This Week in Tech Tools

Target Messages to your Facebook Fans for FREE

2010-06-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

Most tech-savvy businesses already have a Facebook Fan Page and many other (not-so-tech-savvy) businesses are following suit. Fan Pages are a popular (and FREE) form of advertising that you can easily control and monitor. Not to mention, it will help your company increase its SEO or search engine optimization rankings (or "findability"). Your company's information can easily go viral and also act as another way to drive traffic back to your website.

Not only can you easily post updates (that will appear in your fans' feeds) and send messages to your fans, but you can also target your messages within your fan-base for free!

Let's say you have a new product that you are about to launch, but your target market is women. More than likely, your male fans won't be interested in this information.

Facebook allows you to target your message, FOR FREE, to the target demographic you are trying to reach.

From your Facebook Fan-Page (you must be the administrator of that page) select:
- "Edit Page"
- "Send Update to Fans"
- You will then have the option to select your recipients based on demographics (Women - 35-44)

Big Tech Buyouts - Then and Now

2010-03-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

Good economy, bad economy - there's money out there. Check out this list of tech companies who cashed in and sold out.

2004 - eBay - Craigslist - $15 million for a 25% stake (shares)
2005 - eBay - Skype - $2.6 billion
2005 - eBay - Gumtree (UK classifieds) - Undisclosed
2005 - Yahoo - del.icio.us - Undisclosed - Approx $15-30 million (300,000 users)
2006 - Google - YouTube - $1.65 billion in stock
2007 - Yahoo - Zimbra - $350 million
2007 - eBay - PayPal - $1.5 billion
2007 - eBay - StumbleUpon - $75 million (2 million users) - Bought back in
2007 - Google - Postini - $625 million
2007 - Google - Feedburner - $100 million
2007 - EMC - Mozy (online backup) - $76 million
2007 - Hearst - Kaboodle (social shopping site) - $30-40 million
2007 - Facebook - Parakey (web OS) - < $4 million
2007 - Fox Interactive Media (MySpace) - Photobucket (photo/video sharing site) - $250 million (36 million registered users)
2007 - Getty Images - Pump Audio - $42 million
2008 - AOL - Bebo - $850 million
2009 - Google - AdMob - $750 million
2009 - Google - Gizmo 5 - $30 million
2009 - Google - Yelp (review site) - $500 million (8 million reviews) - OFFER REJECTED
2010 - Google - Aardvark - $50 million (90,361 users, of whom 55.9% had created content - asked or answered a question)
2010 - Google - DocVerse - $25 million

Suggested Reading:

Easily Create Photo Collages with Shape Collage

2010-03-08T10:34:00.000-08:00

Shape Collage is the only collage maker that:
optimally arranges photos
creates collages in different shapes
can handle thousands of photos
generates super high-resolution images (up to 200 megapixels)
makes collages in just seconds
exports to Photoshop PSD file format

Free and Paid - Use it online or download the software

Free Version is fully functional

Pro Version features:
Watermark removed
Save as Photoshop PSD and manually edit
Pro (Personal Use) - $25.00
Commercial Use - $45.00

30 Reasons Why You Need a Website

2010-03-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

cause you HAVE TO – people expect it!
So people can find you, or find out more about you or yourbusiness. People Search on the Internet. It is the most popular medium forresearching a company, a product or a long lost friend
It is an extremely inexpensive and cost effective way toadvertise (There are many freewebsite builders available, such as Weebly!)
To promote and sell yourself, your company, your productsand your services
To save money on advertising, printing, overhead, personnel,etc.
It is easier to keep and share accurate and up to the minuteinventory levels
So you can automate processes (sales, customer service,operations) which will save you time, resources and money
Because it’s GREEN (it saves paper and saves the planet
So you can keep up with or outshine the competition
To vastly increase exposure – your website (your store/yourstory/your information) is open and available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day,7 days a week
So you can showcase many products at once
To announce your events
To educate the masses, by sharing your knowledge and ideasor expressing your thoughts and beliefs
So you can build a community and a customer database
To effortlessly share pictures, sound and other files
To improve customer service and convenience, by providingself-service options for your customers or visitors
So you can post frequently asked questions and not have toanswer the same questions over and over
To increase brand awareness
So you can easily communicate with the masses and open linesof communication never before possible (think global)
To take pre-orders, even if your product or service isn’tready
To get feedback and please your customers/visitors – Easily obtainfeedback from customers and prospective customers to find out what their wantsand needs are
So you can have control and the ability to quicklyupdate/add/delete information from anywhere, at any time, day or night
So you can launch new promotions quickly and easily
To increase customer loyalty (post specials, have contestsand run sweepstakes)
If people are shy or hesitant, they can comfortably checkout you or your site from the comfort of their home or office
So you can find employees. A website is a great recruitmenttool if you’re looking to hire
So you can find a job. Post your credentials online and sellyourself!
So you can easily cross-market – Mention/list your websitein other forms of advertising (print, social media, media, email, etc.)
So you can easily analyze your customer web trackingstatistics. Know who your customers are and where they are from so you can makesure you’re reaching your market. Position your marketing (based on the stats)to help you market more effectively going forward
So you can keep in touch across the miles – Keep in touchwith family, friends and colleagues a mile away or on another continent

Do it Yourself:

Don't know how or don't want to be bothered? Consider outsourcing:

With Web Hosting, Bigger Isnt Always Better

2010-03-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

If you’ve ever published a website, odds are you’ve probably heard of Rackspace. Rackspace is one of the largest and well known web hosts out there and hosts some notable websites, such as; TechCrunch, 37signals, Brizzly, all of the Tumblr Sites and many, many more. Not to mention, they have Robert Scoble as their voice – and a big voice that is. Robert Scoble is an employee of Rackspace and is famous for his blog http://scobleizer.com and his Twitter account @Scobleizer with over 115,000 followers (myself being one of those 115,000).

Their claim to fame is their punch-line “Backed by Fanatical Support” and from what I’ve heard, they do have great (OK, fanatical) support. They also claim “100% Network Uptime Isn't Wishful Thinking, It's a Guarantee” Problem is, nobody’s perfect. They have issues, just like everyone else and numerous downtimes have been reported.

In 2009 alone, Rackspace experienced outages for customers using their Dallas-Fort Worth data center on numerous occasions (June 10, June 20, June 29, July 7, November 3, and December 18 respectively).

Now, you’re probably thinking, most Web Hosts have reported downtime and they do, but since Rackspace gets to be in the limelight for the notable sites that it hosts, their downtime doesn’t go unnoticed.

Now, I’m not saying don’t host your website with Rackspace, I’m simply suggesting you consider all of your options. There are a lot of great Web Hosts (and some with much better track records for uptime).

Also, no matter who you decide upon, you should also consider a “backup plan”. Many high profile sites have decided to make alternate plans at other hosting companies to avoid future problems. This could mean using more than one Web Host for your site, in the event your primary host goes down.

Rackspace – Backed by Fanatical Support

1&1 Internet Web Hosting and Domain –Best known for their multi page ads in Entrepreneur and Inc Magazine

GoDaddy – Best known for their risqué (SuperBowl) commercials

Hostgator - Recognized by Inc. Magazine in2008 as one of the fastest growing private companies in America

Lunarpages - Affordable business andpersonal web hosting plans

Network Solutions – Award Winning WebHost with 30 Years of Experience

Server Intellect – Award Winning WindowsHost - Microsoft Certified Gold Partner – 24/7/365 US Based Support

.COM and .NET Prices to increase July 1st 2010

2010-03-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

On July 1, 2010, VeriSign®, the registry for .COM and .NET, will increase prices – .COM will go up 7%, and .NET by 10%.

The increase will be passed to registrars like Go Daddy and then, unfortunately, to consumers like you.

As of July 1, Domain Registrars will be forced to raise registration and renewal* prices for these two popular top-level domains.

If you wish to avoid this price increase, you can renew your domain names by June 30 and add another year to your current expiration dates. You have the option to register or renew for multiple years and lock in long-term savings.

Mobile Roadie: Apps for the Android too!

2010-03-04T01:23:00.000-08:00

Mobile Roadie, best known as the Startup that enables anyone to easily create Apps for the iPhone and somehow gets the Apps to appear in the iPhone App Store in as little as a week.

Well, there's more good news on the Mobile Roadie home-front, as they recently announced the additional functionality for Android! With Android growing in popularity, this is a huge win for those looking to build an App for Android, as well as a big for this innovative Startup.

Check them out at MobileRoadie.com

Use this link: https://mobileroadie.com/ref/AppitySlap and get 10% off your base setup fee!

Introduction to Twitter: The Basics and Beyond

2010-03-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

Introduction to Twitter: The Basics and Beyond

The Pulse Smart Pen Connecting Paper and the Digital World

2010-02-27T00:18:00.000-08:00

The Pulse smartpen records and links audio to what you write, so you never miss a word.

Do you prefer to write, but dread having to convert your notes into the computer or email?

Pulse is a type of “mobile computer” that supports reading, writing, speaking and listening.

The Pulse smartpen from Livescribe is a computer within a pen that captures handwriting and simultaneously records audio and synchronizes it to the writing. You can simply tap on your notes to replay what was recorded from the exact moment you were writing, so you never miss a word you hear, write, or speak. Further, the smartpen is a general purpose computer with rich I/O capabilities and a Java development environment that enables a wide range of applications.

Introducing Pencasts:

Embed handwritten notes and audio recordings as Flash videos (“pencasts”) within your website or blog. Like podcasts, videos, tweets and digital photos, pencasts are a new online communication tool, allowing you to digitally share notes, ideas, drawings and conversations from pen and paper online for the first time!

What the heck is a Giza Page?

2010-02-26T21:37:00.001-08:00

A GizaPage is a very cool way to aggregate all of your social media identities into one, well...GizaPage (or one "you" branded URL).

When you get a GizaPage, you can also use the one click "cards" (graphics) to embed into your blog or email.

It's a great way to optimize your social media outreach and expand your brand.

Best part is...it's Free!

For more information or to create your own GizaPage, please visit http://www.gizapage.com

To learn about tools like these and much, much more visit: http://www.appityslap.com

Looking for a Job? Consider Twitter

2010-02-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

Looking for a job? Have you considered Twitter? Jobs aretough to find! Unemployment is at 10.6% nationwide and as high as 14.5% in somestates like Michigan. Exploring every avenue is not only beneficial to jobseekers, but a necessity.

Below are some tips for finding a job on Twitter, if anyonehas any other suggestions or ideas, please comment on this post, and be kindenough “share the wealth”.

Twitter Job Websites:

TweetyJobs - An employment-centricsocial network, connecting jobseekers with employers and recruiters

Twtjobs – Create your Twitter Resume or PostJobs

TwitJobSearch – A Job Search Enginefor Twitter

Hashtags (#):

Follow or search the following HashTags. Searchin Twitter or use a free service like Social Oomph to schedule daily emailalerts with your selected hashtags:

#(Insert City, State or Country) jobs

#(Insert title or industry tag) #CIO, #CEO, #COO, #VP, #PR,#SEO #BusinessAnalyst, #Mgr, #InfoSec, #Operations, #Dir, #Exec #gov, #PHP, #PR,#Mktg, #IT, #Ops, #Health, #Gov, #DOD, #DHS, #security)

#career

#careers

#employment

#greenjobs

#hire

#hireme

#hiring

#hr

#job

#jobs

#jobadvice

#jobhunt

#jobhunting

#jobinterview

#jobpostings

#jobs

#jobsearch

#jobseeker

#jobseekers

#jobtips

#laidoff

#needajob

#prjobs

#recruiters

#recruiting

#resume

#resumes

#salary

#success

#tweetmyjobs

#work

Twitter Accounts for Jobs (Follow or Add to a List):

General Job Accounts:

@edelmanhr – PR Jobs in London

@indeed – One search. All Jobs. 

@JobAngels – Helping people Find Jobs

@jobshouts – General Job Listings

@microjobs – General Job Listings

@simplyhired – Job Search Site 

@SocialMediaJob – Social Media Jobs

@StartUpHire – Jobs at Venture Capital Backed Companies

@twithire – Job Board Service  

Company Accounts:

@attjobs – Jobs at AT&T

@mtvnetworksjobs – Jobs at MTV

@TRCareers –Thomson Reuters Jobs

Job Type Accounts:

@findinternships – Intern Jobs

@freelance_jobs – Freelance Jobs

@heatherhuhman – Intern and Entry Level Jobs for Gen Y

@jewish_jobs – Jewish Jobs

@Project4Hire – Freelance and Temp Jobs

@Work_Freelance – Freelance Jobs

Job Field Accounts:

@alldevjobs – Developer Jobs

@ArtDirectorJobs – Art Director Jobs

@cwjobs – Copywriter Jobs

@jobsinhiphop – Jobs in Hip-Hop

@journalism_jobs – Jobs in Journalism

@juicyjobs – Green Jobs

@libgig_jobs – Library Jobs 

@media_pros – Media Jobs

@mediabistrojobs – Media Bistro Jobs

@medical_jobs – Medical Jobs

@narmsjobs – Retail Marketing Jobs

@PRSAjobcenter – PR, Communications and Marketing Jobs

@reflectx – Physical Therapy Jobs

@seojobs – SEO Job Listings

@socialmediajob – Social Media Jobs 

@travelmaxallied – Healthcare Jobs

@travelnursejob – Jobs for Traveling Nurses 

@usmusicjobs – US Music Jobs 

@web_design_jobs – Web design and GraphicsJobs 

Regional Accounts:

@ChicagoTechJobs – Tech Jobs in Chicago

@chicagowebjobs – Chicago Web Related Jobs

@ITJobsLondon – IT Jobs in London, UK

@ITJobsSydney – IT Jobs in Sydney, Australia

@JobsBoston – Boston Jobs

@jobshawaii – Hawaii Jobs

@mtltweetjobs – PR/Marketing/Social Media/Tech Jobs inMontreal

@MyBristolJobs – Job Listings from mybristoljobs.co.uk

@NewYorkTechJobs – Tech Jobs in New York

@PDXJobs – Jobs in Portland, Oregon

@sdjobs – Tech Jobs in San Diego 

@sfmobilejobs – Mobile Web and Digital Media Jobs in SiliconValley

@TopJobsInLondon – Top Jobs in London, UK

@web20jobs – Web 2.0 Jobs in the UK 

Additional Resources:

Cloud Computing and Web 2.0 Defined

2010-02-21T01:21:00.000-08:00

Everyone is talking aboutWeb 2.0 and Cloud Computing… Well, according to Wikipedia: Web 2.0 can be commonlyassociated with web applications that facilitate interactive informationsharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the WorldWide Web. Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based communities, hosted services,web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs,mashups, and folksonomies. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact withother users or to change website content, in contrast to non-interactivewebsites where users are limited to the passive viewing of information that isprovided to them.

Everyone has a slightlydifferent take on what cloud computing is and what it means. I will try toexplain the overall scope of the term and then we will dive into the manydifferent aspects of it.

The definition accordingto Wikipedia accurately describes the premise for this book:

“Cloud computing servicesoften provide common business applications online that are accessed from a webbrowser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.

The term cloud is used asa metaphor for the Internet.

Users need not haveknowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure inthe "cloud" that supports them.”

Will cloud computing take over the world? Probably not, but it is definitely changing the way manypeople run their business and their life.

Cloud computing can rangefrom storing and sharing documents on the web (i.e., using Google or Zoho Docs)to running your entire company operations via a remote data center.

What’s in it for me?

There are many advantagesof cloud computing. Let’s face it, life is hectic, and running a businessrequires that you wear many hats. Cloudcomputing helps you save money and time!

Easy Implementation – Gone are the days whenyou have to purchase software, get the right amount of licenses and manuallyload it onto every computer in your home and/or office. Also, you no longerneed to invent the wheel or purchase something and then later regret it (manyapplications are free or offer a trial period so you can make sure it meetsyour every need).

Accessibility – Today, most of us havea PC, a smart phone, an iPod, maybe even a Kindle Reader. Utilizing web appslet you run your business and/or access your documents, pictures orapplications from a variety of different sources in a variety of different ways.

Scalability – Many businesses startout small and continue grow, or that’s the hope anyway. When you start out, you can buy theapplication that supports 1-5 people, when you hire 5 more, you can upgrade it then,and not before. You no longer have to buy the big server, in the anticipationthat your company is going to grow. You can wait and purchase more space whenthe time comes.

Computer Resources are minimal and performance is improved - There is no longer a need to buy top of the linecomputers with robust hard-drives to handle the high tech programs that requirea lot of memory and disk space to run. Your computer will now run faster andmore efficiently, as it won’t be bogged down with lots of software and files.

IT costs are eliminated and/or internal resources are freedup – There is no longer a need to hire ITprofessionals to install or upgrade your software applications.

Software costs are reduced or eliminated - Instead of purchasing high priced software, there aremany free (that’s right, FREE) or low cost alternatives.

Microsoft Office ($229+) 4 Google Docs (Free) +Gmail (Free)

Adobe Acrobat ($299+) 4 Google Docs (Free)and/or Primo PDF (Free)

Software updates and upgrades are automatic - Having to upgrade software can be costly, but is oftennecessary. Have you ever had someone send you a Microsoft document in a higherversion that you couldn’t open? What about when you decide to upgrade yourcomputer and your old software no longer works! When the software or applicationis web-based, updates happen automatically and are available immediately (and mostoften for absolutely no charge!)

Unlimited storage capacity - Inthe cloud, there is an unlimited amount of resources available to store andback up your data. You no longer have to upgrade your computer or hard-drive,you no longer have to purchase external backup drives that take up space andpower for additional storage.

Automatic Back-Up –If you store your datain the cloud, you no longer have to back it up manually. I do; howeverrecommend that you have multiple (preferably automatic) backup systems inplace. Big companies are much more reliable than your external hard drive, butservers do go down and your data might become inaccessible at an inopportunetime. Some web applications (Google, Zoho and Remember the Milk to name a few) offer an alternative safetymeasure, such as Google Gears.

Collaboration is easy!Multiple users can collaborate easily on documents and projects. No moreemailing documents back and forth, not knowing what’s been added or changed.It’s a must have for many businesses!

It’s GREEN-ER - Just think about the packaging for all of the software andhardware that you’ve purchased in the past (now think of the amount purchasedby companies all over the world). Also,if you own and run your own server, think of the electricity you will save! Manyof the companies in the cloud have the means and the money to ensure theservers that are housing your data on are top of the line and energy efficient.

How much money can I save?

Let’s take a look.

IT Services – The average annualsalary of an IT employee is $65,000. Utilizing web-based software, you caneliminate the need for an IT professional.

Savings = $65,000/year

Phone Service – To purchase and setupan Analog phone system, you will pay an average of $40,000. If you choose toset up your phone system via VOIP, you will only pay about $15,000 for theinitial setup and the service.

Savings = $25,000/year

Software – Let’s take MicrosoftSmall Business Software as an example. If you have 50 employees you can mostlikely get the bulk-pricing rate of $379 per license for a total of $18,950.Additionally, you will need to use someone’s time to install the software on eachPC and you will need to pay for upgrades (usually every year or two). With opensource software, such as Google Docs or OpenOffice, you will have to payNOTHING, it’s free!

Savings = $18,950/year

Backup – If you choose tape backupto back up your data, it can cost up to $3,000, as you will need to purchasethe tapes and use an off-site rotation service. With online backup, you can payas little as $70 per year or less (for 50GB of storage).

Savings = $2,930/year

Fax – If you choose to setupan analog fax line, purchase the supplies and the machine, it will cost youapproximately $1,200. A year of e-faxing is only about $250.

Savings = $950/year

So, based on this example(50 employees) you can save $110K+ over the course of a year!

What are the risks?

The biggest risk is thatyou are willingly handing over your data to a third party. Security is onecritical issue that you need to consider before moving your business to thecloud. This can be frightening, as it should be, but there are definitely morebenefits than risks.

Now, I don’t want toscare you, as I am a huge supporter of cloud services; however, everyone shouldbe aware of the risks – But remember, there is risk even if you don’t move yourbusiness online.

There are still quite afew people who won’t order anything online because they don’t want theirinformation compromised. What they don’t realize is that if they have achecking account or a credit card, they are already at risk. Also, most oftenwhen you call in an order, the nice person on the other end of the line issimply keying your data into the computer for you!

There are scanners thatpick up cell phone conversations, so a prying ear can easily record yourinformation, if they happen to catch you ordering something over the phonewhile they’re listening. All banks store their information on computer systems,which many people have access to. Computer hackers, or bank employees cancompromise your information (even though you “never purchased” anythingonline). Take for example the case of the Rocky Mountain Gmail mistake. On August12^th 2009, an employee at Rocky Mountain Bank inadvertently sent an emailcontaining names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and loan information ofmore than 1,300 customers to a random Gmail address ON ACCIDENT! Luckily, noharm was done, but this is an example of the risks (even if you, personally,aren’t running your business online).

Most providers takesecurity very seriously. Data is often encrypted and security threats arereacted to and corrected directly by the provider, before it even becomes aproblem. Google claims that they can protect your data better than you can, andI truly believe that, but you still need to be cautious!

Another important factoryou should consider is the fact that you have less privacy in the cloud.According to the NY Times, the Federal Government has the right to demand somedetails of your online activities from service providers - and they are notrequired to tell you about it. There have been thousands of these requests lodged since the Patriot’s Actwas passed.

Honestly, I don’t believethe government is (or is even interested in) reading your emails; however, youshould be aware that if they do so desire, they can.

As discussed above, thereis more risk in someone (and not the government) illegally getting access toyour data stored in the cloud. You have to be aware of the risks and do yourpart in protecting yourself and your business. Become familiar with the risks and how you can avoid them.

Use strong passwords – Somesites force you to create strong passwords that have multi-case/characterpasswords, but even if they don’t, it’s in your best interest to do so.

WEAK PASSWORD: 123456

STRONG PASSWORD: yepe8u2U

Be familiar with Phishing!

Phishing is thecriminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive informationsuch as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as atrustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

In English, this meansthat bad people create emails that look like they are from someone that youknow and trust. For example, If you everget an email from PayPal or your bank asking you to sign-in to your accountand/or enter your password – DON’T DO IT! DELETE THE EMAIL! These folks aregood at what they do and can make the email look legitimate (and exactly likethe source).

If you are unsure – youshould immediately delete the email and access the site (either PayPal or yourbank directly through your web browser, or better yet, call them). DO NOT CLICKON OR FOLLOW THE LINK IN THE EMAIL.

Please note that anyreputable company (PayPal, eBay, your bank, etc.) will NEVER ask you for any ofthe following personal information:

ü Credit and debit card numbers

ü Bank account numbers

ü Driver's license numbers

ü Email addresses

ü Passwords

ü Your full name

If you get an email (nomatter who it appears to be from) and they are asking for this type of information– Please, for your own safety, never give out this information!

Keyloggers – Keylogging or Keystroke logging is the practice of tracking (or logging) the keysstruck on a keyboard, typically in a covert manner so that the person using thekeyboard is unaware that their actions are being monitored. There are numerouskeylogging methods, ranging from hardware and software-based to electromagneticand acoustic analysis. It is highly suggested that you become familiar withkeylogging and how you can reduce your risks.

o Anti-spyware applications are able to detect keyloggers andquarantine, disable or cleanse them.

o Firewalls - Enabling a firewall does not stop keyloggers perse, but can prevent the remote installation of key logging software, andpossibly prevent transmission of the logged material over the internet ifproperly configured.

o It is very importantto have a legitimate anti-virus and anti-spyware program installed on yourcomputer. This will help you avoid most risks and allow you to run your lifeand your business on the web safely and securely.

Educate Your “Team”

Today, it is common tocollaborate (share documents and web spaces) which means you must also rely onyour team(s) to be aware of the risks and to take precautions. For example,let’s say you share your confidential Google document with 10 other people. Allit takes is one person to create a weak password or make a crucial mistake. Ifit’s your document (and your concern), than it’s your responsibility to educatethem and require them to take the necessary precautions!

Want to Learn More?

Find out what apps are out there which ones can help you with your business...Check out: Appity Slap: A Small Business Guide to Web Apps, Tech Tools and Cloud Computing

Photoshop Celebrates Twenty Years!

2010-02-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

Photoshop, the leading graphics editor developed andpublished by Adobe is the industry standard for graphics professionals. Originallymade only for Mac, it later became available for Microsoft Windows.

In the late 1980s, Thomas Knoll and John Knoll developed apixel-imaging program — first called Display, then Image Pro, and finallyPhotoshop. They made a well-received presentation to Russell Brown at Adobe, licensedPhotoshop to Adobe in 1988 and released it to the public in 1990. The rest ishistory.

Now in 27 languages, Photoshop has users around the world arecelebrating its 20th anniversary.

Over the last two decades, Photoshop has changed the way wesee the world, altered our sense of reality, and transformed the way we expressourselves.

Everywhere you look, almost every image you see in magazines,on billboards and on the web have probably been edited, in some way withPhotoshop.

There are a ton uses for Photoshop; models and actors are “photoshoped”to perfection, wiping out blemishes and imperfections. Photoshop can repair oldphotographs, helping to preserve memories for generations. Alternatively, it allowsdesigners to use shapes, colors, layers and distortions to create imaginary worlds,creating a fine line between fantasy and reality.

To celebrate its twenty year anniversary, Photoshop isoffering free shipping for a limited time.

How will you celebrate?

Its OK to Write on the Walls

2010-02-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

Go Ahead, Write on the Walls!
The next time you host a brainstorming session, take notes on the wall. IdeaPaint can transform any wall into a dry-erase board. Start with a coat of primer, then apply a layer of Idea Paint.

IdeaPaint can be applied to any surface: Wall, tables, filing cabinets and books.

How long will my IdeaPaint surface last?
IdeaPaint PRO has a 10-year warranty, IdeaPaint CRE-8 a 5-year warranty. However, if properly cared for your IdeaPaint surface will last much longer.

How much does it cost?
A $200 kit, available at IdeaPaint.com, contains a roller and enough paint to cover 50 square feet, for a cost of $4 per square foot. By contrast, whiteboards usually cost $8 to $20 per square foot.

Wordle, A Fun Web App!

2010-02-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

Create a Word Cloud! Use to embellish your website, blog or email newsletter. Create a custom greeting card or send a cryptic message to someone!

You can customize the layout - Make the words all horizontal, vertical or half and half. You can also select the font and change the colors.

The Best Books for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

2010-02-17T10:28:00.000-08:00

I read, I read a lot. Many of the top business people and entrepreneurs are also well read. With thousands of business books published every year, how does one decide what to read? Before I buy a book, I research it - I find out who has read it and what people have to say about it. Here are my top picks based on my own opinion and that of many successful business owners and entrepreneurs.

If you have one you are passionate about, please leave a comment, maybe I haven't read it and would appreciate your recommendations! Happy Reading!

The Best Business Books:

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, andJoin the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss (2007 & 2009 update) A guide tocreating a business that adapts to your life and gives you the life that youwant.

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on YourPassion by Gary Vaynerchuk (2009) GaryVee is an online marketingphenomenon with almost one million followers on Twitter! He teaches you how tobuild an online business and grow it with social media.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small BusinessesDon't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael Gerber (1995) Teaches you how to “Work on yourbusiness, not in it" and how you can operate your company without you

Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur by Pamela Slim(2009) How to take the leap from your cubicle into your own startup

First, Break All the Rules: What the World'sGreatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman (1999) Offers specifictechniques for helping people perform better on the job.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…AndOthers Don't by Jim Collins (2001) Based on a five year research projectcomparing teams that made a leap to those that did not, Good to Great showsthat greatness is not primarily a function of circumstance; but largely amatter of conscious choice and discipline

The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn toHandle Whatever Comes Up by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham (2008) Discusses thementality that helps street-smart entrepreneurs solve problems and pursueopportunities as they arise.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and OthersDon't by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (2007) The Heath brothers revealthe anatomy of ideas that “stick” and explain sure-fire methods for makingideas stickier, such as violating schemas, using the Velcro Theory of Memory,and creating “curiosity gaps.”

The New Community Rules: Marketing on the SocialWeb by Tamar Weinberg (2009) Understand how social webtechnologies work, and learn the most practical and effective ways to reachpeople who frequent these sites

Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No TimeFlat by Michael Masterson (2008) Masterson reveals how you canuse his approach to achieve unprecedented entrepreneurial success and enjoylife to its fullest

Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected.Connect Your Business to Everyone by Mitch Joel (2009) This is the first book to integrate digitalmarketing, social media, personal branding, and entrepreneurship in a clear,entertaining, and instructive manner that everyone can understand and apply.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a BigDifference by Malcolm Gladwell (2000) Discusses that magic moment whenan idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads likewildfire. Based on a number of real world examples that will change the way youthink.

The Twitter Book Tim O'Reilly,Sarah Milstein (2009) This practical guide will teach you everything you needto know to quickly become a Twitter power user, including strategies andtactics for using Twitter's 140-character messages as a serious--andeffective--way to boost your business

Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today'sSmartest Businesses Grow Themselves by Adam L.Penenberg (2009) Viral Loop is a must-read for any entrepreneur or businessinterested in uncorking viral loops to benefit their bottom line

SmallBizBooks - EntrepreneurMagazine’s Small Business Books. Startup Guides and Business Essentials.

Appity Slap - A Small Business Guide to Web Apps, Tech Tools and Cloud Computing. Appity Slap shows businesses how to succeed with technology, by showing them how to save time and money by running their business on the web. It includes hundreds of web apps and small business resources.

Great places to buy your books:

Amazon.com - America’s Largest onlineretailer and book-seller. Amazon.com offers books in a variety of formats;printed, digital and audio.

Audible.com - Audible.com® is the Internet's leading provider of spoken audioentertainment, information, and educational programming. In addition toaudiobooks, you will find audio versions of magazines, radio shows, podcasts,stand-up comedy, and speeches from icons who shape our culture, politics, andbusiness world.

iTunes - iTunes is a free application for Mac and PC. It plays allyour digital music and video. It syncs content to your iPod, iPhone, and AppleTV. And you can add to your collection anytime, 24/7.

In order to accessiTunes, you will need to download the player and sign up for a free account.

TunesAudiobooks - Catch up on your reading just by listening. The iTunes Storeincludes a well-stocked library of the world’s best-selling audiobooks. You’llfind thousands of titles, and the list keeps growing. Browse biographies,mysteries, comedies, classics, self-help books, and more. Download and listenon your computer or iPod. Audiobooks remember where you left off listening, soyou can start one on your couch and continue it on your commute.

Get The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson for FREE on iTunes!

Tunes Podcasts - Go on a free podcast spree! The iTunes Store puts thousands of freepodcasts at your fingertips. You can search podcasts by popularity, subject,title or author.

Once you find a podcast you are interested in, you can download theepisode or subscribe to the podcast. By subscribing, all new episodes will bedownloaded upon release.

Appity Slap-Want to work, smarter faster and cheaper?

2010-02-15T22:50:00.000-08:00

It’s Time to Get Off of That Deserted Island......Leave your spiral bound notebook, graph paper, pens, pencils, erasers, and abacus behind. We’re going to take a trip to 2010!

Appity Slap is a must have for any business, large or small. From Blogs and Twitter to Wikis and Webinars. This book will help you to work smarter, faster and cheaper, allowing your business to grow like mad with a lot less effort!

There are hundreds of tools, tips and resources organized by category and indexed by name. Each Web App discussed includes an overview, key features, benefits and pricing.

You don’t know what a webinar is, or what CPC stands for? No worries, the terms and tools are defined and discussed.

This book will help the technically challenged get started on the web and for the tech-savvy, you will discover some new and amazing apps and tools! In addition, there are a ton of marketing and SEO tips, plus startup and small business resources that apply to every business size and type.

The best part is…many of the tools and resources mentioned are free!

So, don’t get left behind…and don’t waste any more of your precious time and money!

Learn More or Preview the Book

Best Business Magazines

2010-02-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Each month I anxiously wait for my magazines. I've tried others, but the ones I'm going to mention are simply the best for startups and entrepreneurs. Inc is listed first, and that is on purpose, because it is my favorite.

Signing up for a subscription is much more economical than buying one at a time. For example, if you purchase the Inc and Fast Company combo - you get to read two magazines a month for less than 4 cents a day. A pretty good investment if you're looking to learn and grow.

Inc.

Magazines.com (1 Year: $12)

Amazon (1 Year: $9.97)

Amazon (2 Years: $15.00)

Fast Company

Magazines.com (1 Year: $12.00)

Amazon (1 Year: $9.97)

Fast Company and Inc. Combo

Magazines.com (1 Year, Both Magazines: $15.00)

Entrepreneur

Magazines.com (1 Year: $11.97)

Amazon (1 Year: $11.97)

Success

Magazines.com (12 ISSUES: $34.99 or24 ISSUES: $49.99)

Amazon (1 Year - $34.99)

Super Simple Web Creation!

2010-02-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Weebly is a free webpage creation site that uses a widgetstyle format and WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, allowing usersto easily create pages with only a few clicks. Simply drag and drop differentpage elements (such as images, text, forms, polls, etc.) onto a page and it fillsin the content.

There are 70+ professionally designed templates to choose from.You can customize the predesigned templates, or for the more tech-savvy, youcan create, edit or upload the backend CSS and HTML of any site.

Easily add content from other sites, such as Flickr photos,YouTube videos and Google maps, RSS content.

Additionally, you can add custom HTML elements, which letsyou copy and paste HTML code directly onto your website. This is great foraffiliate advertisements or to add elements not readily available in Weebly.

Weebly’s free offerings are fully functional and there is nocharge to host your site. The best part is; there's no limit to the number ofpages or amount of material you add. You can use your own domain name, ifyou've got one, otherwise your site URL will be www.yourwebsite.weebly.com.

You can upgrade to Weebly Pro. The WeeblyPro feature, allowsusers to create password-protected pages and upgrade file size limits, as wellas receive additional support services.

Weebly works on Windows and Mac computers!

It was named by Time Magazine as number four of the fiftybest websites of 2007 for a reason. Weebly rocks!

Startup and Tech Podcasts Worth a Listen

2010-01-28T00:31:00.000-08:00

48 Days tothe Work you Love

SlideRocket Create Stunning Presentations

2010-01-26T01:27:00.001-08:00

SlideRocket is a flash-based (and Mac-like) web app and a revolutionary new approach to presentations. It's the only presentation software that allows you to create stunning presentations, manage them intelligently, share them securely and then measure the results.

SlideRocket gives the ability to import your own fonts, has many different layouts, and striking special effects and transitions.

Easily create on demand audio presentations
Record audio directly onto your slides or import
Save recorded audio in your library for reuse
Time slide builds to match audio
Add audio effects to builds (from your library or the SlideRocket marketplace)
Layer music and voice over for complete compositions

Launch your own SlideRocket presentation!

The Mobile Revoltion - Where is Your Mobile App?

2010-01-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

We’ve all heard the term “There’s an App for that”Apple’s famous line is just the beginning of the mobile revolution. According to Nielsen, there are now 63 million mobile web users in the US alone. Quantcast reports that the share of Internet pageviews originating from mobile devices rose 110% in North America and increased worldwide 148% in the year to December ’09 (Source: Quantcast mobile trends 2009 report).

There are apps for every category from games to business, education to entertainment, finance to fitness and new applications from developers across the globe every day. Believe it or not, however, the mobile revolution is still in its infancy. It was only a few years ago when Apple launched the iPhone and created the app tidal wave and turned the iPhone into a must-have (or, at the very least, a “really want-to-have”).

The last decade was that of the PC, which has advanced immensely over the past 15 years. Not to mention the notebooks and netbooks which were derived as a result of these amazing advancements.

It looks like this decade will be that of the smartphone and now that Google is in the game – watch out! Google who is probably THE most innovative company in existence is sure to amaze us with their future technologies, but will also put Apple (and the others) to the test. No longer is there a monopoly and with Google in, the others will be forced to get even more innovative. It’s great to see such tough competition, the more fierce it gets, the better we (the consumers) make out. Can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next…

Not only is it important to get in the mobile game, it will soon be a necessity. Mobile advertising is just now breaking ground and will continue to grow and prosper. Group M (a media investment management firm) forecasts that global mobile advertising will climb 19% to 3.3 billion in 2010!

So, if you’re not a programmer, here are some affordable options to get you off the bench and in the game.

Here are a few resources to help you get started:

MobileRoadie

Why use Mobile Roadie? There are nearly 5 billion mobile users around the world, and over 40 million iPhones and iPod Touches (as of October 2009). Mobile is with us everywhere, and by reaching people anywhere they are, you have a huge opportunity to sell, promote, engage, and be remembered.

Popular for authors, musicians, athletes, politicians, celebrities, blogs, and venues; however, you don't need to fall into one of these categories - if their feature set works for you, go for it!

How can I make money from Mobile Roadie? There are many ways you can make money from Mobile Roadie. You can charge users, if you'd like, to download and install the application. If you have music on iTunes, you can sell your music inside the App via iTunes. If you have events/shows, you can sell tickets to them inside the App. If you have a merch/ecommerce store, you can link to it inside the App.

Pricing:
$499 Set Up Fee
$29/mo*

*The first 1,000 fans that install your app are included in the monthly price. After that, it's just $0.01 per month per fan. Everything else is included in the monthly hosting fee.

Haiti Needs Your Help - How to Donate

2010-01-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

Mobile Giving - Text the word Haiti to 90999 to donate $10 to the RED CROSS - Will be charged to your wireless bill.

Other ways to give:

Action Against Hunger - 877-777-1420
Agape Flights - 941-584-8078
American Red Cross - 800-733-2767
American Refugee Committee - 800-875-7060
American Jewish World Service - 212-792-2900
AmeriCares - 800-486-4357
Beyond Borders - 866-424-8403
CARE - 800-521-2273
CarmaFoundation
Catholic Relief Services - 800-736-3467
Childcare Worldwide - 800-553-2328
Church World Services - 800-297-1516
Concern Worldwide - 212-557-8000
Cross International - 800-391-8545
CRUDEM Foundation - 413-642-0450
CRWRC - 800-55-CRWRC
Direct Relief International - 805-964-4767
Doctors Without Borders - 888-392-0392
Episcopal Relief and Development - 800-334-7626
Feed My Starving Children - 763-504-2919
Food for the Poor - 800-427-9104
Friends of WFP, 866-929-1694
Friends of the Orphans, 312-386-7499
Habitat for Humanity - 1-800-422-4828
Haiti Children - 877-424-8454
Haiti Foundation Against Poverty
Haiti Marycare - 203-675-4770
Haitian Health Foundation - 860-886-4357
Healing Hands for Haiti - 651-769-5846
Hope for Haiti - 239-434-7183
International Child Care - 800-722-4453
International Medical Corps - 800-481-4462
International Rescue Committee - 877-733-8433
International Relief Teams - 619-284-7979
Lutheran World Relief - 800-597-5972
Medical Teams International - 800-959-4325
Meds and Food for Kids - 314-420-1634
Mennonite Central Committee - 888-563-4676
Mercy Corps - 888-256-1900
Operation Blessing - 800-730-2537
Operation USA - 800-678-7255
Oxfam - 800-776-9326
Partners in Health - 617-432-5298
RHEMA International -248-652-9894
Rural Haiti Project - 347-405-5552

The Salvation Army - 800-725-2769

Samaritan's Purse - 828-262-1980
Save the Children - 800-728-3843
UN Central Emergency Response Fund
UNICEF - 800-367-5437
World Concern - 800-755-5022
World Hope International - 888-466-4673
World Relief - 800-535-5433
World Vision - 888-511-6548
Yele Haiti - 212-352-0552

Ode to This Week in Startups Episode 33 with Shawn Gold

2010-01-06T20:19:00.001-08:00

This Week in Startups, hosted by the very talented and successful Jason Calacanis is, IMO, the greatest startup podcast on the planet. Every week, and sometimes more, you can view (or listen to) interviews and discussions with other great entrepreneurs. It is chock-full of insights, words of wisdom, and a dash of humor. Most importantly, it gives emerging startups exposure and the opportunity to get advice or pitch their startup ideas for a potential investment. Often, Calacanis holds contests with very generous prizes to increase the SEO of the podcast and its various sponsors – a win-win for everyone and social media at its finest!

This week, episode 33 featured special guest Shawn Gold, CEO of Cocodot, a state-of-the-art online invitation and greeting card start up. Jason and Shawn are old friends (figuratively, of course) and have a long history and previously worked together on the successful startup Weblogs Inc.

As always, the podcast opened with Good Life, by Kanye West – an inspirational tune to get everyone pumped up and excited. I sing along religiously (and unconsciously now), which is probably due to the fact that I’ve listened to all 33 episodes and some more than once. Take a listen:

Good Life, Kanye West

Like we always do at this time
I go for mine, I got to shine
Now throw your hands up in the sky
I g-go for mine, I got to shine
Now throw your hands up in the sky…

This episode started out a little tense, as there were some technical issues which made Jason a bit on-tilt. He attributed it to the fact that Alex was out. (Alex=invaluable resource at Mahalo and TWIST)

The Mahalo Board meeting was announced and discussed and Jason offered up some good advice to the viewers.

FREE HOSTING FOR LIFE!? Five lucky TWIST viewers were offered the chance at free VPS hosting for life from Power VPS!!! To qualify, all the viewers had to do was tweet why they should win free hosting for life and include both “#TWIST” and “@PowerVPS” in the tweet. SWEET!

Aside from that, the very generous Calacanis, decided to give away an Apple iCard for a Mac Mini to a viewer who thanked all of the sponsors at once.

Update: Michael Tejada was the winner. Congratulations Michael, you lucky b@stard!!!

ASK JASON

Eachweek, Jason encourages viewers to call in and ask questions. This week, therewere two.

Travis from the 608 (Lacrosse, WI)

Travisis graduating in May and asked, “Should I jump right into my own startup orshould I look for a successful startup to work for and learn from?" I agree withJason, who told Travis to jump in, get his ass kicked and learn, as most ofGeneration Lame are lazy and self entitled! By listening to TWIST and callingin, he is already on his way…

{Moretech problems – mic not plugged in} (Alex=secretly feeling a bit ofsatisfaction, from afar, knowing how much he’s needed and missed)

Steven Cross from the 401 (Providence, RI)

Stevenwanted to know how to determine what the value to advertisers is based on the onlinecommunity they are targeting and how they can get major brands interested.

BothJason and Shawn agreed, you need to look at the community/topic and research what the communityis doing by utilizing Google AdSense. Look at keyword clusters around thecommunity topic and find out what they are gathering around. Realize that you are selling to peoplewho are influenced by the influencers…

Shawngave a very important insight; to call companies early in the morning(6:45 AM) or late in the evening (8:45 PM) - This is when the gatekeeper is gone andyou will have a greater chance of getting directly in touch with decisionmakers.

Stephenbriefly mentioned that his site will be marketing to people who are going tohave a baby and Jason stated that a business around a major life event such a birth,wedding or similar event are always a good place to be; however, there is a lotof competition.

**Jasonand Shawn both praised Baby Center which is a site where you can findinformation on pregnancy, children's health, parenting & more.**

ShawnGold reminds us that there are plenty of sites that focus on conception (adultentertainment); although, as Jason points out this industry has been killed dueto free porn. What Craigslist did to classifieds!

Jasoncame up with an insightful tip for E-Harmony – They should sponsor all pornsites. It would be like advertising crack on a narcotic's anonymous website!

JASON’S SHARK TANK

The“money” part of the show. The reason he does the show and the reason so manyinspiring entrepreneurs tune-in each week.

Shark Tank Rant (take 33) - Jason,once again, let everyone know that ABC called him and then never called him back.He is not a fan of the show and lets everyone know how terrible it is and howit is the opposite of reality. He feels that investors should be nice tostartups, and I agree. After all, if they lend them money, it is they who willultimately drive the return on their investment.

Nicky Hajal from the 518 (Capitol Region)

ThePitch - Nicky Hajal (not a girl - The girl's name is Nikki) and his partner founded NiceTranslator about a year agowhich is a real-time translator based on Google’s API. Because machinetranslations lack quality, he believes there is a niche for a qualitytranslation service. Their new project - Transissimo is a newproject which allows people to share high quality human translations. Itevolves around four parts: an interface, an API, a ranking based on performanceand a distribution system. The revenue ideas are to charge for longertranslations in which they will split the money with the translators and amodel focused around dynamic hosting and management of translation.

Jasongrades the pitch a 7-8, but not that high on the Business model, as he is notclear on what is unique about this service and how it will make money.

Shawnthinks the pitch was a little pretentious and recommends that jargon should beavoided, as it makes you sound like a BS artist. When giving a pitch, a12-year-old should be able to understand it.

NeitherShawn, Jason or the audience are clear on what is unique about the service andhow they plan to make money.

Tylerpoints out that the pitch could’ve been more dynamic and should’ve been more engaging. His adviceon how to achieve this is to forcea response; such as, asking a question like: “Do you know howmany documents are translated a year?”

Asthe conversation continues, everyone is still trying to determine what theunique value proposition is. Jasonencourages him to come up with a real example of the service and anunderstandable sentence defining it. An official prescription is given.

The Perscription - Jason asked Nicky to upload screenshots and a demo video utilizing the screenshots on Vimeo (or something similar) and send the link to Tyler Crowley’s email or notify him on Twitter (@steepdecline)

If Jason likes what he sees, he will retweet it to 80K people, how awesome is that? Additionally, he may get the opportunity to pitch at the open angel forum.

If you haven’t watched this episode, I recommend doing so to hear the feedback and see what was done well and what went wrong…A great opportunity to crush your future pitch on TWIST.

*Note to Nicky: italki and LiveMocha are both social language learning sites, but could potentially be used for this purpose. May want to take a look - if, for nothing else, inspiration. Also, on 1/7, Google announce it added chat to their translator tool kit, may want to check that out as well.

Jason asked Nicky about his background and found out he was given an Acura at 16, this makes him hesitant about his work ethic, and possible sense of entitlement.

Note to future pitchers of Twist. If he finds out you were given a nice car, such as a Benz or Corvette for your 16th birthday, he will hang up on you. My advice to you (if you are one of the self-entitled and actually have a work ethic) is this: Try to avoid or skirt around this question. If asked, don’t lie, punt!

Example:

Let’ssay you were given a Corvette at age 16 by your parents....

Ifthe question is asked:

1. Immediately start making loud noises, as follows: “SHA!” “SHA!”“SHA!” Jason may actually believe that you have a form of Tourette's Syndrome.

2. Whenyou answer, insert a “SHA!” immediately before you say "‘Vette"

Youdidn’t lie – and now he thinks you were only given a Chevette.

3. Immediatelystop making those noises and try to reestablish your credibility as quickly aspossible.

If you were given any other kind of nice car (let's say...nicer than a Honda Accord), contact me for instruction. My services are not cheap; however, if you are low on cash, I will consider a stake in your future company.

Tylerreveals a story about his “first” car (a Porche) which was given to him by hisDad at the age of nine. At age 16 he, of course, asked for the keys, but hisFather decided he was too young and upped the anti. Tyler told his Dad to forgetit, that he didn’t want it and, voila, the next day the car was gone (sold to the lady in red).The ironic part about this story is that Tyler rolled his Dad’s Mercedesshortly thereafter (guess parents are right once in a while!). We found outthat Jason’s only entitlement was to bus table 17 at the age of 16 and both Tylerand Jason were kicked out of their house at age 18!

Jasonbets that every successful entrepreneur has an f’d up relationship with theirDad! If this holds true, then I will, most definitely, be a VERY, VERYsuccessful entrepreneur one day.

INTERVIEWWITH SHAWN GOLD

Shawn Gold,age 44, born in Richmond, VA is the CEO of Cocodot and founder of SocialApproach, a social marketing advisory based on influence mapping technologies.He has a rich history with over 15 years of digital marketing and contentstrategy experience under his belt and has held numerous high-level positions at somemajor companies, such as Weblogs Inc. and MySpace.

In theinterview Shawn shares a little more about his background and some of thethings he’s learned along the way; such as, what it was like publishinginaugural websites for some big-name players like P&G and Mattel.

Shawn’snewest venture, Cocodot, launched at the 2009 TechCrunch event and is now inopen beta. It is like American Greetings, Hallmark and Evite – conjoined and onsteroids! It is what the digital invitation and greeting card arena has beenlacking. The site is top-notch and filled with a wide selection of beautifullydesigned digital content. The prices are affordable, yet each design is elegantand suitable for high-end events, such as weddings and corporate events.

If you’replanning any type of online startup, it is worth a listen to hear about thedifferent revenue streams that he has in the works; including several performancemarketing and distribution deals.

One of themost amusing things in this episode was when Shawn shared a Calacanis quotefrom way back: “If you are not fired up withenthusiasm you will be fired with enthusiasm” – Jason didn’t remember sayingit, but took the credit, as it was pretty clever!

ChefJen, who so elegantly sported her new chef attire for the camera, showed offthe new wares, complete with the beautiful Mahalo logo. That’s right, not onlydo they do your laundry at Mahalo – they have a gourmet chef who prepares allof their meals with love – FOR FREE! Hopefully, they didn’t add the logo sothey didn’t have to say thank you. After all, Mahalo does mean thank you in Hawaiian.

THE NEWS WITH LON HARRIS

RackspaceGoes Down. Again. Takes The Internet With It. Again. How will they handle itand what will Robert Scoble say? That is the question (x2).

Googlein discussions to acquire Yelp, a content company, for a half billion dollars ormore!

Update: Yelp did not accept the deal, andonce again Tyler was on the money!

Twitterhacked, defaced by Iranian Cyber Army. What? What the heck does that even mean?A fired system admin, Iranian opposition or perhaps it was MarkZuckerberg….Regardless, it’s not a matter of national security, by any means.

Chicagobased discount service Groupon (Collective buying power) valued At $250million. Again, What? Why? Is it the spam-inducing email newsletter or is it dueto the big percentage of each sale? Someone give me the secret for my nextstartup!

Facebookprivacy controversy... To err is human, but is this? I think I’m with Jason, it’sdelusional… I personally didn’t see the big deal, because I suppose I am amember of Schmidt’s Third Reich and follow his principle order: "If you’re doingsomething you don’t want people to know about, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it." But then Jason awakened me as to what this could mean for some people. Most arenot as technically savvy as some of us - and probably didn’t know what thosepop-up boxes with the skip buttons meant. Many of them are, perhaps, closethomosexuals or into bondage in their off-hours and I’m certain they wouldn’t wanttheir co-workers, boss or pastor to find out! Needless to say, I agree, thelawsuits will follow…

Disclaimer: This photo was constructed all in good fun, for the purposes of this review. I truly hope Mr. Schmidt does not take offense...

Netflixhas been sued by a woman who claims that it ostensibly revealed her sexualorientation. Based on the story, it appears to be true, that it was possiblefor others to figure out her identity and her sexual preference. Oh my! Nowthey want zip code, gender and birthday information? What’s next, sperm count?

Googleand Facebook announce their own URL shorteners. Fb.me and Goo.gl. Who cares? Istill think bit.ly and tinyurl will survive for now, until (as Jason predicts) Twitterlaunches one. After all, where do mostpeople utilize this type of service? Twitter, of course.

CONTESTANNOUNCED

Bestreview of This Week in Startups, Episode 33, posted on a blog or website willwin a $500 Microsoft prize pack. Here’s to crushing it!

HOMEWORK

Thehomework assigned was to type 10 searches into Bing Video, make 3 dirty and seewhat you get. I would share my results, but don’t want to offend the young, the old, or the feeble-minded. Use your imagination…

About Jason:

CEOof Mahalo.com, a human powered search engine, Creator of Weblogs, Inc., ThisWeek in Startups and the Open Angel Forum. Jason and his wife recently welcomed their beautiful baby girl, London Athena.

His favorite tech products

Email: jason@calacanis.com

Twitter @Jason

This Week in Startups

Jason's Facebook (nope, not all public...)

Thankyou to ALL of the sponsors for sponsoring This Week in Startups! Without you,we wouldn’t have something to fill up one (no two) (no three) hours of every week (andsometimes more)!

Thanksagain!

Bing - A new way to search, explore, & decide

Power VPS - The leading provider for Website Hosting

DNA Mail - Complete Hosted Exchange

Ustream - Free LIVE VIDEO Streaming and online Broadcasts

WebSpy - Leading global provider of monitoring, analysis and reporting software for internet, email and network

Also, don’t forget to check out Cocodot – create + celebrate – Save Face, Save Time, Save Money, Save the Planet (great UVP!)

Insights, Words of Wisdom and Takeawaysfrom this episode:

Ifthings are going bad and your numbers are flat or down, delay your boardmeeting!
Relationshipsplay a big part in business
Women25-45 are the sweet spot in performance marketing. They have money, like toshop (weight loss, vitamins, makeup, etc.)
Funeralsare an under-served market on the web
SuccessSecrets – Empathy and integrity
Findthe right people, motivate them and empower them to execute
Findout their wants and help them get there
Controlcost – be cheap!
Haveintegrity - sell what you believe in
HarvardBusiness Review on sales success – You need to have empathy...and ego (to closethe deal)
There’salways a winner and always a second place
Callcompanies early in the morning (6:45AM) or late in the evening (8:45PM)-this iswhen the gatekeeper is gone and you will have a greater chance of gettingdirectly in touch with decision makers
Jargonshould be avoided at all costs, as it makes you sound like a BS artist. Whengiving a pitch, a 12-year-old should be able to understand it.
Whenpitching, be dynamic and engaging. Force a response with a relative question.
Makesure you have a unique value proposition – Come up with an understandablesentence that defines your product or service – and have demonstrationsavailable (see Cocodot's UVP above)
MarkZuckerberg’s delusional ways could take down Facebook, you may want to consider selling yourstock
Whensomething goes awry in your business social media increases it ten-fold
Ifyou build something on top of someone else’s API, it’s not a business it's ahobby. The primary service will eventually put you out of business
Ifyou live in Podunk Hollow, relocate for success (SF, NY, Boston, LA or Seattle)
There is a lot of competition in the lifeevent arena (weddings, births, etc.)
Goingdown happens to everybody, what’s important is how you respond to it
Havea backup provider, in different geographical areas, to guarantee up-time
Searchfor your name and company name often (Set up Google Alerts)

It’samazing what you can learn from just one episode of This Week in Startups! Now,go to your computer, go directly to your computer (do not pass the couch, the TVor the bed) and type in http://www.thisweekinstartups.com and keep on watchin’ or get caught up.

Ifyou prefer, you can always listen to it on your iPhone or iPod Touch, allepisodes are available, for free, on iTunes!

My final words of wisdom-Be sure to CRUSH IT in 2010!!!

Happylistening!

Successfullyyours,

@TechToolGuru (Follow Me!)

Free Conference Calls

2010-01-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

Absolutely Free Teleconferencing and Conference Calling

Save money with free teleconferencing
Save time
Simple to use
Reservationless
Immediate access
Dedicated phone number and access code
Free conference call recording, playback and download features
Free conference call detail report via email after every call
High quality and reliability

Simple to Use

All you need is a name and an email address to receive an instant account. You will instantly receive a dedicated dial-in number and an access code which will be ready for immediate use.

No Reservations Required

No need to make reservations or schedule in advance. You can schedule your call, any day or time. Your teleconferencing line is available 24/7.

Unlimited Calls

Each free teleconferencing account accommodates 96 callers on an unlimited number of 6 hour conference calls. Long distance charges may apply, but there are no additional charges from FreeConferenceCall.com.

Free Conference Call Recording, Playback and Download Features

Record your calls for free. Your recording will be accessible by phone or computer, with no additional charges for downloading. You can distribute, archive or even send recordings to your listeners via RSS and podcast for free.

You will need to register to set up your recording account and obtain your passwords and playback instructions.

You will have access to your recording until you replace it with another recording. You cannot store multiple recordings in your account, but you can download your recording and store it digitally from your account.

Your recording will be available for callers through a dedicated playback number and access code (provided upon registration) until the recording is replaced with a new recording. If you would like to download your recording, it is available as a WAV file, an RSS feed, and in podcast formats through your account. Please note that you will need to login to your account to access the file.

Registration

You must re-register your account every 120 days to keep your toll number active. If you forget to renew, you will lose your number and will have to re-register.

Learn a language the Web 2.0 way!

2010-01-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

Livemocha blends engaging online lessons and the world's largest language learning community to create the most natural way to learn a language.

Dynamic lesson content - Lesson plans include over 160 hours of beginner and intermediate level content teaching everyday conversational language along with a full range of practical reading, listening, writing and speaking exercises. Livemocha also leverages the native language expertise of its members by allowing them to enhance the content with grammar tips, alternative phrases and colloquialisms.

Global community - Members all over the world can utilize their native language proficiency to teach and learn from other members of the community. Users have the option of practicing structured conversation exercises with a native speaker or submitting a writing or an audio sample of an exercise for a native speaker to edit or correct. These community-based interactive tools in Livemocha help build a strong engaged language community.

Motivational system - For most people with little free time, learning a language can take a back seat to their busy lives. Through competitions, a language buddy system and community encouragement, Livemocha provides the tools to keep learners motivated and making steady progress.

Pricing:

Livemocha offers both free and paid courses.

The free courses include basic 101, 102, 201 and 202, as well as TOEFL prep courses.

For more features, try the Plus version of one of the 101-202 courses.

Free Online Courses

Courses in 36 different languages

Over 160 hours of lessons for each

Helpful tips from native speakers

Focus on conversation skills

Travel Crash Course - $9.95 for a 90-day subscription

6-Month Packages

$49.95 USD – Livemocha Plus Courses

Package includes 4 courses (beginner to intermediate), downloads of every lesson, and a printable Certificate of Completion for each course. Just 2 lessons each week to complete all 4 courses.

$69.95 USD – Livemocha Plus Courses with qualified tutors

Add qualified tutors to your Plus package. Tutors will review your speaking and writing exercises to provide personalized recommendations for improvement. Two submissions to tutors available for each lesson

Monthly Subscriptions

$14.95 USD each month – Livemocha Plus Courses

All the benefits of the 6-month package at a low monthly price

$19.95 USD each month – Livemocha Plus Courses with qualified tutors

Add qualified tutors to your Plus package. Tutors will review your speaking and writing exercises to provide personalized recommendations for improvement. Limit of 8 exercise submissions to tutors each month.

Innovative Marketing Glow in the Dark Bacteria

2009-12-31T14:29:00.000-08:00

Can't get much greener than this. Curb Media offers a harmless glow-in-the-dark bacteria called glowfungi or discofungi that is a natural reaction of the bacteria and no chemicals are used to create the fluorescent effect. It can last anywhere from a day to a week. The unique and harmless bacteria can be placed on any surface and will quite literally light up in the dark!

Help a Reporter Out

2009-12-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

HARO, which stands for Help A Reporter Out, is a site that was created to help journalists connect with experts or sources to interview for articles that they're writing.

This is a great way to increase your exposure and get some free advertising and PR.

Each day, you'll receive up to three emails, each with anywhere from 15-30 queries per email. They'll all be labeled with [HARO] in the subject line, for easy filtering. If you see a query you can answer, go for it! HARO really is that simple.

By joining this list, it is important that you ask yourself before you send a response: Is this response really on target? Is this response really going to help the journalist, or is this just a BS way for me to get myself or my client in front of the reporter? If you have to think for more than three seconds, chances are, you shouldn't send the response.

Pricing:
Free

How to Delete a Horizontal Line in Word

2009-12-17T21:34:00.000-08:00

Although it seems impossible to delete that pesky little line, it's really quite simple. First, it's actually a 'border' which is created by typing three or more hyphens - underscores _ equal signs = or asterisks * pound signs # or tildes ~ and pressing enter.

To Remove:

Word 2003
Format > Borders and Shading Click “None”

Word 2007
On the Home tab, locate the Paragraph group. The icon in the bottom right hand corner is Borders. Click the dropdown arrow and select No Border

Attention Last Minute Shoppers - E-Gifts to the Rescue

2009-12-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

It’s not too late! You can always send an e-gift card!

Send a virtual gift certificate directly through email. It’s Fast and Easy!

15 Reasons Why You Should Purchase an E-Gift:
• You won’t have to fight the crowds
• You won’t have to stand in long linges
• You will save money on gas
• It’s Green and better for the environment (saves trees, the atmosphere, etc.)
• Takes the stress out of guessing what they want
• Your family and friends can purchase something they want
- You won’t get your feelings hurt if you see your gift for sale on their eBay account
- You won’t receive, said gift, three years from now from them
- They won’t have to take the time to return the gift or drive it to Goodwill
• You can finish your shopping for everyone in under 5 minutes
• You will have more time to decorate, listen to Christmas music and drink egg nog

Four our cold-weather friends:
• You won’t have to shovel out your car
• You won’t have to break out the ice-scraper (or CD cover)
• You won’t risk slipping and falling on the ice
• You won’t get hypothermia

Retailers: (Details and Direct Links Below)
GiftCards.com, GiftCertificates.com, Discover, Fandango, Amazon, Aveda, Cooking.com, CVS, eBay, Eddie Bauer, Home Depot, HP Home and Office (Hewlett-Packard), iTunes, JCPenney, Kohls, Macy’s, NFL Shop, Restaurant.com, Sears, SpaFinder, Target, Victorias Secret, Walmart

GiftCards.com
Fees: $4.00 processing fee
Redeemable: Online or over the phone with anyone that accepts Visa debit cards

GiftCertificates.com
1-800-Flowers.com, B. Dalton, Barnes and Noble, Cabela's, CDUniverse.com, CharityChoice, Cooking.com, Crutchfield, DICK'S SPORTING GOODS, drugstore.com, Footlocker.com, Great American Days, L.L.Bean, Lands' End®, MyWinesDirect.com, NFLShop.com, Nike, Omaha Steaks, Overstock.com, Papa John's Pizza, REI, SEPHORA.COM, SportsAuthority.com, TicketsNow.com, TigerDirect.com, Travelocity, Zappos.com

SuperCertificate® - One SuperCertificate® can be exchanged for original gift cards from hundreds of your recipients' favorite stores, spas, restaurants, theaters, and hotels available on this site. No expiration.

Fees: $2.45 handing charge on most of the retailers and $3.45 for the Super Certificate
Redeemable: Online (See site for details per retailer)

Discover
Fees: $3.95 processing fee (a $2.50 per month servicing fee applies after 12 months of inactivity)
Redeemable: Online or by phone wherever Discover Cards are accepted

Amazon
EGift Card
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online

Printable Gift Card
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online

Aveda
Fees: None
Redeemable: At Aveda.com or by calling 800.644.4831 (eGift Cards cannot be redeemed at Aveda salons, spas, Experience Centers or Institute locations.)

Cooking.com
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online at Cooking.com

CVS
Fees: None
Redeemable: At any CVS/pharmacy store (not valid online at CVS.com at this time)
Other: No Expiration

eBay
Fees: None
Format: Print or Email
Redeemable: Online

Eddie Bauer
Fees: None
Redeemable: In stores or online

Fandango
Fees: None
Redeemable: For movie tickets online only through Fandango.com

Home Depot
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online or in-stores

HP Home and Office (Hewlett-Packard)
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online

iTunes
Note: You can no longer purchase certificates directly from the site, you will need to download and install iTunes in order to purchase a gift certificate for someone (iTunes is free, but what a pain!)
Fees: None
Redeemable: On iTunes

JCPenney
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online, in-stores or over the phone

Kohls
Fees: None
Redeemable: In-stores or online

Macy’s
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online at macys.com, macysweddingchannel.com or in Macy's stores

NFL Shop
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online at NFLShop.com

Restaurant.com
Purchase a $25 Gift Certificate for only $10
Purchase a $50 Gift Certificate for only $20
Purchase a $75 Gift Certificate for only $30
Purchase a $100 Gift Certificate for only $40
Fees: None
Format: Print or Email
Redeemable: At participating restaurants

Sears
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online, in-stores and over the phone

SpaFinder
Print
Email

Accepted at over 5,000 spas around the globe, they can be used for relaxing massages, luxurious facials, fine beauty products, and more. (And when you send a gift certificate, you can earn rewards points for your own SpaFinder Gift Certificate.)
Fees: None
Redeemable: At participating Spas

Target
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online only

Victorias Secret
Fees: None
Redeemable: online only

Walmart
Fees: None
Redeemable: Online only

A Little More on Facebook (The 1,000 Pound Gorilla)

2009-12-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

Facebook is a social networking website intended to connect friends, family, and business associates. It is the largest of the social networking sites, with over 300 million users worldwide. Facebook grew 276% in 2008!

It is also, no cost marketing for anyone!

Facebook is the 1,000 pound gorilla which is why I will be discussing it in detail; because even if you’re already a user, there are a lot of options that you may not be aware of.

Create a Profile – It is simple to use and can be used for a variety of reasons. Once you sign up, you will need to create a profile page that can only be viewed by your friends (and networks).

Search for Friends/Friend Requests – You can search for friends and collegues by e-mail address, school, university, or just by typing in a name or location search. Once you find the person you are searching for, you will need to send a request to be their friend. They can either accept or ignore your request. The same is true when someone requests to be your friend; you can either accept or ignore their request. Once a friend request is accepted, you will both be able to see the others’ profiles, which can include contact information (if you choose to list it).

Photos – You can upload and post an unlimited number of photos from your phone or computer and are given the option to share them with everyone (public) or only with your friends.

Groups and Pages – In addition to your regular profile, you can create Pages or Groups. Groups and Pages serve different purposes on Facebook.

Groups
-Groups are meant to foster group discussion around a particular topic area and are meant for more personal interaction
-Groups can be created by any user and about any topic, as a space for users to share opinions and interests in that subject, such as activities, a hobby, an alumni, etc.
-With Groups, you can join and create up to 200 groups
-In Groups, the group administrator name will appear on the group and will be attached to your personal profile; therefore, when you post on your group’s wall, it will appear to come from you personally
-Groups can be public and available to everyone or closed (private), meaning only those invited can join and view discussions
-Only groups with less than 5,000 members can send email blasts
-Groups are not indexed by external search engines such as Google

Pages
-A Page is a public profile that enables you to share your business and products with Facebook users
-Pages can only be created to represent a real organization, business, celebrity, or band, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity
-Pages are intended to help an entity communicate publicly
-Pages will never display the administrator’s name. When you post on a Page that you own, it will appear to come from the Page, not from you as an individual
-Pages are indexed by external search engines such as Google and indexed for optimal search engine positioning

Events – Facebook events are a great resource to let friends know about interesting things coming up in your community and to organize social or business gatherings, such as webinars, conferences or unconferences.

You can invite an unlimited number of people to events, but you can only invite 100 people at a time. Once you invite the first 100 people, you can then start inviting more. In addition, you can only have 300 pending invites at one time for an event. Some people will have to respond to your event invite before you will be able to add more.

When creating an event you can make it Open, Closed or Secret.

Open events are open to everyone – Any Facebook user can RSVP or invite others to the event

Closed events are visible to everyone, but the details can only be seen by those who have been invited

Secret events are only visible to those invited and they will not show up in any news feeds

Tip – You can sync your Facebook events with your Google Calendar!

Some Facebook Statistics:
ViTrue has released results of a study compiled from nearly 200 million fan impressions on Facebook pages over a 5 month period (March-August 2009).

Here’s what they found:

Tuesday and Wednesday represent the highest click-through rates (CTR) on wall posts (9.89 and 9.87 respectively).

The worst days are Thursday, Saturday and Friday (4.39, 2.7 and 2.67 percent respectively)

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t update your status on these days, as it may be better to send out your messages on slower days, so they don’t get lost in the crowd. It is best to test and track your results and see what works for you.

The click through rates on Facebook, far exceed the CTR of traditional online ads, but knowing that, it is important not to skew your own statistics by posting nothing but offers (ads) or posting too frequently, or you will lose your fan base faster than you can answer “What’s on your mind”

Want to keep of on Facebook statistics, check out http://www.CheckFacebook.com.

CheckFacebook.com is not affiliated with Facebook; however, the site tracks data reported via Facebook’s advertising tool to help marketers make wise decisions.

According to the site:
-Facebook has 316 million users
-57% of users are female
-50% are ages 18-34
-Behind the US, the largest amount of users are in the United Kingdom (22,261,080) and Turkey (14,215,880).

Facebook’s not just for keeping in touch with family and friends; it can also be used as a highly effective business tool

-Obtain a unique username (URL) so that people can easily remember it and/or find your profile (example: http://www.facebook.com/eoblanchard)
-Upload your contacts from each of your email and IM accounts, use the Find Friends application and/or search by name to quickly build your contacts.
-Be sure to complete your profile so that you earn peoples trust
-Keep it clean – There’s nothing wrong with posting personal pictures, but it’s best if you don’t post pictures that could give people the wrong impression. If you must, keep the stuff you don’t want to share private through Settings
-Utilize applications that integrate feeds from your blog and other social media sites (Twitter, FriendFeed, etc.) into your Facebook profile
-Utilize Facebook Connect to integrate Facebook with websites, blogs and software applications and easily send information both ways

Facebook connect is also very handy in helping you reduce the amount of logins and passwords you will have to remember. Websites with this button allow you to login into those sites using your Facebook username and password

-Post your website, blog or newsletter subscription information in your profile
-Establish credibility by consistently connecting and sharing with others. Recognize their birthdays, praise their accomplishments; share useful articles and links that may be of interest to your customers or prospects
-Suggest Friends and Pages to your contacts. If you help them, they will more than likely help you
-Join Groups or Become a fan of Pages that are relevant to your business or industry
-Utilize Facebook as a research tool and find out more about your clients and prospects before making contact with them
-Market your business or product by posting promotions or discounts
-Add your Facebok URL to your email signature, your website, blog, business cards, etc.
When the time is right, buy Facebook advertising and place targeted ads

Advertise on Facebook
It is simple to place paid advertisements and your campaign can be tested at a relatively low cost.

-Reach over 300,000,000 active Facebook users
-Attach social actions to your ads to increase relevance
-Create demand for your product with relevant ads
-Quickly create image and text-based ads
-Advertise your own web page or something on Facebook like a Page or an Event
-Choose to pay per click (CPC) or impression (CPM)
-Track your progress with real-time reporting
-Gain insight about who’s clicking on your ad
-Make modifications to maximize your results

1. Design your ad using the really simple interface or by uploading an image
2. Set your daily budget – The minimum is $1.00 per day
3. Target your audience by Location, Age, Sex, Keywords, Education, Workplace, Relationship status, Relationship interests or Languages
4. Decide on a schedule (continuously or on specific dates)
5. Decide on whether you’d like to pay for impressions (CTM) or clicks (CPC)

Pricing:
Free (Paid advertising is an option)

Printscreen (Screenshot) for iPhone

2009-12-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

Did you know you could capture a screenshot of your iPhone? This can be incredibly useful! I subscribe to many Facebook Pages and, often, there are updates I would like to remember or look further into. It is difficult to share Facebook information, as you have to open the link in your browser and then send an email. Who has time for that?

Simply press the Sleep/Awake button on the top right of your iPhone and the Home button at the same time. The screen will flash white and POOF the picture will automatically be saved to your photos. Now you can either send them easily, via email or text message – or download them the next time you sync your phone to iTunes.

Email With No Regrets

2009-10-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to discover this – and think you will find a need for it as well.

Big String is a revolutionary new email service that allows you to control your sent messages.

Easily send, recall, erase, self-destruct and modify an email after it has been sent.

BigString users have unprecedented control over all of their email, whether they choose to send it through the BigString.com website or an email client such as Outlook.

Free Email with unlimited Storage

Self Destructing Email
Recallable/Erasable Email
Non-Forwardable Email
Non-Printable/Savable Email
Advanced Email Tracking

Forget the attachment? No problem, recall and resend it or edit the already sent email!

Choose the hard to print option and your messages are protected from printing, copying, being saved or print screened.

No downloads, simple signup, simply amazing!

BigString’s email tracker is available for the web based versions of AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, MSN and on any email system in which email is sent through Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007.

You can send messages and have them appear as if they are being sent from your primary email (you do not have to use the bigstring email as the from email address).

Pricing:
Free or Upgade

Upgrade is $29.95 per Year and includes:
POP3 Access
30 minute video email
Unlimited Storage

PhotoShop for iPhone App

2009-10-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Very Cool...and free!!!

ColorPic - The Versatile Color Picker

2009-10-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ever needed to know what the exact color of something was? Here's an awesome free tool that can tell you. It is a FREE, quick download, ad and spyware free and simple to use.

Here's a screenshot of ColorPic in action. In this example, I selected (pointed) to my desktop (yes, I know boring, but I just bought this new notebook) and ColorPic shows you the color in RGB and Hexadecimal formats.

Easily pick any color from the screen
Colors shown in hex and decimal
Adjust Hue, Saturation, Value, Red, Green and Blue values
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black percentages shown
Easy to use with any other program
Resizable magnification area
Overlay a grid for quick colorpicker alignment
Use arrow keys to nudge mouse pointer
Save multiple palettes of colors automatically
WebSafe Colors and names displayed
Snap to nearest WebSafe color
Point sample, 3x3 or 5x5 pixel color sampling
Adjust color with four advanced color mixers
Edit colorpicker values after selection easily
Easy to use collapsible sections
Works with Firefox, Internet Explorer, Photoshop and any other application

The Dead Simple Place to Post Everything

2009-09-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Have something to say?
If you don't want to take the time to sign in to all of your social networking sites and/or Blogs to share your news, use posterous. Amazingly Simple!

What is posterous?
Posterous lets you post things online fast using email. You email post@posterous.com and they reply instantly with your new posterous blog.

If you can use email, you can have your own website to share thoughts and media with friends, family and the world.

What can you send to posterous?
You can attach any type of file and they'll post it along with the text of your email.

They'll do smarter things for photos, MP3's, documents and video (both links AND files). Here's just a sample of what they support

Autopost to everywhere
You can set up all of your other accounts. The next time you post to posterous, your post will instantly autopost everywhere else. Facebook minifeed or status can be updated with your most recent posts. If you attach photos, they will automatically organize and post them into your photo albums.

Twitter messages will use the title of your post up to 130 characters, and then append a shortened is.gd url.

Flickr photos will be put automatically in your photostream. If you attach multiple photos, they will post them all in the order they were received.

Blogs will be updated with the full content you send them. They host your images, music and files, so you don't have to lift a finger!

Sites they Support
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
Tumblr
Blogger
Wordpress
Typepad
Movable Type
Livejournal
Xanga

Sample: Alltop/Holy Kaw! Guy Kawasaki's Posterous Blog

How much does it cost?
It's FREE!!!!

Keep up with what you are into

2009-09-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

A smarter way to keep up with what you’re into...
A new way to collect content and connect with people who share your interests. Use Twine to track, find, and share what interests you. Twine ties it all together by topic, so you can have it in one place. To get started, find a twine of your interest through search or explore, then join!

The easy way to track your interests
Track and discover new content through the Twine interest feed. Get a snapshot of the newest content and conversations in your twines. You can also keep up to date with an email digest or through RSS feed.

Contribute – be a part of the Twine community
Every twine and piece of content was contributed by a member of the Twine community - so start contributing! Post comments or add images, videos and bookmarks to a twine. The Twine bookmarklet tool makes it easy to share a bookmark to any twine instantly.

Stay organized without even trying
Twine automatically organizes all of your items so you can easily find them when you need to. Import bookmarks from your browser or other services so you have everything you need in one place.

Connect with Like-Minded People
You’re not the only one with your quirky interests. Connect with people who share your interests. Or invite friends to Twine to share information and rant & rave about your favorite topics.

Pricing
Yet, another absolutely FREE tool

Virtual Business Cards

2009-09-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

A Portal to You...
card.ly is the simplest way to create a online mini business card. It lets you put all your data into one place, for easy digestion by others. You can list your contact details, social hub sites, email, picture and more.

Users can easily add their online profiles, pick a theme and create a good-looking online mini business card of their own in just a couple of minutes.

You can share on Twitter or Embed in your site.

A great way to cross promote your resources, businesses, or perhaps your different personalities...

The best part is, it's FREE!

YouMail - Enhanced Visual Voicemail

2009-09-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Visual Voicemail - Custom Voicemail
YouMail is a free online voicemail replacement with personal greetings which comes jam-packed with lots of tools for both business and personal use. The free version is great, but you can upgrade to pro which eliminates ads, has a bigger inbox (can hold 5,000 voicemails), can protect your privacy (require blocked or unknown callers to enter in phone number) and never cuts anyone off - Callers can leave 5 minute voicemails, and you can have up to 2 minute long greetings.

Visual Voicemail
• See visual voicemail - on your phone, browser or e-mail
• Completely visual - see who called, from where, and even their picture (when before all you had was their number!)
• Use your smart phone or your computer - or you can still dial in like before (if you feel the need!)
• Save time - Point, click and play or delete.

Voice-To-Text Transcriptions
• Near perfect voice-to-text transcriptions.
• Know if a message truly is urgent in situations when you can't simply dial or answer your phone.
• Read and respond to voicemail messages while in a meeting, class, movie or other busy setting.

Personal Custom Greetings or Choose from a Community of Cool Greetings
• Impress your callers - greet them by name
• Easily have different greetings for your sweetie, your friends, your co-workers and your boss.
• Choose from a library of free greetings or upload any sound file as a greeting.
• Choose from over a thousand greetings that'll make your callers laugh or smile.
• Or appear more professional by using our studio recorded greetings.
• Even choose greetings recorded in different languages for your foreign friends and colleagues

Why have different greetings for different callers? Because you can be professional to your co-workers, funny to your friends and romantic to your significant other.

Here’s some examples:

Greeting for your boss: Hello, you have reached Tony Roberts, Senior Sales Associate at XYZ company. “I’m sorry I missed your call. Please leave a detailed message and I will return your call promptly, as your business is important to us.”

Greeting for your significant other: “Hey babe, I’m sorry I missed your call. I love you, please leave a message so I can hear your voice!”

Ah, and then there’s Ditchmail. This is for the sales guy who’s been incessantly calling you trying to get your business (or a bill collector, perhaps..)

Ditchmail Greeting: “This user is currently not accepting new messages. Goodbye!”

For everyone else: You can select a basic greeting or record a generic greeting of your own.

Block or Eliminate Unwanted Callers
• Block unwanted voicemail - goodbye pesky callers!
• Automatically hang up on unwanted callers before they can leave voicemail.
• Simple to set up with just one click!
• Easily let a pesky ex or telemarketer think your number is no longer in service.

Easy Voicemail Sharing
• Forward, share or save messages forever.
• Save time by just forwarding voicemails - no need to take notes and then call or e-mail.
• It's effortless to instant message a voicemail to your family or friends.
• You can even post someone's call to your MySpace or Facebook page.

Voicemail Sent To Email
• Get all your e-mail and voicemail together in one place.
• Treat your voicemail just like email - easy to forward, easy to save.
• Get voicemails even when you don't have reception on your phone

Pricing
YouMail Standard – Free
YouMail Pro - $1.99/month or $19.99 Annual Plan (Save: $3.89- 16% )
YouMail Read it - Voicemail Transcription $3.99/mo to $29.99/mo
Additional Greetings - from $1.99-$4.99 per greeting

Hide or Redirect Affiliate Links

2009-09-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

If you are part of a referral program, better known as an affiliate program and aren't redirecting your affiliate links, you may be losing sales, probably quite a bit of sales.

Here are a few very good reasons why you should redirect your affiliate links:

1. It will help build and grow backlinks to your website
1. It will minimize spam filtering of your email campaigns
2. It will aid in increasing article submission acceptance
4. It will minimize the fear some visitors may have when they see an elongated link, It's pretty simple. Here's how you do it:

1. Create a new (blank) web page on your website
2. Edit the HTML of the page by putting the following piece of code between the header tags:

You will need to replace the URL "youraffiliatelink.com" with your affiliate link

If you are part of multiple affiliate programs and have multiple affiliate links, you will need to set up a separate (blank) page with the header code above for each affiliate link.

Now you can use the link(s) from your redirect pages instead of the affiliate link(s).

When someone clicks on your redirect page link the following will happen:

1. They are taken to your blank redirect page. This will only appear for a couple of seconds.
2. The command in your header tag then forwards the visitor directly to the affiliate site.

Redirect pages do not look like affiliate links. They appear to be normal pages. For those people that have a problem clicking affiliate links, they will be unaware that the redirect page is actually an affiliate link. Now, go make some money!

FotoFlexer

2009-09-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

FotoFlexer is one of the most powerful online photo editors out there. A great PhotoShop alternative (for those of us who hate to pay hundreds of dollars for software). Like Photoshop, it can remove blemishes, change skin/hair color, morph photos. It has quite a few filters, supports layers and much more! The best part is, it's 100% FREE! Check it out and have fun with it!

Free PR = Free Advertising

2009-09-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

If you're not using these free PR services, you're crazy. Every business, big or small, needs exposure. Below you will find a list of sites that offer free PR. Many of which also allow you to list your company's profile for, again, FREE! Doesn't everybody like FREE?

30 Websites for free Press Release Distribution

express-press-release.net

free-news-release.com

freepressindex.com

free-press-release.com

free-press-release-center.info

pressreleasecirculation.com

pressreleasepoint.com

Think Outside the Google Box

2009-09-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

When we think of advertising and SEO, Google is the first thing that comes to mind. Google AdWords, Google AdSense. Google is always the giant pink elephant in the room. OK, sometimes you may falter and Microsoft and Yahoo may make their way into your narrow mind....But let's assume for a minute that there are people out there (and quite a few I might add) that search and buy in different places. They may not do it on purpose, but it happens more often than you think.

15 Advertising Alternatives
Shopping.com
Superpages.com
Pricegrabber.com
Local.com
looksmart.com
Facebook.com
Twitter.com
MySpace.com
Craiglist.org
Reachlocal.com
7Search.com
Mahalo.com
Kanoodle.com
Admob.com
Mammamediasolutions.com

Springwise Idea: Food52

2009-09-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

There are a multitude of foodie websites and blogs catering to most every culinary whim, but food52 is one with an especially clear premise: 52 weeks, 52 recipe contests, and a crowdsourced cookbook to celebrate the result.

Whereas the recent movie and book "Julie and Julia" chronicle a young food blogger's journey through "365 Days and 524 Recipes" using Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I," food52 is in many ways its opposite, celebrating instead the recipes of home cooks. Conceived in part by former New York Times food reporter Amanda Hesser—who has also written several cookbooks in her own right—the site is now on its 13th weekly contest, this time soliciting recipes for "your best beef salad" and "your best fruit tart." Visitors to the site have seven days to submit their favourite recipes for each week's category. Hesser and cofounder Merrill Stubbs then pick two finalists for each category, testing them and photographing them first; then, for 10 days the contest is opened up to voting. Winning recipes and author bios will go into the food52 cookbook, which will be published by Harper Studio; authors will also receive a selection of supplies from Oxo, the project's sponsor. Runners-up and other entries, meanwhile, will be highlighted on the food52 site, where users will also have a chance to offer their opinions on the food52 cookbook's photos, cover design and title.

food52 is currently in invitation-only beta—using, interestingly, Paperless Post to send its invites—but will reportedly open up to the public next week. An online store is coming soon, and Hesser and Stubbs hope to follow up the current project with future books as well. One to watch! (Related: Online marketplace for home-cooked meals — Customised cookbooks stir in online recipes.)

Website: www.food52.com
Contact: amanda@food52.com
Spotted by: Murtaza Ali Patel

Fresh Idea from Springwise.com

2009-09-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

Helping readers take blogs offline, Zinepal lets any user convert their favourite online content into ebooks and printable, magazine-style PDFs.

Users of British Columbia-based Zinepal begin by selecting content they like from blogs, Atom/RSS feeds and other websites. Zinepal then reformats that content into a printable PDF and ebook format for use with the Amazon Kindle and other electronic readers. Users can preview and edit or reformat the resulting "zine," even adding a title and logo of their own to customize the publication. Advertising images can also be included at the bottom of each page. Once their zine is complete, users can print it or request an e-mailed copy; they can also request that new zines be automatically created each day or week from the content they choose. Zines can be made public on the site for sharing and searchability; zine feeds, meanwhile, provide a way for users to offer subscriptions to their publications. There is currently no charge for using Zinepal. A video on blip.tv explains how the process works.

Similar also to BlueMailCentral, Peggy Mail and other tools that help forge the OFF=ON connection, Zinepal gives readers one more choice in deciding how their content is delivered. Even beyond that, though, it has the potential to spawn a whole new generation of small, niche publications similar to the (discontinued) The Printed Blog but put together by independent thinkers, organizations or even brands. One to try out! (Related: Magazine publishing for everyone and every niche.)

Website: http://www.zinepal.com/
Contact: info@zinepal.com
Spotted by: Murtaza Ali Patel