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Here we are just a day from Thanksgiving and so many of my friends in the United States seem to be stopping to think and talk about what they have to be thankful for.

That's interesting because I can't remember seeing those friends and acquaintances ever being quite so introspective in previous years. At this time in previous years they've been talking about what they're going to be cooking and where they're going to be spending Thanksgiving but I've never seen so many of them stopping to think about other things they way they are doing so this year.

Perhaps that's the sign of the times. There's no doubt that this has been a rather tough year for so many people and I'm sure that many people and their businesses that were around at this time last year have not survived. I know that many of us have had to fight hard to survive this year and perhaps the outlook for the next 12 months is not so bright.

So what do you have to be thankful for? What ... or who ... has helped you to survive and/or prosper?

For me it's all been about my friends and my partner. They're the ones who have helped me get through the tough times this year.

Sure, I have a strong determination not to fail but no matter how inwardly tough you might be you still need the support of friends and family to get you through those dark moments that everyone faces when times are tough and you begin to doubt yourself and your ability to keep on going.

So let me ask you that question again. What ... or who ... has helped you get through those tough times and dark moments this year? Who have you taken for granted this past year?

Perhaps it's time to stop and tell those people how much they mean to you because sometimes ... if you're not telling them how much they mean to you ... they begin to wonder if they really are being supportive. And when their thoughts start wandering down that path they begin to drift away from you and where will that leave you the next time you need their support.

By all means be thankful for those people ... think warm and fuzzy thoughts about them at this time of year ... send them positive thoughts and lots of good wishes ... but actually go one step further than you may have gone in the past. Actually stand in front of them and tell them in plain and unequivocal language just how much they mean to you and just how much you value their support.

Now I know that can sound like I'm stating the obvious but many of us have real trouble opening up and admitting that we may not be as tough as we seem. Perhaps we're scared that people will think less of us ... or even laugh at us ... but if you have people in your life whose support keeps you going then you need to tell them in plain terms just how much you need them.

So don't wonder about whether you should say something to them or not ... don't worry about how they might react ... just do it today because putting it off till tomorrow might mean that you're too late.

A useful link
And now that I've got that touchy feely stuff out of the way let me give you a link that everyone of us may find useful.

mturk.com/mturk/welcome

At first glance this may look like an outsourcing site for mainstream webmasters and in lots of ways it is. This site does provide outsourcing for just about everything you might need .

The thing that really caught my eye about this site is what you will find behind the 'Business Feedback' link.

Have you ever wondered just how effective your search engine descriptions really are? You can run some split testing using people from Mechanical Turk ... you can tweak your descriptions and run the tests again ... and you can do it for as little as $10.00 a time.

As one guy who recommended this site to me found, the results can be surprising and for him the cost of running the tests was money well spent. Sometimes we can get so bound up in what gurus tell us should work that we forget that we're reaching out to real people and what works for them may have little resemblance to what the gurus claim works best.

And that's it for me this month. I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving and that you do spend some time telling people how thankful you are that they're around for you.