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EKMPowershop
EKMpowershop looks great on paper - its very simple for first time users (say, if you are building a website for a novice who needs to constantly update it), but it is severely limited.
Should I switch to an ecommerce solution?
I've been running a small beaded jewelry website for the past 6 months and am thinking about switching to an ecommerce platform such as oscommerce or zen cart or cube cart (as these are free and in my hosting package)...
A R Hosting
hello, i am looking at getting a hosting account with A R hosting for my shed site i am setting up, they are one of the cheapest i have found on the net. Does anyone know if they are any good?
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| Recent Articles |
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Boeing Beefs Up Its Blog
A lot of criticism has been aimed at Randy's Journal, the pseudo-blog from Boeing Vice President Randy Beseler. The only thing this site had in common with blogs was the blog-like entries. No comments, no trackbacks, no permalinks, no RSS feeds.
Improving Customer Relationships: Beyond the Buzz
Customers are always a hot topic. But lately the discussions on customer relationships, including retention, satisfaction, and loyalty, have intensified. What is the basis for these discussions, and more importantly
Google Lowers Prices On Search Appliances
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Google Chasing Yahoo - Follow The Leader
Flashback 5 years just before the dotcom bubble burst and you'll remember the name of another company that blazed the path Google's following long before Larry and Sergey were even out of their dorm rooms. I'm talking about Yahoo!.
When A Company Can Do No Right
Normally, Jim Hill's predicament wouldn't raise an eyebrow. But since his adversary is The Walt Disney Company-a business hamstrung by years of negative publicity...
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| 04.18.05
More On Google, Maps, Mail, And Microsoft
 By Robert Scoble
He makes the point that several others did in response to my Hotmail taunt: that the number of users on email systems doesn't matter to him.
Ahh, wasabi, but you aren't thinking it through.
Google is a business, right?
How are they going to pay for the costs of keeping your email account up and running? Advertising, right?
Well, here's a little hint. Advertisers go to where the audience is. Hotmail right now has more than 100 million ACTIVE users. That's an audience advertisers want to get in front of.
Size of audience matters a LOT to advertisers. Ever hear of TV ratings? Why does Nielsen do that? Because advertisers care.
 See, when you provide a free service you've gotta start seeing a return on that someday and advertising is the only way I can see how to do that. This is especially true when you're a public company.
So, you SHOULD care about how many users are on the system you've chosen. If there aren't enough users then the system won't get invested in.
Also, what happens when email systems combine with P2P systems like Bittorrent? If that ever happens then the number of users on a system actually increases the quality levels. Not saying that'll happen with email, but certainly will happen with video. I just recorded a 200MB video. There's no way I could email that to my friends and family. But I could easily send that through Bittorrent or another P2P system.
Also, we already know that Gmail isn't scalable. Ask Chris Uhlik. He runs the Gmail team. I did at O'Reilly's Foocamp last year. Ask him why they limit the number of invites you can send out. Chris told me it wasn't done for marketing reasons, but because they couldn't keep the quality of service up without limiting the number of users on the system.
About the Author:
Robert Scoble is the founder of the famous Scobleizer blog. As an employee of Microsoft, Robert Scoble is recognized as the most prominent corporate blogger in the world.
Go to Scobleizer ...
GM: Poster Child For The Executive Blog
 By Neville Hobson
Since General Motors began the GM FastLane Blog in early January, it's attracted considerable attention from business communicators. That attention has been sparked by who the bloggers are - senior corporate executives, starting with GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.
Links: General Motors
GM Fast Lane Blog
The blog's been under a continuous spotlight with a great deal of ongoing commentary and opinion in the blogosphere on its effectiveness as a communication tool, and analytical comment on just about every post.
There's even been some commentary recently on why GM hasn't been talking about broader issues, eg, corporate financials or employment matters.
GM made it pretty clear from the outset that the primary purpose of the blog is to engage with customers and car enthusiasts about one topic - GM's cars. And they have stuck to that goal. Judging from the many comments to every post, that's what visitors want to talk to GM about. Indeed, just about the only comments that aren't about the subject matter of a particular post are those by communicators commenting about the blog or the podcasts.
In a post yesterday, Bob Lutz made it even clearer what GM is trying to achieve with the blog, what they will continue to do with it, and his own role with the blog:
What began as an experiment has become an important means of communication for GM. It has given me, personally, an opportunity to get much closer with you, the public. Often, I find your comments insightful and compelling. At times your criticism is harsh. But the fact that you have remained interested and continue to have faith in our efforts to develop great products is a worthy motivator.
Questions have been raised as to whether I will continue to be involved in FastLane given my re-focused responsibilities. The answer is an unequivocal "yes." From its inception this blog has been a forum for GM's leadership to discuss important issues with a spotlight on product... product plans, product virtues and truths. In fact, I hope to see more GM leaders begin to engage in this conversation on the FastLane over the coming weeks.
We hear your words loud and clear. We're redoubling our efforts to build great cars and trucks and we'll continue to talk about them, right here.
What's especially impressive is here is one of the most senior and influential corporate leaders in any industry who clearly sees that his investment of time and energy into regularly and consistently writing in a public blog and engaging in dialog with visitors has huge potential benefits in building relationships with a wide range of very interested (and often vocal and critical) people.
No matter what size organization, and whether commercial or not-for-profit, every CEO - and corporate communicator - should take a close look at the GM FastLane Blog. See what's easily possible for you. It will help you understand how communication channels like these can be so powerful in supporting business goals. Look at the blog itself - a simple structure that, while clearly GM-branded, looks and feels like most other blogs out there (contrast it with the slick and typically-corporate GM website).
Get hold of a free copy of Trust "MEdia": How Real People Are Finally Being Heard (PDF), a new white paper from PR group Edelman and marketing intelligence firm Intelliseek. That will give you some up-to-date evidence about the reach and influence of this new communication channel.
Then you can say, "If Bob Lutz can do it, so can I."
About the Author:
Neville Hobson is the author of the popular NevOn blog which focuses on business communication and technology.
Neville is currentlly an independent communication practitioner helping companies build dynamic relationships with customers, employees, shareholders and other key audiences and influencers. Visit Neville Hobson's blog: NevOn. |
