internet home based business can provide an opportunity to people in any income bracket provided that he or she has access to a computer

4. Easy for anyone to do

An online home based business should require some basic computer knowledge, but beyond that a home based business based on network marketing must be comprehensible. Even a child should be able to make money with the right home based business.

5. Personal

To run a home based business online is no different from any other business: you must sell yourself if you want to make money. The more you can sell yourself, the more money you can earn and the best way to sell yourself is to be personal with your clients.

Although you can not reach out and shake hands with your clients, there is still a large window of opportunity for you to get to know your clientele on a personal basis through follow up letters, congratulatory letters, phone calls and regular emails to show your continued interest in his or her business.

6. Positive experience

In order to attract potential network marketers to your down line, you must ensure that their business experience is a positive one. Essentially you must sell someone on the idea of becoming a network marketer, but instead of money the individuals in your down line will invest time.

If the experience is negative, surely the individual in your down line will not continue to invest his or her time in your business

7. Understandable

A network marketing business must be understandable. It must be easy to see why one could make money in such a business. Just as understanding the mechanics of a car makes learning to drive a car virtually effortless, understanding the idea behind network marketing makes it easy to profit in your home business, therefore the idea must be easy to understand

8. Jump start

Starting anything is slow and network marketing is no exception. Before your car can drive it must overcome an initial force, which requires gas. Once your car has started going, it can continue to travel with no gas input.

Initially a home based business requires time; time to learn how the system works to generate clientele and to generate a down line. Once you understand this, you can keep adding to your clientele list and your down line with very little time input.

To help your own down line overcome this you must help them to jump start their business, offer your support and provide them with leads. Remember when they succeed you to will succeed!

9. Proof

Attracting people to your business requires that you provide proof of the potential to earn. Without proof, you are no more convincing than any other online home business. Provide success stories, report your income and your time invested and don't forgot to tell your down line about your own down falls. No one became successful without a few set backs along the way; that's how we learn.

10. Web page

The obvious way to market you online home business is to design a webpage with free access. Though this may take time, a webpage provides access of your business to people all around the world and it is an inexpensive way to advertise.

11. Feeling of accomplishment

Just like any other job network marketing for your online home business must provide the network marketer with a feeling of accomplishment. People in your down line will rely on this to ensure them that they have made the right choice by choosing to become a network marketer, without this your down line would likely quit.

Make sure that you hand on tools of success that worked for you and provide your down line with good leads. The feeling of accomplishment will always leave your down line hungry for more business, which in turn adds to your income stream.

12. Join

Once you find the most successful network marketing online home business, join it! Start your business today for a better tomorrow because once the power is in your hands and not your employer's your own apathy is the only thing that will hold you back from your dreams.

Ionel Prodan is the owner of All Beyond Network Marketing and a heavy hitter on the network marketing business. For more than 6 years has been helping salespeople transform self-limiting beliefs into self-fulfilling breakthroughs to achieve their dreams. My business mission is to bring together a group of people dedicated to integrity, distinction and helping others, to create a revolution of unselfishness and generosity in network marketing.