With the economy in a questionable state, everyone is looking for a good deal. Savvy business owners have jumped at the opportunity to carve out a niche for themselves in the struggling economy. Coupon and Deal-Of-The-Day websites have become extremely popular. Everyone is getting into the action, from large conglomerate websites to small specialty shops, and many now have some sort of Deal-Of-The-Day special where an item is offered at a significant discount for a specified and limited period of time. While the Deal-Of-The-Day websites were originally designed to capture impulse purchasers, many financially-conscious penny-pinching shoppers are now monitoring these sites regularly, in search of good deals on products they might need.

Everybody loves a bargain! Where should you look for a bargain?

PS
Be sure to check out Software Deal of the Day

Web templates offer webmasters a great opportunity to minimize development time and get new sites on the web sooner rather than later. The structure of web templates allow webmasters to focus on the proprietary content development, and optimizing the website for search engines, rather than struggling with layout and graphics.

Why Use Web Templates?

The Software Industry Conference is coming to Boston July 17th through 19th, 2008. This exciting event, now in its 18th year, will be held at the Boston Marriott Quincy in Quincy MA.

The Software Industry Conference features three days of informative sessions that cover a wide range of subjects of interest to software developers. There will be sessions on marketing, foreign markets, ecommerce, outsourcing development, copyrights and trademarks, and much more.

The Software Industry Conference provides lots of time to network with other attendees. Thursday evening there is a night of fun, excitement, food, and beverages sponsored by Digital River, always a highlight of the conference. Friday evening features an Exhibit Night with vendors in over 20 booths and food and beverages for all.

On Saturday there is an Awards banquet. The Software Industry Conference is the premier software marketing event of the year. So, if you are a small software developer or MicroISV,  plan to attend!  

Marketing is a three-syllable word that seems so simple, yet encompasses so much. Marketing is a multi-faceted approach to promoting a product or service. Both traditional and unconventional marketing methods have a place in the small business world. Marketing helps small businesses focus on building their brand and identity.

There are few limitations to marketing options, and the opportunities listed here are just a few that will generally result in a decent ROI (Return On Investment) for most small businesses. That said, do not be afraid to be creative -- no one knows or understands a small business like its owner, so think outside of the box and don't be afraid to experiment.

Ways to Market

Website usability is more than just a good navigational structure. A large number of people have visual or hearing disabilities, so you should design your website in ways that allow those with either minor or significant impairments to view and navigate your web content. The following tips will help expand your website's usability so that all users, regardless of their sensory perception and abilities, are able to take advantage of your web content...

Take Website Usability to the Next Level

Extending its dominance in the search market, Google grew its share of queries in April at the expense of rivals Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL and Ask.com.


Google U.S. search query share in April grew to 61.6 percent, up from 59.8 percent in March, comScore announced  last Thursday. Google accomplished this although the number of search queries dropped 2 percent overall in April to 10.58 billion, compared with March, comScore said.

Picking up on a trend started by the travel industry, business-listing sites by Google, Yahoo, and others including Yelp and Citysearch let customers rave about their favorites, or complain about poor service. That helps consumers get real-life opinions about local businesses and services. For businesses attempting to reach consumers, the feedback spreads the word in a way ads can not. But perhaps more important, the reviews can dramatically raise a websites visibility in search engines.

Online Reviews

The outcome of the case could have far reaching implications for taxes on online sales:

The city of Chicago is suing eBay and its subsidiary StubHub for failing to collect city amusement taxes on concert and sporting event tickets sold through the Web sites.

Chicagos amusement tax ordinance includes Internet sites that resell tickets, but eBay, which bought StubHub last year, says the 8 percent tax does not apply to it.
It is not clear how much money is at stake, but when the city first floated the idea of going after taxes for online sales in 2006, Alderman Edward Burke estimated the city could be losing $16 million a year in taxes on Internet-based sales by ticket resellers.

complete article

Television company CBS has agreed to buy technology news and entertainment website CNET for about $1.75bn. CBS said that the purchase of CNET, which owns sites such as ZDNet and Gamespot, would help to boost its online presence.

complete article

Webmasters are given the advice that they must attract links, but the key is not just to attract links... they need to attract good links. But what is the perfect link? The search for the perfect link need not be a quest in vain. Consider the following when attempting to attract links...

A Perfect Link

Sounds like social network sites have finally figured out Attention Data:

Social networking site MySpace said Thursday it will soon enable users to quickly share profile data with Web sites operated by Yahoo Inc., eBay Inc. and others.

complete article

This could really change things for affiliate programs and online entrepeneurs.

Amazon.com is suing New York over a new law that requires out-of-state online companies to collect sales tax from shoppers in New York.

Officials estimated the state would gain about $50 million by requiring Internet giants such as Amazon.com to collect state sales tax. New Yorkers, like residents of many states, are currently on an honor system to report their online spending when they file state tax returns.

The law applies to companies that do not have a brick-and-mortar presence in New York but have at least one person in the state who works as an online agent — basically someone who links to a Web site and receives commissions for related sales.

complete article

The World Wide Web is still only in its infancy, its British inventor said Wednesday, on the 15th anniversary of the webs effective launch.

Tim Berners-Lee told the BBC that the web, which started life in the CERN physics laboratory on the Franco-Swiss border in the early 1990s, could develop in unimaginable directions but above all should be a force for good.

complete article

Axandra posted this in their weekly search engine news. Very interesting to consider all the factors that can effect ranking!

Yahoos patent applications provides a list of 51 web page elements that can be analyzed to determine the clutter of a web page:

Total number of links
Total number of words
Total number of images (non-ad images)
Image area above the fold (non-ad images)
Dimensions of page
Page area (total)
Page length
Total number of tables
Maximum table columns (per table)
Maximum table rows (per table)
Total rows
Total columns
Total cells
Average cell padding (per table)
Average cell spacing (per table)
Dimensions of fold
Fold area
Location of center of fold relative to center of page
Total number of font sizes used for links
Total number of font sizes used for headings
Total number of font sizes used for body text
Total number of font sizes
Presence of “tiny” text
Total number of colors (excluding ads)
Alignment of page elements
Average page luminosity
Fixed vs. relative page width
Page weight (proxy for load time)
Total number of ads
Total ad area
Area of individual ads
Area of largest ad above the fold
Largest ad area
Total area of ads above the fold
Page space allocated to ads
Total number of external ads above the fold
Total number of external ads below the fold
Total number of external ads
Total number of internal ads above the fold
Total number of internal ads below the fold
Total number of internal ads
Number of sponsored link ads above the fold
Number of sponsored link ads below the fold
Total number of sponsored link ads
Number of image ads above the fold
Number of image ads below the fold
Total number of image ads
Number of text ads above the fold
Number of text ads below the fold
Total number of text ads
Position of ads on page

According to the patent application, Yahoo might also consider the presence of animated and flashing ads and the average ad luminosity.

Avoiding Googles sandbox can be a challenge for even the most experienced webmasters. Considering the volume of traffic and number of searches conducted each day in the search giant, appearing in the top search results for critical keywords and phrases can make or break an online business. Take care to avoid Googles sandbox, so your business can benefit from Googles traffic.

How to Avoid Googles Filters

Sponsoring events is an interesting advertising opportunity for small businesses struggling to get attention. Inc recently did a piece that highlights the benefits small businesses encounter from sponsoring events. read Blessed Events

Sponsorship opportunities cover the gamut, everything from Golf Fund Raisers or Software Conferences.

Choosing a domain is one of the first steps in establishing an online presence. Changing a domain after-the-fact can be time consuming, and can be harmful to search engine ranking, so it is best to get it right the first time around. Follow these simple steps to select a domain name that will represent your online brand...

Choose a Domain

This is an interesting article entitled There is No Such Thing as Free Software:

Software is always acquired at some cost, even if you don’t pay a penny to the people that write it. In fact, for most downloadable software available to a general audience, the license fee is only a small part of the price you pay for using the software.

First, there’s the time you spend getting the product to run and learning how to use it.

Here is another one When Something Is Free:

There is value to free just be sure that you know what it is. Next time something is offered for free, evaluate the quid pro quo and determine what you are giving in return, because very little is ever really free.

Who wants to make money from AdSense? Or a better question: who does not want to make money from AdSense?

Value Ad - Made for AdSense Websites

Blogs are now a dime a dozen, and bloggers need to make their blog posts stand out. Developing a blog following is not as easy as it once was. Learn how to write blog posts that attract readers and retain their attention. Follow these guidelines to cultivate readers...

Blog Posts that Get Attention

Google Scholar is a new beta search tool from Google that provides a search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles.

Performing and perfecting search engine results can save web surfers lots of time and energy. Understanding the nuances of searching allows researchers to immediately drill down and locate the information they are seeking, without having to wade through a myriad of irrelevant search results in the process. The increasing complexity of search engines has made understanding search engines a necessity for those who spend any amount of time online. The following search tips are standards that will work in most of the major search engines.

How To Find What You Are Looking For?
As the popularity of the Internet grows, more and more results are returned for even the most obscure search phrases. In order to save time, web surfers need to increase their search relevancy. It is advisable to use multiple search terms to produce better search results. Searchers should use specific words and phrases to find what they are are looking for, while filtering out irrelevant and unwanted results.

Performing Better Web Searches

Representatives from the major search engines have all made it clear that they prefer search engines that contain unique content. Webmasters who want to avoid any current or future bans will do well to follow these simple guidelines in order to avoid duplicate content penalties:

Avoid Duplicate Content Penalties

Shareware Promotions has posted a very important and revealing post about Google and how they want to use Google Analytics data and Adwords!  Anyone with half a brain should have seen this coming.

In fact I wrote a piece about this awhile back, here is an excerpt:

Google Analytics is free, no one can beat the price, but what is the real cost? The cost is your data. While not terribly important when analyzed alone, when aggregated with other information Google has access to, it could be damaging. Data mining has made the collection of data meaningful. It has become easier to find patterns and trends in large volumes of data.

While any of that information independent of other data, might be non-threatening or irrelevant to someone doing analysis, when combined with other data Google has access to, it can paint a very clear picture of how, not only individual companies are performing, but the aggregate data could possibly paint a picture of how entire business sectors or industries are performing.

If you are using Analytics consider yourself warned yet again!

Full Shareware Promotions Blog Post
Full Article Google As Big Brother

Here are a selection of sample business letters (ie. letter templates) that cover a variety of issues.

Google has introduced tools for translating blocks of text in Web pages into multiple languages.

The language application programming interface can also identify a particular language before translation. The API makes use of the Web 2.0 technology Ajax and covers 13 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. The API also supports 29 translation pairs.

complete article

Creating a marketing and business plan for a small business can at times seem like an overwhelming task for a new business owner. Yet, it need not be. A business plan is simply a formal statement that contains a set of business goals; and a marketing plan outlines the necessary actions which the business needs to take in order to achieve its marketing objectives.

How is Your Business Different?

What defines a good podcast? Make no mistake -- there is a difference between a good podcast and a not-so-good podcast. A high-caliber podcast is much more than just decent content. The sound quality, and the way a podcast is recorded, will impact the value of the podcast as well. Podcast structure and pre-planning are also important; do not skimp on the production, as it too can make or break a podcast.

10 Podcasting Tips

The use of technology can define the success or failure of a business. This is no more evident than in the real estate industry. Realtors who flocked to the latest technologies, adopted them, and applied them in order to enhance and sell property, are still prospering.

Tips for Creating Real Estate Video Podcasts

German company wants to bring customer loyalty cards to the Internet while also making it easier for people to log in into multiple Web sites.

Loyalty card programs offer customers incentives based on repeat purchases in a network of merchants. For example, a customer may earn bonus points for purchases and those points can be used at other retailers participating in the loyalty card program. This drives business to noncompeting retailers within the network.

With tax season nearing its height and millions of Americans filing taxes electronically, security software vendor Identity Finder offers some basic tips on how taxpayers can protect their personal information.


Identity Finders products scour computers for personal information and provide users with options to protect that information. Although the companies tips may seem obvious, identity theft is a growing problem.

12 Tips To Protect Personal Info During Tax Season

When it comes to filing your income tax return, it is usually the little things that trip you up. Unfortunately, stupid mistakes pretty much guarantee your return will be put on the fast track for an audit.

How to Avoid Dumb Mistakes on Tax Returns

Sign up now for the Software Industry Conference. The Software Industry Conference will be held July 17-19, 2008 in Boston Massachusetts. The conference will feature discussions geared to software marketers and developers. The 3-day conference includes exhibits and an awards ceremony as well as 3 days filled with topical panel sessions. There is an early bird discount available until April 1st for attendees who register early.

Over the last few years the microISV industry has started seeing a new way to sell their software - deal of the day sites. These sites work basically the same: entice impulse shoppers with a hefty discount on one or two products a day.

But do these sites work? Are customers okay with one day sales? And should you as a microISV associate with a software discounter?

Judging by the first-hand reports posted by microISV founders at the Business of Software forum, the answers are yes, yes and yes!

More on Sites That Will Make Your Day

When designing a website, it is important that webmasters ask some general questions before they begin the design process...

Website Sales Purpose

Web Design Elements is designed specifically for small businesses, each CD contains a themed collection of web templates, layouts, images, logos, and photographs all related to a central theme. CDs are perfect for small businesses, needing to create a website, or promotional materials. CD collections include:

Flower Themes for florists, gardeners or landscapers.
Equestrian Themes for riding stables, horse shows, and barns.
Dating Themes for online dating or other matchmaking services.
Nature Collection for nature lovers, or scenic personal websites.
Nautical Theme for fishing companies, charter services or marinas.
Sunrise and Sunset Themes for travel companies.

Everyone who understands Internet Marketing will tell you to analyze your web logs... but what does that really mean? What particular things should you pay attention to when analyzing your web logs?

Web Log Analysis

With fears of a U.S. recession bearing down on technology companies, the sectors safest bets appear to be in business software, while makers of computers and consumer gadgets look vulnerable.

complete article

Here is an interesting business marketing idea. Send flowers from FTD and get a full, free license to your preferred software.
Order Flowers and Get Software for Free

Webmasters need to avoid making these common web design mistakes. Website visitors who have a pleasant experience on a website are more likely to trust the website, and as such they are more likely to purchase products from that website. Use the following guide to avoid some of the more common web design mistakes...

Avoid These Common Web Mistakes

Direct Access is a powerful speed typing software to create global text templates, available in any application, and define your abbreviation list only once. You just type the abbreviation and Direct Access automatically expands it into the full phrase for you. With Direct Access, any piece of information is always available just by typing a few keystrokes.

The formula for webmasters looking for success with the search engines is ROMM (Research, Optimize, Monitor, and Maintain). Here are some helpful tips and details about each portion of the ROMM concept...

ROMM - The Basics of SEO

Macro Scheduler Software discounted 45% for only 24 hours.


Create scripts and record macros to automate and control your Windows applications, automate software processes and assign tasks to schedules, desktop shortcuts or hotkeys. Perform complex tasks with a single mouse click, or schedule your computer to perform tasks while you are away.

The powerful Macro Recorder makes it easy to create macros even if you have no programming experience. If you can do it, Macro Scheduler can automate it.

How much do you know about web design? Take this web design quiz to find out how much you know about web design...

Web Design Questions and Answers

Great collection of small business logos.  Select industry specific or generic business logos for global or local commerce. Reasonably priced (only $9.95)

Women start their own business at twice the rate of men. It shows initiative, creativity, courage and intelligence for these women venturing out on their own away from corporate America. One very startling statistic about women business owners - 3% of all women-owned firms have revenues of $1 million or more compared with 6% of men-owned firms according to the Center for Womens Business Research that means that women are starting their own business at twice the rate of men yet twice as many men owned business’ reach a million dollars in revenue.

If you are stuck trying to think of a small business to start, first start by thinking about what you love to do. Here you’ll find a list of 37 small business ideasthat work around things that you love to do!

The arguments continue to rage over the ambiguities in the RSS specifications. But the fact is: RSS is here to stay, and the current defined RSS 2.0 specification is likely going to be as good as it is going to get.

RSS Feed Guidelines

Despite Weak U.S. Dollar, Skyrocketing Oil Prices, Ballooning Inflation, and Looming Recession, U.S. Companies Not Only Survive

As the U.S. economy continues to tumble amidst a variable cyclone of negativity ranging from a weak U.S. dollar, high oil prices, rising inflation, a plummeting stock market, housing market fiascos and political uncertainty -- many small businesses and larger corporations are finding financial relief in automation software. By implementing Windows automation tools such as MJT Nets Macro Scheduler , many U.S. companies have been able to combat rising costs and falling sales by increasing efficiency while substantially boosting productivity and becoming more competitive. Racing to adopt new technology, many U.S. companies are saving both time and money -- enabling them to not only survive -- but thrive.

complete details!

Interesting post about Yahoo, possibly using Delicious (social bookmarks) in their search results.

I just got word that Yahoo is testing the integration of Delicious user generated bookmarks into Yahoo search results pages (Yahoo acquired Delicious in late 2005). Some users will see the Delicious icon as part of their normal search results, which tells them how many people have bookmarked those pages, as well as the tags people have supplied for those pages.

Discounted software every day! Each day a popular application is significantly discounted for only 24 hours. The new Software Deal of the Day website also has a number of 2nd chance discount offers that are available to website visitors who miss the deal of the day. Second chance offers are still discounted but not as steeply. Subscribe to the Software Deal of the Day RSS feed and be instantly aware of what applications are available, or syndicate the daily specials on your website, free of charge!

HTML Web Templates
HTML website templates can significantly ease the burden of designing and creating websites by providing webmasters with a ready-made web layout, structure, basic graphics, and color scheme. Templates can generally be edited and customized with any HTML editor. The biggest advantage for webmasters using ready-made templates is the amount of time that can be saved. There are a number of websites that provide ready-made HTML templates. We have compiled a list of some popular sites to make the search process easier.

Webmaster Templates
Webmaster Templates contains themed web templates. Each template includes an HTML layout, CSS file, and graphic images. Individual templates can be purchased, or webmasters can subscribe to the website and download an unlimited number of templates for a specified period of time. The themed and industry web templates are categorized by topic, or can be located using a keyword search feature. New web templates are added on a regular basis, so check back often.

HTML Web Templates

After looking into my crystal ball, I have made a cluster of predictions about what will be hot, and what will be not so hot in technology for 2008.

Top 10 Winners Predicted for 2008

1. Video
YouTube has not shown any signs of slowing down. With the increasing popularity of portability and the increase of video-viewing technology, the growth of video is unlikely to slow down.

2. Healthy
Healthy is in. It is not only fashionable, but now cool to be healthy. Maybe this will help counter the rise in obesity in the US. Even those who give in to their cravings and indulge agree that it is cool to be healthy. Organic foods are at an all time high with an increase of roughly 20% per year in the US! This may also be a top New Year Resolution.

3. Long Tail
The Long Tail is still hot. Small businesses and big business are all attempting to capture the famed long tail.

What is Hot and What is Not in Technology for 2008

Internet Marketing Resolutions for the New Year
Starting a New Year is all about self-reflecting. Most individuals celebrate the incoming year by looking back, determining what goals were met and what goals fell short. Most who have made past resolutions then look forward and resolve to do better in the coming year.
Like any Internet marketer, I have a long laundry list of things that I intend to get to... invariably each year the list grows longer, and rarely do I make any significant headway on new projects, ideas, or marketing techniques. I resolve for that to change in 2008! I have compiled a list of Internet Marketing resolutions for the coming year. If your list is already too long, consider saving time and using the list below.

1. Track and Measure
Before launching any advertising campaigns, be sure to determine how the campaign will be tracked. I will determine exactly how much money we need to make from the campaign in order for it to be effective and worth the effort.

2. Investigate Pay Per Review
I resolve to take a closer look at pay per review websites like PayPerReview, ReviewMe, and PayPerPost and to discern whether the model will be effective for marketing software.

3. Make Video Tutorials
It is time! Being a tad on the shy side, this item keeps finding its way to the bottom of my marketing list. However, it is time to utilize videos and use them as marketing tools, websites like YouTube can help raise awareness of products and help instruct our users.

4. Leverage Web 2.0
It is time to explore some of those unusual mediums, and discern the marketing viability of Web 2.0. While RSS and syndication are now a marketing staple, Web 2.0 has more to offer and is worth a closer look in the coming year.

Complete List of Small Business Internet Marketing Resolutions

The lens through which viewers receive their news has changed. The images of struggle are no longer frozen in time; technology has helped preserve and personalize these conflicts by producing moving tributes to the conflicts of humankind.

The strife and internal conflicts that marred the globe in 2006 continued into 2007: Mynamar (Burma), Palestine and Lebanon all continue to struggle with internal conflicts in their borders. The differences between 2006 and 2007 are not obvious; however, under close examination, it is evident that several external struggles have been transformed into internal conflicts. In 2006, many countries attempted to influence their neighbors. This was evident with Iran attempting to influence the turmoil in Iraq, and Syria attempting to control Lebanon. Both struggles have evolved into internal personal conflicts in 2007.

While video is not a new technology, the spread of video-viewing technology in devices like the iPod has brought the faces of terror into the homes of the western world. Advances in technology have also encouraged the West to open both their hearts and wallets, with many sponsoring children like Youseff, a child with a horribly scarred face. The same technology that brought Youssef's story to millions of homes, also helped bring tragedies like the Virginia Tech massacres.

2007 Reflections, 2008 Predictions

Top 10 Winners Predicted for 2008
1. Video
2. Healthy
3. Long Tail
4. Buy USA
5. Rich Internet / Interactive Web / Semantic Web / Web Services
6. Aggregate and Attention Data
7. Power of the People
8. Going Green
9. Biometrics and Big Brother
10. Prosthetics / Bionic

Top 10 Losers Predicted for 2008
1. Lead
2. Squat Toilets
3. DRM
4. China
5. Skinny is Out
6. Blockbuster / Netflix
7. Orbo
8. MySpace fell to Facebook
9. Privacy
10. Piracy

More on 2007 Predictions - http://www.small-business-software.net/whats-hot-whats-not-2008.htm

According to InfoWorld:

Google is developing an online publishing platform where people can write entries on subjects they know, an idea that's close to Wikipedia's user-contributed encyclopedia but with key differences.

The project, which is in an invitation-only beta stage, lets users create clean-looking Web pages with their photo and write entries on, for example, insomnia. Those entries are called knols for "unit of knowledge," Google said. Google wants the knols to develop into a deep repository of knowledge, covering topics such as geography, history, and entertainment.

The Internet is a bit like the old wild west, and sadly, people often post material about an individual, product, company, or service that is inaccurate or simply nasty. Businesses and individuals alike are struggling with how to best deal with online inaccuracy and defamation. The normal steps for dealing with defamation typically involve litigation, but this is not always realistic for Internet-based situations since the Internet is global, and not managed or governed by any single set of laws.

If you have the good fortune of being located in the same legal jurisdiction as the offending poster and their website hosting company, you might be able to successfully prosecute them; or at the very least, you might be able to get the webpage with the offending material taken down by the website host. Keep in mind that most defamation court cases require that you show that actual harm was done by the offending material, which can often be difficult.

Reputation Management

Young Europeans prefer the Internet over television, and nearly half say they watch less TV because of surfing the web, a poll of 10 European countries showed Wednesday.

complete article

Two national retail advocacy groups are at odds with each other over whether Internet sellers should collect sales tax from their buyers.


The National Retail Federation and the Electronic Retailers Association issued dueling statements on Thursday asking Congress to consider with extreme caution any legislation that would make it easier to require Internet merchants, mail-order houses and other remote sellers to collect sales tax across state lines. The debate is based around U.S. Representative William Delahunt's, D-Mass., bill that would allow states that have implemented the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement  to require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax on merchandise sold their residents. The legislation is different than the Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendment Acts of 2007, which President Bush signed into law on October 31, in that the SSUTA permits states implementing the Streamlined Sales Tax Project to collect sales and use taxes on catalog and Internet purchases.

complete article

According to Google on the subject of shared IP addresses:

Lots of sites are hosted on shared IPs. If this had a negative effect on ranking, it would harm most of the sites on the web--and that's not good for small webmasters or for our users. So, understandably, sharing an IP should not have an effect your ability to rank.

More and more companies are using RSS as a means to communicate, so having an RSS feed that is professional and well polished will help differentiate your company from your competition. What makes an RSS feed professional? Follow these simple steps to polish your RSS feed and take it to the next level...

Create Professional RSS Feeds

TechWeb is reporting rumors that Google is talking to Skype about an acquisition.

The rumor that Google might acquire Skype was started Monday in a blog on the U.K.s respected Guardian and since then, the report has taken on a life of its own at investment firms.

Like many Google rumors there is no solid basis for any such speculation (remember the Google phone?). But it persists because there are some logical reasons for the two companies to establish a deeper relationship.

Software tackles stupid forum postings.

The software will sit on the server side of a website and examine new postings for signs that the contributor is not making sense. These might include repeat letters (ex. amazinggggg) and text-speak such as LOL (for 'laughs out loud').

complete article

Over half of Europes airlines including Ryanair could be forced to close their Web sites next year if they fail to remedy problems shown by the EU consumer affairs watchdog in a probe carried out in September.


The results of the investigation to be published on Wednesday and obtained by Reuters says over 50 percent of all Web sites showed irregularities, in particular relating to price indications, contract terms and clarity of proposed conditions.

complete article

Not all web marketing needs to cost money. Aside from website submissions, there are a number of things that web marketers can do that are free, though they may be rather time-consuming. Other marketing tactics are relatively inexpensive, and are often well worth the investment.

Follow these basic steps to market your website and business.

1. Adding gradual content over time is best. One article per week is ideal.

2. Syndicate your content using the author resource box for links back.

3. Place your articles in an RSS feed on your site with a link back to the full article in the Description field. If someone syndicates the feed and doesn't automatically link back to the full content, the link is still included. Don't include the full article in the feed, just teaser copy.

4. Re-submit the feed to RSS/search engines and directories after you syndicate your article.

5. You can manually post articles to a handful of key sites that aren't automated. You can email out using GroupMail to the common article listservs. You can also submit your article to a group of ezine editors that write for your market. Do this once a week.

6. When an author reprints and lets me know, I visit the site to ensure that the links are live in the author resource box. I then email the author, thanking them and telling them about additional articles they might find interesting. Sharon uses a macro set up TypePilot for her responses.

7. Your best articles are timeless or explain how to do things. Controversial topics are hit or miss.

8. Titles are critical. You must use keywords and capture the attention of editors and publishers.


Ramping Up Content Overtime

As employees struggle to read an increasing amount of work-related material, some companies have turned to RSS technology to improve productivity.

With RSS servers and readers designed for workplaces, IT departments set up internal information feeds that employees can subscribe to, a delivery mechanism that, for some information, can be more precise and effective than e-mail.

complete article

Microsoft took another incremental step in its long-standing anti-piracy program this week when it filed lawsuits against 20 vendors in 13 states for allegedly selling pirated copies of its software.

The company also launched a new educational site, HowToTell.com to help teach buyers tell the difference between legitimate and counterfeit or pirated software.

Networking is an invaluable opportunity, and one that should not be wasted. In order to maximize networking, it is strongly suggested that all business professionals carry business cards. The business cards can be exchanged during introductions, both as a convenience and as a memory aid. In other words, business cards allow networkers to further the relationship through future contact.

Business cards may include one or more aspects of striking visual design, but should also contain important contact information.

Business Card Tips

Can, and will, the next generation of politicians exploit the communication mediums available to them? Will the new communication mediums have the power to influence public opinion? Will politicians be the victims of technology, or will they use it to their benefit? Will one party benefit from the use of the technology more than another? All reasonable questions, considering the role technology plays in todays society.

The Internet and Politics

Looking to hire? Looking for a new job? Check out this series Land that Job -

If you have decided that working in a call center is the right career path for you, you should realize that you are not alone. The U.S. Department of Labor reported in 2006 that more than 385,000 workers across America find employment in call centers. How can you stand out from the crowd and secure the job of your choosing?

Land that Job Part 1


With 385,000 American workers in the call center industry, competition is intense for the most desirable positions. If you are fortunate enough to be called in for an interview for one of these posts, how can you prepare yourself so that you stand out from the crowd?

Land that Job Part II

Check out the latest Security Blog to stay up to date on the latest security news and information.

While these articles are focuses on pricing software the principles can be applied to other goods as well. Small Businesses tend to undervalue their products and services.

How to Price
The Pricing Game

Adobe plans to shift its business away from selling boxed software to a web-based distribution model.

Chief executive Bruce Chizen told the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco that money could be charged for subscriptions or raised by selling advertising, a model that has recently been revisited by Microsoft.

Could this change the way software is sold?

In need of software to create rss feeds? This software is very easy to use it has a Windows and Mac version and a number of PHP scripts are available that assist with displaying and managing RSS feeds.

RSS Feeds are becoming critical to struggling businesses, in their attempt to survive. This article lays out how Real Estate Offices are using RSS to survive.

RSS feeds are becoming an essential tool for realtors, who are struggling in a declining market. Real estate offices that adopt technology as a marketing tool will remain one step ahead of their competition.

Real Estate and RSS Feeds

This is a great no-nonsense guide to selecting a company or product name.

When building a business there is little more important than selecting an appropriate company or product name. Names can be distinctive, unique or descriptive.

How to Select a Company or Product Name?

About.com has compiled agencies by state that may give you a government grant loan. This site has a wealth of information for funding your business wherever you are located. http://usgovinfo.about.com

Huge selection of webmaster templates. Easy to edit and customize HTML web templates. Subscribe and download an unlimited number of web templates for the specified period of time. Downloads include HTML layouts, CSS files, and graphics.

Webmaster Templates

It is important to understand how the color has been used in a political and historical context as well as how it has been used in past and current trends. Religious and mythical implications can also effect the use of a color. Even linguistic usage (i.e. phrases like “in the red,” and “moody blues”) will affect how people view a color.

Basic Color Theory

Test your knowledge of social bookmarking, social networks and the collective voice. Take the social bookmarking quiz!

Americans have always had a say in their government, at least in theory. Since the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, the United States of America has been the “land of opportunity,” where even a lowly log-splitter, exercising sufficient brains and dedication, can raise himself to the highest executive office. The U.S. Constitution safeguards the right to vote for every citizen over eighteen years of age, with few exceptions, ensuring a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Nevertheless, only about half of eligible voters historically vote for their president. Those who do make it to the polls are more educated than unschooled, more white than black, more men than women, more wealthy than poor, and more old than young.

Technology and Politics

A logo is a design, graphical representation, image or symbol that represents a business or organization. Logos were initially used to distinguish and differentiate products, the logos assisted purchasers in finding the product they prefer or have come to trust (or not trust).

What Makes a Good Logo

LOreal, the worlds largest cosmetics group, has launched legal action against eBay, alleging the online auctioneer does not do enough to combat the sale of counterfeits, the company said on Monday.


The action by LOreal follows similar action taken against eBay by luxury groups Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Tiffanys. EBay argues it clamps down on all cases of counterfeiting notified to it by the firms concerned.

LOreal has been facing an increasing volume of illicit trade in fake fragrances and fake cosmetic products on some online auction sites, LOreal said in an emailed statement, confirming earlier French media reports. Consequently, LOreal has decided to take legal action to protect the consumers, preserve the quality of its selective luxury distribution network and defend the reputation of its trademarks.

We will never forget September 11th.

Mastering the art of managing customer complaints can seem like a thankless job, but keep in mind that for every customer that shares their worries, concerns or complaints, there are likely more that did not express their dissatisfaction, and instead simply moved on to a competitor. Customer complaints can, and should be treated as opportunities.

Listen to Your Customers

The following are the Top 10 Small Business Resources:

1. Small Business Administration (SBA)
Free services to US small businesses funded by the US government.

2. SCORE
Small Business Plan Preparation And Free Business Advice Services From Score Offering Startup Help And A Free Nonprofit Business Plan Consulting Advice And Startup Help Services Ask SCORE Find SCORE

3. Inc. Com
Small business resources for the entrepreneur, home based business, advice and ideas for starting a business, writing a business plan, management, and related small business information.

4. Small Business Software
Articles for small businesses, business letter samples and business tips.

5. Entrepeneur.com
Articles, advice and resources

6. AllBusiness
AllBusiness.com provides practical advice and resources to help small and medium-size businesses succeed.

7. Business Week
Advice and resources.

8. Business.gov (US Centric)
Business.gov guides you through the maze of government rules and regulations and provides access to services and resources to help you start, grow, and succeed in business.

9. Women Owned Businesses
WomanOwned was formed in 1998, and since then we have provided the information, tools, networking opportunities and advice that have helped hundreds of thousands of women.

10. Business Know How
Small business and home business ideas and resources from Business Know-How. Small business marketing, management, internet marketing, business loan and finance information.

Behind every interview question there is a concern or another question. Your job is to process the question thinking about what the interviewer’s concern might be. In other words, why is the interviewer asking you this question?

10 Killer Job Interview Questions and Answers

15% to 16% of all searches are for images. If you haven't been looking seriously at image search, you really should think about this again. Particularly with the advent of universal search, as image results will have an increasing role in the web search results.

Wow! That is a pretty impressive percentage. I wonder what this will mean for the stock photography and image websites like Photo Wizard.

Often the question is asked Do PPC listings affect your organic rankings? The simple answer is no. Despite this, one of the best ways to increase your organic traffic is to start an aggressive PPC campaign.

A PPC Campaign can help with organic ranking and optimization though - read how.

On September 10, 2007, Microsoft will update the management of the adCenter trademark policy. Here are some key points that outline these changes.

Microsoft adCenter will support trademark owners in their efforts to protect their intellectual property. Intellectual property is a complicated topic, and Microsoft adCenter relies on trademark owners to help us understand their intellectual property.

complete changes

American Airlines is suing Google Inc. over the Internet companies sale of keywords ads for rivals triggered by its own trademarks. American filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth seeking unspecified damages.

A Google visitor who enters certain words or phrases that American trademarked — for example, Aadvantage, the name of its frequent-flier program — will get links to American's Web site but also its rivals under sponsored links — targeted ads that appear alongside the regular search results.

Google has unveiled a Web site resource center focused on the thorny issue of click fraud, which many consider a potential threat to the Googles main source of revenue: Pay-per-click advertising.


Google developed the new Ad Traffic Quality Resource Center primarily to give its advertisers a single place to find Google information about click fraud, said Shuman Ghosemajumder, business product manager for trust and safety at Google, on Friday.

Blogs are the current rage, and many webmasters have blogs but fail to use their blog to its full potential. Blogs provide a steady stream of fresh content, and if this content is written and managed properly, blogs have the ability to increase a website ranking in the search engines.

Blog Tips for SEO

If you have decided that working in a call center is the right career path for you, you should realize that you are not alone. The U.S. Department of Labor reported in 2006 that more than 385,000 workers across America find employment in call centers. How can you stand out from the crowd and secure the job of your choosing?

The first step of landing your dream job is to build a great customer service resume. A well-written resume is a golden ticket to an interview. It forms a favorable impression of you in the minds of your future employers before you ever meet face-to-face. Resume writing is not rocket science, but surprisingly few spend the time or energy to make their resumes stand out. Sadly, many otherwise young and bright individuals fall into traps that lead straight to the rejection pile. The following pointers will guide you around these pitfalls and into the employers office.

Land that Job

An Illinois man was sentenced to two years in prison for violating copyright law through the unauthorized sale of video games on his Web site, the U.S. Department of Justice announced late Thursday.

Hall pleaded guilty May 8 to one count of criminal copyright infringement for his unlawful distribution of hundreds of thousands of copyright works on his Web site, Morbidbackups.net.

Many will say that there are no rules to search engine optimization, they might be right, but the fact remains that webmasters can influence their search engine ranking through the tips above. Attempting to trick or fool the search engines is a sure fire way to become banned. Search engines have the ability to provide a consistent and steady stream of traffic to websites, that stream can become a trickle if you attempt to deceive.

Simple Steps to Kill Search Engine Ranking

In need of a new look for your company? Consider a new company logo. Looking to develop a brand or create a new corporate identity? Take a look at the logos on logo search! Individual logos are really inexpensive.  Webmasters can purchase a subscription to the website.

Press exposure can significantly impact a small businesses success. Press releases are not just for big businesses; many small businesses find press releases to be an inexpensive way to gain exposure and attention. It is not uncommon for reporters from magazines, newspapers or blogs to scan press releases as a means to locate content.

Tips to  Press Coverage

Internet giant Google is becoming a prime stop on the 2008 presidential campaign as candidates seek to burnish themselves with net-wise credentials while fielding questions from some of the tech industrys most influential workers.


Five White House hopefuls from both Republican and Democratic parties have stopped by Google's Silicon Valley campus in recent months to face questions and endear themselves with voters in the countrys most populous state.

Small Businesses everywhere are likely releived over the following court decision over Buy It Now.

A federal judge Friday denied a request from a small Virginia company to stop the online auction powerhouse eBay Inc. from using a feature that allows shoppers to purchase items at a fixed price.


U.S. District Court Judge Jerome B. Friedman denied a motion by MercExchange LLC for a permanent injunction against San Jose, Calif.-based eBay over the Buy It Now feature.

PageGate is a complete wireless messaging solution that incorporates a wide variety of messaging protocols for sending messages to mobile phones, wireless devices, fax machines and pagers.

Wireless messaging communication is important in todays fast paced environment. PageGate allows critical alerts to be sent instantly to wireless devices regardless of the recipient locations. PageGate supports group messaging and preprogrammed alerts, so that with the press of a single button notification can be sent to defined groups of individuals.

Download an Evaluation Version

Financial institutions are reaching out to clients using RSS feeds. While banks and financial institutions are usually slow to adopt new technology, that is not the case with RSS adoption. More and more professionals are using RSS in innovative ways, to stay ahead of their competition.

Finance Companies Embrace RSS Feeds

Hopping on the privacy-protection bandwagon, Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. are limiting how long their Internet search engines retain potentially sensitive data about their users.

So you have a fantastic website but no one ever visits. You may ask? Why? Your website should be designed with search engines in mind. Too many web designers are graphic artists that excel at image manipulation, but lack a basic understanding of search engine optimization. Web design and search engine optimization (SEO) should not be mutually exclusive. Webmasters should have a clear understanding of both design techniques and how the search engines work.

Keep Your Website Search Friendly

This overview will not be as detailed as in the past but I did want to touch on a few conference highlights. The conference had a high percentage of new attendees.

FastSpring
FastSpring is a new ecommerce service run by Dan Engel (developer of Piccassa, and Morpheus), Ken White (former RegSoft owner and current owner of NextUp) and Ryan Dewell (former coder at RegNow).

Digital River
Digital River changed their name to Global Direct. They also launched a software marketing resource for software developers and marketers at DR Developer Resource. The site contains lots of "how to" articles and some great statistical information.

Tucows
Tucows launched a new website, that uses Ajax and is more interactive. No longer do customers have to select a file mirror, the website does it for them.

Globell
HC Topp Systems was renamed Globell and they launched a new website.

Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann has just broken into software ecommerce and could potentially challenge Digital River with their size.

W3i
W3i  is a content network with a huge subscriber base, they are looking for software. They suggest action based on the users past behavior, similar to Amazon.

TrialPay
TrialPay is obviously thriving, after their introduction last year they already have a competitor on the block, LiftMedia uses a similar model.

47 Hats
Bob Walsh has launched 47 Hats.

SIC will be in Boston in 2008 July 17-19th mark your calenders!

Software Industry Conference Photos

The WINNERS for the 2007 Shareware Industry Awards have been announced! Take a look at the best software for 2007 in each category! Most have evaluation versions available for download.

Best Overall Utility
FolderMatch by Salty Brine Software
TuneUp Utilities 2007 by TuneUp Software GmbH - WINNER
WinRar by win.rar GmbH
WinZip by WinZip International LLC.

Best Application
ClipMate by Thornsoft Development - WINNER
CSE HTML Validator by AI Internet Solutions
Open Office by Sun Microsystems

Best Graphics Program or Utility
Easy Imager by Fookes Software
IrfanView by Irfan Skiljan
PaintShop Pro by Corel Corporation - WINNER

Best Desktop Enhancement
Microangelo Toolset by Eclipsit Corporation - WINNER
MBSS Fireworks by Patrick D. Grengs II
Window Blinds by Stardock Corporation

Best Photo Program or Utility
ACDSee Pro Photo Manager by ACD Systems
ALSee by ESTsoft
Life Poster Maker by Lincoln Beach Software - WINNER

Best Sound Program or Utility
ALSong by ESTsoft
D'Accord iChords by D'Accord Music Software
RecordForAll by NotePage, Inc. - WINNER
Winamp Pro by NullSoft

Best Vertical Market Program or Utility
Guitar and Drum Trainer by Renegade Minds
Help & Manual by EC Software GmbH
Vmware Workstation by VMware Inc. - WINNER

Best Business Application or Utility
Microsoft Office 2007 by Microsoft Corporation - WINNER
PayWindow 2007 by ZPAY Payroll Systems
Time & Chaos by Chaos Software

Best Educational Program or Game
AceReader Pro by StepWare Inc.
WinFlash Educator by Open Window Software
WISCO Word Power by Wisco Computing - WINNER

Best Hobby or Personal Interest
Auction Sentry Deluxe by Auction-Sentry.com
Google Earth by Google Inc. - WINNER
MyLife Organized by My Life Organized

Best Internet Enhancement
Cute FTP Professional by GlobalSCAPE
FlashGot by InformAction
FTP Voyager by Rhino Software, Inc. - WINNER
WS_FTP Professional by Ipswitch, Inc.

Best Internet Communication
Miranda by Miranda IM
Pidgin by Softare Freedom Law Center
Skype by Skype Limited - WINNER
Trillian by Cerulean Studios

Best Web Enhancement
Mozilla Firefox by Mozilla Foundation - WINNER
Mozilla Thunderbird by Mozilla Foundation
RoboForm by Siber Systems
SPAMFighter by SPAMFighter

Best Non-Action Game
Ant War 1 by Anarchy Enterprises
Pocket War by MetalShard, Inc.
Pretty Good MahJongg by Goodsol Development, Inc. - WINNER

Best New Game
Addictive Football by Addictive 247 Games  - WINNER
Golf King by NHN USA
Titan Attacks by Demand Entertainment

Best Program for PDA's
Journal Bar by Omega One
Resco Explorer by Resco, sro.
Spb Mobile Shell by Spb Software House - WINNER

Digital River, Global Direct has just launched a resource for software developers. The DR Developer Resource contains how to articles for software marketers and developers as well as some very interesting statistical information about software sales.

Google has announced an interesting new Meta Tag. The tag is unavailable_after and will allow you to tell Google when  Google should no longer crawl that page. The tag is particularly helpful if you have a limited time offer promotional page, and on this page, the promotion will expire on a specific date. By using the unavailable_after tag, you can tell Google that they should not crawl this page, after the promotion expires.

Stock photography websites contain thousands of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. A customer who uses stock photography instead of hiring a photographer can save time, effort and money. Typically publishers can either purchase exclusive rights to a single image or they can purchase a subscription of sorts. The subscriptions allow publishers to download a limited number of photos over a specified period of time.

Stock photo websites allow webmasters, marketers and publishers to locate pictures for their marketing and promotional materials without the hassle of organizing a photo shoot. With copyright laws businesses must be very careful in using unlicensed photos.

Royalty Free Stock Photography for Websites

EBay has launched a free classified advertising site in the United States, an experiment the online auction company says could lead to new sources of revenue. The site Kijiji means village in Swahili.

The search engine giant on July 2nd announced that it had acquired GrandCentral Communications, a service that consolidates phone numbers and voice mailboxes into one, web-based account. GrandCentral users combine their home, work and cell phone numbers into one phone number that they can program to ring to one or all of their phones. Voicemails are also consolidated and can be accessed online or via the phone.

Every year the Educational Software Cooperative presents the People's Choice Award for Best Educational Shareware. This award is selected by online voting.

This is your opportunity to support the software that has added a little something to your life. Vote at http://www.edu-soft.org/education-awards.php

In need of a new logo? This website contains a variety of logos at very reasonable prices. Check out Logo Search!

Google have added the option to display adsense ads with rounded corners, and according to their blog you may also soon be able to change the font.

Lawyers have begun using RSS to stay ahead and adapt to the needs of their clients. Members of the legal profession are using RSS in very specific ways. RSS is more than simply a communication medium to lawyers, it is helping them filter information that is relevant to their practice and case load. Through RSS they are able to gain access to relevant information in a timely fashion.

RSS Feed Use in the Legal Field

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday urged policy makers to proceed cautiously on any regulation of high-speed Internet traffic.


The agency issued a report addressing the controversial subject of network neutrality, which is the notion that all online traffic should be treated equally by Internet service providers.

The issue pits consumer groups and content providers such as Google Inc. against large telecommunications companies, such as AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. The latter group wants the option of charging customers more for transmitting certain content, including live video, faster or more reliably than other data.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) says that it received its 1 millionth complaint earlier this week.
Launched seven years ago as a clearing house for reports of online fraud, the IC3 is jointly run by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center. It passes on information to law enforcement agencies, and keeps track of trends in cybercrime.

To date, it has referred nearly a half-million complaints representing almost $650 million in losses to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Copyright is a type of intellectual property. A copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by the government for a limited time to protect the particular form, way or manner in which an idea or information is expressed. Copyright is the legal protection given to artists or producers of creative work which protects them against unauthorized copying of their work.

All copyrighted material must be produced in a tangible medium (photo, paper, CD, or video). Concepts, processes and ideas can not be copy protected in the United States. If a statement is made yet not recorded or published it is not protected under the US copyright laws. In other words things must be recorded in a physical form in order to be protected under the copyright laws in the United States.

Trademarks and Copyrights

US search engine titan Google has complained to antitrust authorities that Microsoft's Windows Vista operating-system software puts rivals at an unfair disadvantage, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Google Inc. sent a roughly 50-page white paper to the US Justice Department and state attorneys general in April, alleging that Microsoft Corps latest version of its market-dominating operating system violates Microsoft's antitrust settlement, the Journal reported, citing lawyers close to the matter.

Google Files Suit Microsoft

This aptly named newsletter Competitive Edge is one of my favorites. In the April issue two Google AdSense experts answer questions from advertisers. The newsletter has in depth explanations that detail the ins and outs of the AdSense system.

The May issue exams three successful companies that discuss their journey to software success.

All business owners like to believe that their business is in someway unique or unlike any other business. At its core though, how different are small businesses really? Nearly all small businesses struggle with relatively similar issues. Most owners wear multiple hats and have had to become jack of all trades in order to succeed and survive in the business world. While it is important to recognize the differences between various small businesses it is equally important to recognize the similarities.

How Unique is Your Business