May 31 2010
In today’s modern world, a website is the equivalent of a huge billboard outside your office. It is your advertising window to all your customers and you want people to see it. There is not much point in having an all singing, all dancing website that nobody visits!
from Internet and Businesses Online: SEO Articles from EzineArticles.com
May 31 2010
Starting an online business become a challenge for you, especially when you’re equipped with the proper knowledge, planning and business strategy. Choosing the market share is the first step towards your online business, but there are many other important factors to consider before starting.
from Internet-and-Businesses-Online Articles from EzineArticles.com
May 30 2010
If you prefer your desk to look a little more like a mad scientist’s lab, then these USB speakers ought to at least get you started. Sure, it won’t instantly transform your space, but throw in the occasional evil laugh and you’ll be well on your way. Plus you’ll have a small light show while you listen to your favorite tunes.
Each one of those little tubes will light up with blue LED lights while your music is up and going. These come in two different forms, there is the silver version and then the black. To keep them powered you’ll just need to hook one up to the USB port of your computer or laptop. You can purchase the Japanese product for $52 through Japan Trend Shop. That does mean that you’ll be stuck with a Japanese instruction manual, but you should be able to figure out how to get it working.
Source: TechFresh
from Coolest Gadgets
May 30 2010
The first time I learned Beethoven had a bit of a hearing problem, I was baffled as to how he managed to go on with his music career. It’s been said that he listened through vibrations in the floor to discover different things like to find out if the audience really liked his work. Using vibrations to “hear” isn’t an entirely uncommon concept for anyone who is deaf, which does still make this concept a little odd. Then again, it’s not exactly far fetched either. This collar is meant to give music to the deaf by using those vibrations to trigger the right area of the brain, allowing them to listen.
This collar was done by a German designer who wanted the deaf to be able to at least feel the music. It converts auditory input into vibrations that trigger the same sound-processing area of the brain as someone with functioning hearing. Whether or not it will really catch on is debatable, but it’s an interesting concept at the very least.
Source: Ubergizmo
from Coolest Gadgets
May 30 2010
Download audio file (Ethan_Kaplan.mp3)
Ethan Kaplan, Vice President of Technology at Warner Bros. Records, was a speaker at the first Audience Conference on Friday, November 6, 2009 in New York City.
Ethan Kaplan is the Vice President of Technology at Warner Bros. Records and is the head of all technology at the company. This works out well since the two things Ethan loves most in the world are music and technology. At WBR, Ethan is responsible for all consumer facing web properties, technology initiatives, business development and research/development.
Get details on the Audience Conference at http://www.theaudienceconference.com/.
More Audience Conference audio available at http://geekcast.fm/archives/category/audience-conference/.
May 30 2010
You want your writing to be inspired, but that in itself can be an obsession, and selecting a topic to blogging about can take up a good chunk of your day, if you let it. Work still has to get done. Yet it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some tips to manage your blogging workflow, choose blog post topics, and make efficient use of your time.
One of the problems with having Web content aggregator tools at your disposal like Google Reader, AllTop, YourVersion, or TechMeme (for tech topics) is that you can easily get caught up in cataloging or bookmarking every new post — especially those with breaking news from a few minutes ago. If you do this, yes you’ll be aware of all kinds of breaking news and other trends in the blogosphere, but if your objective is to blog, you’re no closer to your goal if you’re spending hours looking at what’s going on online. Just like the saying “writers write,” be of the mindset that “bloggers blog.”
To make efficient use of your time, develop the skill of choosing suitable topics for your blog posts and get writing. Here are some suggestions to help you filter your choices.
First and foremost, stop scanning your aggregators and adding new items to your list of references. Close your Web browser tabs – or at least the ones with your aggregators. Trust yourself that if you’re reasonably knowledgeable about your niche, you have enough references to trigger some ideas for a blog post.
If you have one, use it as a filter for your current list of “hot topics”. Maybe something one blogger wrote coincides with an item on your editorial calendar and you can add to the “conversation” of that topic.
If you don’t have an editorial calendar, see what the trending topics are on Twitter. The new home page makes it easy; you don’t even have to have a Twitter account (though you should).
If you want a more long-term view of popular topics, use Google Trends to compare the search frequencies (on Google) of two or more keywords/ keyphrases.
If tips #2-4, above, don’t help you, just pick at random. Assuming you have already been selective about what’s in your list of references,choosing a topic at random from the list is far better than wasting time trying to decide what to write about.
If I have a large daily quota of articles and I have a client who needs news-y posts, setting a timer for each post helps me immensely. Sure, I might be able to write 800 words on some celebrity’s passing, but if 200 will do and the priority is to get the news out fast, then I can revisit a longer post later. Think of it as a link-building opportunity: write a shorter post now and link back with a longer post later.
Another area of obsession can be choosing the “right” image for your post. I use Flickr and filter for CC-licensed content. Sometimes certain keywords just don’t turn up the “right” image. If not, use a “first fit” approach: change search keywords and take the first image that works. It doesn’t have to be perfect, else you can easily get caught up in browsing for something “better”. Worst case: browse at most 3-4 pages of Flickr search results and pick the best one from each page. Compare the selections and pick one so you can get on with your day.
Just write.
How do you keep your blogging time in check? Or do you let it dominate your entire day?
Disclosure: I have share options in YourVersion, a real-time Web content discovery engine.
Image: Flickr.
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