CBS Acquires CNET Posted by Gina Crosby
in Industry News: Players at
10:58
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Read the full press release from CNET here.
NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO, May 15 — CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) has entered into an agreement to acquire CNET Networks, Inc.
Choosing An Accurate Domain Name Posted by Gina Crosby
in Tips and Advice at
09:36
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Choosing An Accurate Domain Name
Domain names can be tricky. All too often, a domain name ends up with some sort of wacky, unintended double entendre of meaning that may detract from your overall branding message. One famous faux pas is Speed of Art's website, found at www.speedofart.com. With a second look, you can see how this might be a little uncomfortable.
When you choose your domain name, it's important to follow some simple guidelines to ensure that your website upholds your branding image. 1. Type it out. Sit down in front of your word processor and pick a couple of different fonts. Type the domain in each font and see how it looks. Look at one letter at a time, and see which letter combinations make words that you hadn't expected. 2. Say it out loud. Watch yourself in the mirror and use a couple of different tones as you say it. Pronounce the letters one at a time and change your inflection. 3. Ask other people. Get a third-party opinion on the domain you're considering. Call your hosting provider, your advertising agency, or a trusted friend and ask them to look at it from all angles. You'll likely want to keep this domain active and engaged for a long time—it's important to choose wisely. If you have seen other websites or domain names that might have benefited from a second look, I'd love to see what you've found! I know there are a couple in our area that are notorious for neglecting that final proof edit--just stick them in the comments for me.
Microsoft Withdraws Proposal to ... Posted by Dennis Kittrell
in Industry News: Players at
20:32
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We are now entering the next stage of interesting events in the ongoing Microsoft/Yahoo! saga. Steve Ballmer has formally withdrawn the offer to acquire Yahoo! in a letter to Yahoo!'s C.E.O. Jerry Yang. The letter was so interesting that I felt it was necessary to include it for you. Dear Jerry: (source: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/may08/05-03letter.mspx) No one really knows where this will go from here, but I am sure there are many people interested to see how this will affect YHOO stock on Monday morning. I would love to hear comments on this topic, so please feel free to speak your mind. Kind Regards, Dennis Kittrell
If all you do is build it, they ... Posted by Dennis Kittrell
in Tips and Advice at
13:53
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) If all you do is build it, they won't come
So you've got a website, you've got ads, but no traffic...What's Next?
If you are a website owner, I am sure you are experiencing (or have previously experienced) the all too familiar dilemma we will discuss today; Monetization. Anyone can build a website these days, but to truly profit from it is the question weighing on our minds. Whether it be through e-commerce, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, or even direct advertising, the dilemma still rings true. The bottom line is that TRAFFIC=MONEY. And without traffic, there is no money, period. The answer is actually a lot simpler than you might think. The answer can be expressed in two words: Valuable Content It really is that simple. If you can create quality content that your readers enjoy, they will at least come back. In some cases, they will even shoot a link to your page over to their friend. If you are really lucky, that friend will have a website of his own and will post a link back to your site. This is the core concept of viral marketing. The way I see it, there are 6 levels of content quality:
Obviously the goal here is to break the 'Viral' barrier. You want to consistently aim to create content that spreads like wildfire. This will be the primary internet marketing technique for many years to come. To clarify, this does not mean that you need to direct your content to the masses. You simply need to hit a nerve with your audience. You have to create something that shocks them, mystifies them, disturbs them, excites them, entertains them, inspires them, educates them, impresses them, or even angers them. These are the techniques being used all across the web to create an exponential increase in traffic and user base. So now that we have answered the question of 'What to do' the next step is to figure out 'How to do it'. So you need to ask yourself, "What is the best source for content that will hit one or more of the nerves listed above?" If you are confident in your ability to provide that content, great!! You are one step closer. If you are not, you may have to rely on other experts or even your users to provide the content. The best solution is to create content that YOU are highly familiar with, and that you can take in many different directions. Relying on your community is great, but you need a community first. Happy Marketing!! Dennis Kittrell
Who's Who? - Content Management Systems Posted by Dennis Kittrell
in Developer's Corner at
09:41
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Over the last 5 or 6 years, 100's of CMS (content management systems) have come and gone. Only the tried and true persist in today's highly competitive open source community. Today, we are going to tackle the topic of who's who and what's what when it comes to the big players in CMS.
I will start by saying that every system has its pros and cons. Each CMS has its own community backing it, therefore they usually focus on different areas of demand. Recently the biggest players have been sneaking in on each other and are really becoming superstars in the realm of CMS. Let's take look at the top dogs:
Joomla is certainly winning the popular vote. Drupal is a close second and was originally geared more toward developers than the masses. PHP-Nuke is the resilient one (allthough its days may be numbered). And DotNet Nuke is the clear leader on the Windows Platform. I think the real battle here is between Joomla and Drupal. They have the biggest communities and (in my humble opinion) the best platforms for growth and future expansion. The gap is slowly decreasing between the developer and the standard web user and these two (CMS) platforms are the driving force that makes this possible. I am not sure about the rest of you, but I am certainly keeping my eyes on this battlefield as I can foresee an epic battle of many forces to take on these two. I would definitely like to hear from our readers if you have an opinion on this topic. I am sure there are some very stern viewpoints when it comes to this. Please also share any new and exciting CMS systems out there that I have not yet seen as I would love to take a look at those as well. You might also want to keep your eyes on this site to stay up to date with new CMS systems. Thanks as always, and I am looking forward to your comments! Dennis Kittrell
Is National Small Business Week on ... Posted by Nathan Denny
in Small Business Matters at
08:49
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As you may know, this week is the SBA's 55th annual Small Business Week, an event designed to put America's small businesses in the spotlight.
But, considering that the week consists of celebrations and awards held almost exclusively in Washington, D.C. and New York City -- should you even care? Fortune Small Business Magazine's Brandi Stewart runs down the reasons why you might want to pay attention: [A]fter more than 50 years, the annual Small Business Administration-run event still remains off the radar of many small business owners. ... For more information on National Small Business Week, click here.
Pay-per-click Advertising Continues ... Posted by Nathan Denny
in Industry News: Trends at
08:24
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Pay-per-click Advertising Continues to Evolve
Yesterday, the New York Times ran in interesting article detailing some of the changes the world of Internet advertising is undergoing thanks to the current economic slowdown.
Granted, Internet advertising is already a very dynamic force, something that evolves and adjusts on an almost daily basis. But, at the same time, as it becomes a larger and larger part of the American economy, it tends to stabilize into something predictable (and therefore, reliable). In other words, as more and more money is put into it, the less dynamic it tends to be; investors want results, not uncertainty. So even though the Internet advertising industry is thriving like never before (it was a $21 billion industry in 2007, according to the article), there are some big changes underfoot. Anyone in the online business game should be aware of the current evolution the industry is facing. Last year, [Tyler] Townsend, [a digital media manager] said, many clients were happy to spend money just to raise awareness. Since January, however, "everyone’s retail-oriented. They want as many clicks for the dollar as possible," he said. Click here to read "A Web Shift in the Way Advertisers Seek Clicks" by Stephanie Clifford.
Aplus.Net Now Offering Microsoft ... Posted by Nathan Denny
in Aplus.Net at
11:31
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We at Aplus.Net have just announced that we're now offering Microsoft adCenter search advertising service to our web hosting customers. We think you'll agree that it's the perfect addition to our award-winning line-up of website marketing tools.
"As the preferred web hosting provider for America's small businesses, it's important that we provide every possible advantage for our clients to achieve online success," commented our Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Alex Yevelev. "And we feel that Microsoft adCenter is among the best tools to help our customers do just that." From the official Aplus.Net press release: A search advertising service renowned for its innovative approach to pay-per-click advertising, Microsoft adCenter offers benefits such as demographic targeting, ease of use, and free support. It also provides supplemental search engine tools such as keyword generator and keyword optimization, both designed to help users enjoy maximum control over their advertising efforts. Have you been looking for that perfect way to give your online business a boost? Then this is the news you've been waiting for! Head on over to the Aplus.Net website to sign up for web hosting today.
It's Your Turn to Talk!
Hey readers! As you may have noticed, we here at Aplus.Net are in the process of making some big changes to our products and services. From rebranding our hosting services to reducing prices on our dedicated servers, it's all an effort to make sure that Aplus.Net customers have the best possible advantage in the competitive world of online commerce.
With that in mind, we're very interested in learning what you, the readers of the Aplus.Net blog, think about the Aplus.Net website. (Click here to check it out now.) Do you find it useful? Do you like the design? Do you think it could be better? As we work to improve our services, we'll be adjusting the face of our website, and we'd love to hear any suggestions you may have -- about the website, or anything else you'd like to share. Please leave your comments in the blog or send us an email at marketing@aplus.net. As always, thanks for reading.
Mac "Clone" Generates ... Posted by Nathan Denny
in Consumer Tech at
10:20
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Mac "Clone" Generates Controversy[T]he interest of the Mac world this week swung from 3G iPhone rumor-mongering to South Florida, where a company called Psystar has put up a Web site selling a product called an Open Computer. The product is essentially a white-box Mac with Mac OS X Leopard preinstalled, and a violation of Apple's licensing agreement for Mac OS X. CNET News' Tom Krazit today nicely summed up the latest controversy in the consumer tech world: The Psystar "Open Computer," which is being called a (possibly unethical) clone of the Mac. In digging into the background of Psystar, the company behind the new computer, Mr. Krazit claims that the company has been repeatedly changing its address to evade investigation. From the article: I tried to call Psystar executives Wednesday morning and was directed to submit any questions to an e-mail address at Psystar. The company doesn't appear to have been prepared for the onslaught of attention following the discovery of the Open Computer on its Web site, as its online store was briefly down Wednesday morning. It's now back up and taking orders. Computerworld adds to the story: PsyStar also tried today to explain its shifting mailing address in the Web site statement. The company now lists its location as 10475 NW 28th St., Doral, Fla.; that address is the fourth used on the site since Monday.
Computers as Authors? The Digital ... Posted by Nathan Denny
in Industry News: Trends at
13:00
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Computers as Authors? The Digital Revolution Continues
It seems that the 21st Century Digital Revolution, as it may someday be called, is getting bigger and bigger with each passing month. As is well known, financial losses faced by the movie industry and the music industry are increasing monthly as bootlegs made possible by digital versions proliferate. New digital models that could not have been predicted a decade ago are supplanting traditional business models so quickly that both of these industries are in very real danger of collapsing altogether.
Now, however, another, more unlikely victim may be added to the list: The publishing industry. The New York Times recently ran a story profiling Philip Parker, an entrepreneur who has invented a way for books to be written by a computer algorithm. Or, rather, a way for books to be "compiled". He doesn't simply distribute existing books online; he's created a business where the books themselves are written not by people but by a computer program. From the article: But these are not conventional books, and it is perhaps more accurate to call Mr. Parker a compiler than an author. Mr. Parker, who is also the chaired professor of management science at Insead (a business school with campuses in Fontainebleau, France, and Singapore), has developed computer algorithms that collect publicly available information on a subject — broad or obscure — and, aided by his 60 to 70 computers and six or seven programmers, he turns the results into books in a range of genres, many of them in the range of 150 pages and printed only when a customer buys one. The technique isn't perfected yet; and the end result at this point does leave something to be desired: While nothing announces that Mr. Parker’s books are computer generated, one reader, David Pascoe, seemed close to figuring it out himself, based on his comments to Amazon in 2004. Reviewing a guide to rosacea, a skin disorder, Mr. Pascoe, who is from Perth, Australia, complained: "The book is more of a template for 'generic health researching' than anything specific to rosacea. The information is of such a generic level that a sourcebook on the next medical topic is just a search and replace away." Should authors be worried? Probably not, at least not yet. There's a wide gap between what a computer can compile and the nuanced hand of a skilled artist. Still, this news is a bit unsettling to those employed in the creative arts. And, taking the music industry as an example, it doesn't seem well advised to underestimate this sort of development. It's the kind of trend that could as easily become a dead end as an overnight sensation. Either way, it's worth consideration. Click here for the original story. More on the Digital Revolution in the coming days. Stay tuned.
Choosing the Right Web Host Posted by Nathan Denny
in Aplus.Net at
15:56
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When you first decided that you needed a website — and therefore, a web hosting provider — you probably did what most of us do: You went to your favorite search engine, typed in some variation on "web hosting" or "website host" and then sorted through the results that followed.
The problem is, how to make the right choice in web hosting providers when there are so many to choose from? California-based news website "Best Syndication" reports that there are now "more than a staggering 50,000 web hosting providers" competing for your business. (Read "Web Hosting Providers Rule The Web" here.) And anybody who's ever searched Google or Yahoo for hosting services can tell this firsthand. Now each and every week it is estimated more than 50,000 websites are launched and need to be hosted somewhere online. This figure continues to grow and grow. So how to choose, then? Considering just how competitive the web hosting industry has become, Aplus.Net is particularly proud to be among the most long-lived of all these companies. We just recently celebrated our tenth year of web hosting, and we've actually been in business since 1992 — try to find a competitor who's been around that long. But what does the average consumer care if Aplus.Net has been around longer than our competitors? How does that translate into value? For one thing, since we specialize in partnering with small businesses to provide all their online needs, it's a source of comfort to know that the partner you trust has an almost two-decades-long track record of stability. It's also a source of comfort to realize that any company, in any industry (and especially a technology-based industry) must have a history of innovation to be able to survive in such a notoriously competitive market for so long, while so many other start-ups have fallen by the wayside. Most of all, though, you can be confident that Aplus.Net's history of award-winning services couldn't have been achieved without making a lot of customers happy. Our plans and prices speak for themselves. We've also recently entirely rebranded our hosting plans to make the process of choosing the right plan even more easy for our valued customers, including simplifying our plans, adjusting prices and eliminating set-up fees. So, if you're an Aplus.Net customer, you can rest easy knowing that you've made the right choice, however difficult that decision may have been. And if you're not yet a customer, now is the perfect time to make your choice: Give Aplus.Net a try and see why we lead today's web hosting industry. Click here to check out our award-winning services now.
Top 10 Worldwide Tech Trends Posted by Nathan Denny
in Consumer Tech at
12:22
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Although written for a European audience, we found a recent CNBC Business Report entitled "Top Ten Tech Trends" very much applicable to the United States as well, if not for the whole modern world.
And that's not just because it's based in large part on American technology giants like Microsoft, Intel and Google. It's also because Europe has shown itself adept at applying innovations on a large scale in a way that often wins enthusiastic response from the consumer and business markets. CNBC's Tony Glover is confident that several of the new innovations we've seen lately are just the beginning of larger trends that will revolutionize the telecom and IT industries over the next few years. Looking at some of the examples he sites, it's hard to argue with his conclusions. Best of all, he feels that these consumer tech breakthroughs will result in "unprecedented opportunities for small and medium-sized players" — great news for small business owners looking for new ways to compete with the big guys. The basis for his review is the big 3GSM Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, the world's largest exhibition for the mobile technology industry. The GSM is a worldwide mobile communications network that originated in Europe and is now used by over two billion people in 212 countries, according to the article. Once again Bill Gates and Steve Jobs will be going toe-to-toe to decide who will dominate the next generation of computing. But the fact that the US computing industry’s major battleground in 2007 will be high-end wireless handhelds is testimony to the global success of the GSM network, the European Commission’s mobile communications standard. The number of people using GSM has mushroomed from around one million in 1993 to over two billion today, operating across 212 countries. And the top ten trends are: 1. If there is one trend that will dominate in 2007, it is the globalisation of mobile communications. The mobile phone industry estimates that around 1.3 billion mobile phones will be sold in 2007, with the rapidly developing economies of India and China being the main engines for growth. Mobile operators in India, for example, are signing new mobile phone owners at the staggering rate of about a million a week. ... Check out the original article in its entirety here.
Father of the Internet Turns 50 Posted by Nathan Denny
in Industry News: Trends at
08:59
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Father of the Internet Turns 50
DARPA, or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the agency that eventually morphed into the Internet, is celebrating its 50th birthday tonight in Washington, D.C.
In Monday's Washington Post, Stephen Barr writes that DARPA "pulled together researchers who created the blueprint for the Internet." The organization also "sponsored the inventor of the computer mouse (the first was carved from wood and had one button)." DARPA is a part of the U.S. Department of Defense, created way back in 1958 as a technological solutions group prodded into action by the Soviet Union's surprise launch of Sputnik, history's first satellite. Since then, DARPA has been responsible for pioneering much of the forward-thinking technology that the military has needed over the past decades. And, not surprisingly, much of that technology has found its way into the lives of everyday Americans in recent years. Of course, the history of all the events and people that came together to create the Internet is much more detailed than this one organization, but it is true that it provided the foundation, without which the World Wide Web would not exist as it does today. DARPA created the concept of computer networking, which of course is the very foundation of today's Internet. Mr. Barr tells us more about the organization: Unlike most federal agencies, DARPA operates with little red tape. It has only two management layers, encouraging the rapid flow of ideas and decisions. Read the entire article here.
Report: U.S. Internet Situation ... Posted by Nathan Denny
in Industry News: Trends at
14:03
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Report: U.S. Internet Situation Better than ExpectedContradicting earlier studies, conventional wisdom and politicians’ rhetoric, European researchers say that the Internet infrastructure of the United States is one of the world’s best and getting better. So begins a story from today's New York Times that offers some good news: The American Internet infrastructure is, apparently, just fine. Not only just fine, actually, but among the best: The story cites the latest Global Information Technology Report as ranking the U.S. fourth on the worldwide list, behind Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland (in that order). The study was done by Insead, the business school near Paris, on behalf of the World Economic Forum, a policy and conference group based in Switzerland. It used an index generated from 68 variables including market factors, political and regulatory environment and technology infrastructure rather than just bandwidth capacity and data transmission speeds. Despite the positive report, however, some remain skeptical. "My gut feeling is that we don’t have the type of deployment you have abroad," said David J. Farber, an Internet pioneer and a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. "If you are looking at broadband, we have a lot of problems. We are slow as molasses in deploying the next generation." Ultimately, though, although it's just one report, it paints a much more positive picture than what we've been hearing lately. That's good, of course, but it inevitably leads to claims that the information is flawed, since its conclusions are so much different than similar studies. ... Last year a range of statistics on global bandwidth use indicated that the United States was trailing other industrial nations in both broadband network consumption and penetration as a percentage of population. |
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Thursday, May 15. 2008
