September, 2010

7 Tips for Researching a New Business

This is a guest post by James Adams. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

New businesses need care, loving, and attention to grow. Before you set up shop, you need to research the market and examine the trends. Discover the relevance and importance of your idea before investing your life’s savings. Here are ten tips for researching that new business.

1. Planning: Before you open the doors to your new business, have a plan for success in place. What is your exit strategy? Are you planning on running the business forever, or are you planning to sell your built company to a competitor? Do you intend to keep your business small? Would you rather grow your business to gigantic proportions? What defines your company’s success? Do you want to quickly divorce yourself from the sales process and establish a new business?

2. Define your business idea: What are the key features of your business? What products and services does it offer? Focus on the specifics of the idea. If you want to sell information products, what kinds of information products do you sell? How do you plan to make money off of this idea? Many businesses fail because they do not adequately distill the idea into a salable product. Are you a warehouse of information products, or do you have something exclusive to your business? State your idea as succinctly as possible.

3. Talk with friends and family: Many underestimate the value of friends and family in the formulation of a business plan. They might not be part of your industry, but they can offer unique insights which are related to their own experiences. What do they suggest? After hearing about your new business, would they buy your company’s products and services? Where can you change your ideas? A different set of eyes can be extremely fruitful for the direction of your new business.

4. Who are your clients?: After you have fully defined your company’s products, decide your target demographic. What kinds of clients do you want? Are you selling to individuals or businesses? It is easy to say that you want to sell your product to the planet, but not everybody needs what you are selling. Does your business cater to recent graduates? Soccer moms? Are your products and services geared toward a market which was heretofore untapped? If you have a manufacturing business, in what stores would you expect to see your products?

5. Look at the competition: Now that you have defined what you are selling and to whom you are selling, you need to find out who is already providing that product to the market. A quick search will yield the results you desire. When listing the companies which sell your product, think about the factors which make you different from them. Examine their products and pricing structure. What kinds of guarantees are offered? Identify your primary and secondary competition for each of your products.

6. Discover your unique selling proposition: What factors set you apart from the competition? Are you offering the same services for a cheaper price? Do you give your customers a better warranty? Instead of one pricing plan, are you going to offer several? If you invented the red widget, use that as your selling point. If you are selling services, what benefits are available? Some companies pride themselves on offering the most of a product. Others thrive on scarcity. Still others attempt to be the cheapest within the field. If you are the best rather than the cheapest, what is that unique thing which makes you the best?

7. Demand for your product: Is your product being talked about in publications? Are you bringing a new innovation to the industry? Is the market saturated with suppliers of your product? Look at Google Trends to find out about the latest and greatest in your arena. What is on the minds of your potential customers? This will help you pinpoint your marketing strategies.

The success of your business depends on the strength of your research. What sets you apart from the other suppliers? How do you define your own success? What steps do you plan to take? Your business flourishes when you have a concrete plan of attack.

This post was contributed by James Adams who works at a leading office supplies shop offering in office furniture for businesses. His favourite topic is productivity and how it affects profitability.

Use Mobile Phone as a Webcam

This is a guest post by Keith Palmer. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

If you want to use your camera phone as a web camera, I assume that you are advanced enough to follow below instructions.

Webcams themselves can be expensive, at least for a high quality one, and wireless webcams can be even more expensive (not to mention rare). Most of us already own several cameras and don’t really want to invest more for a webcam. If you have a cameraphone running WindowsMobile 6.x, Symbian, or Java (I’ve used a new Nokia c6), as well as a Bluetooth enabled computer or laptop, and you can use some nifty software to turn your phone into a wireless webcam.

You can download the PC software at sourceforge, and the phone software here. Install both pieces of software on their respective hardware, and then pair your phone with your computer over the Bluetooth connection. You will need to make sure that both are set to be publically visible, and that you know the password for both Bluetooth connections (if applicable).

Running the actual software and connecting it to your phone is pretty easy. Run the SmartCam software on both your computer and your phone. On the computer side, go to the Settings dialogue under the File menu, and then choose Bluetooth as the method of connection. On the cell phone, simply choose the computer from the list of visible devices (do make sure that your computer is visible as a Bluetooth device).

Assuming that everything above has been done properly, you should now see your phone as a webcam and be able to use it with video chat applications, as well as record and save video streams from it. This is really great because having the wireless feature makes it a lot more versatile than traditional webcams, and having the camera in a small, lightweight phone makes it easy to move around, and set up in different locations. Nowadays, more and more phones have video chat features built-in, but not all of them do, and so this is a great way to get around that limitation. Even though phone camera quality isn’t that great, webcams generally aren’t high quality, and don’t need to be, because of the limitations of most people’s bandwidth. The one thing about this kind of setup that might limit the quality is the Bluetooth connection, as it is not made for streaming large amounts of data. However this is a great way to add an extra feature to your phone, and it does work pretty well.

Keith Palmer is a student at technology science class. He writes tutorials and reviews for warious magazines and websites. At this point he writes tutorials for mobicity

You may not want to be the Internet police, but you need to be!

This is a guest post by Jesmond Darmanin. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Today’s Internet connected businesses must be concerned not only with threats originating from the Internet, but also threats that can manifest from their employees accessing the Internet both recreationally and as a part of their job. Employees can expose the company to threats from malware, and from litigation resulting from employees downloading copyrighted material or accessing inappropriate content. An acceptable use policy and a written information security policy are both critical, and great places to start, but more is required.

Packet filtering firewalls are very effective at blocking unsolicited inbound connections, but they can do very little to block malware downloaded by an internal client with Internet access. Nor can they recognise inappropriate content, or copyrighted material. Antivirus software can help protect against malware, but not against pornography or the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Internet monitoring software is another layer of defence that can help protect your network from threats of the technical variety, and your company from threats of the litigation variety.

Internet monitoring software can be run on appliances inline to your Internet connection, on a server acting as a proxy, out of band but in tandem with your firewall, or as an agent installed on your clients. The type of deployment you choose depends on your network architecture, how easily you can manage your clients, and whether or not you want the ability to protect machines when they are remote. Whatever the type of deployment, the purpose of Internet monitoring is to examine all internet activity and, protect against threats, and to enforce policy. Your acceptable use policy should define what is considered acceptable business use, address whether or not any recreational access to the Internet is acceptable, and clearly explain what is considered inappropriate use of the Internet.

Internet monitoring solutions can help protect your users from threats in several ways. Most combine several different methods. One popular approach is to maintain a list of websites by category that is regularly updated through a subscription service. Websites and ip addresses are sorted into categories that make it very easy for the administrator to select what types of sites should be permitted, and what types of sites should not be accessed. When the client makes a request, the traffic is compared against the lists and permitted or blocked based on policy. Another way these products can monitor Internet activity and protect against Internet threats is to examine file types requested; permitting html, text, and graphics, but blocking scripts, executable content, and media files that could contain copyrighted material. Many Internet monitoring software packages also offers anti-x capabilities; examining all files for malware, emails for suspect links, and traffic flows for known patterns related to backdoor programs and bot-nets.

Internet monitoring can, but does not necessarily have to, log all such activities. Whether you log access or not depends on many factors, including your privacy policies, your corporate policy regarding monitoring employee activities, and whether or not you wish to invest the time and storage necessary to review and archive these logs. Some companies expressly choose not to log; taking advantage of the protections offered by their Internet monitoring software without tasking personnel to monitor Internet activity. They get the benefits of policy enforcement without the efforts and potential HR overhead that goes along with investigating policy violations to determine whether the act was accidental or intentional. With this approach you can safely regulate Internet access without being branded as the Internet Police.

Whatever approach you take, monitoring Internet activity is a critical part of a defense in depth approach to securing your network. Look at your options, and select the approach that best fits in with your client base, your Information Security Policies, and your management’s philosophy.

This guest post was provided by Jesmond Darmanin on behalf of GFI Software Ltd. GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. More information about GFI web filtering solution can be found at http://www.gfi.com/internet-monitoring-software

10 Most Useful Features of the Nikon DSLR D3000 Camera

This is a guest post by Roger Elmore. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Among good digital cameras, Nikon’s digital SLR D3000 is a great entry-level piece that is a popular upgrade option for those who want more than a cheap point-and-shoot can offer. So far the peskiest thing about it is that you don’t get live view. However, that’s not to say the D3000 doesn’t have some cool features. Here we will explore some of the features that make the D3000 one of the most versatile digital cameras available to those who are newly expanding their skills in photography.

1. Guide mode: Most individuals who purchase the D3000 are doing so to begin dabbling in high-end digital photography, and their primary intention is to take casual, high-quality photos. The great thing about the D3000 is that you can adjust the mode dial at the top of the camera to “Guide.” This mode is a great help to folks who aren’t sure what camera setting they need to use to get the results they’re wanting. Guide mode helps beginners learn how to use the more advanced features of the D3000, such as freezing motion and softening backgrounds.

2. 3-inch LCD screen: The D3000 features a 3-inch LCD screen monitor which helps you get a better visualization of the image you’re trying to capture. Compare this to Nikon’s older models, such as the D60, which features screens at 2.5 inches, or to a point-and-shoot, which often have very grainy screens. You can also adjust the brightness of your screen, which is handy.

3. 11-point auto-focus system: The cool thing about this feature on the D3000 is the autofocus (AF) system, which helps you capture fast-moving images, provided you’re using a lens that is compatible with the system. There are also 4 AF modes: one for still objects, one for moving objects, one that lets the camera decide, and one for 3-D tracking.

4. 10.2 megapixels: The D3000 is a major step up from a basic point-and-shoot because of how many megapixels (MP) it offers. While basic digital cameras only allow you 5 or 6 MP, the D3000 allows you a whopping 10.2 MP. While this many megapixels won’t really matter if you only plan to make small 4×6 prints, it matters a great deal if you want to blow up your images and have large prints made. 10.2 MP will allow the quality of your prints to remain consistent even if you blow up a print as large as 20×30 inches.

5. Compact size: The D3000 will definitely not weigh you down the camera body is both lightweight and compact, fitting easily and comfortably into your hand. This is a great feature for beginners who often get intimidated by chunky, complicated equipment.

6. In-camera photo editing: This feature will save you a little time if you like to edit and print your images at home. You can get the basic photo editing done beforehand using the D3000, which allows you to get rid of red eye, trim photos and use a soft filter. The cool thing is you won’t lose your original photo if you don’t want to the camera will save the edited copy of your photo separately. It’s not wow-your-socks-off amazing, but it’s definitely helpful.

7. Multiple Modes: I already elaborated on the guide mode, but the mode dial also has lots of other modes that help you take low-light shots, sports action photos, close-ups, portraits and landscape photos.

8. Fast, continuous shoot: The D3000 can capture 3 frames per second. This is useful if you find yourself about to capture an emerging moment that can be lost in a matter of seconds.

9. Active D-Lighting: The D3000 takes a teensy bit of time before the shot “takes” to improve contrasts in a picture if you use Active D-Lighting. This helps get rid of pesky shadows and overwhelming glares and gives images a more balanced look. You can turn it off if you don’t like it, because sometimes this feature messes up what you’re trying to do with photos.

10. Leaving in “noise”: The D3000 doesn’t get rid of “noise” random color speckles at higher sensitivities, e.g., long exposures, leaving the images free to keep fine detail instead of automatically reducing them. You can do a lot of cool long exposure shots for a low-end camera because the camera isn’t constantly correcting what you’re trying to do.

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Roger Elmore.

10 Tips for Writing a List Style Post

This is a guest post by James Adams. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

The list post is a tried and true way to get your reader’s attention as well as generate new readership and authority for your blog. With your headline, you are giving your readers specific expectations on the contents of your post. Attract your readers through the headline, then provide solid content to back up the points promised within your headline. Here are ten tips to nail those list posts.

1. It’s all in the headline: The headline is the one part of your article that a visitor is most likely to read. Put all of your attention on the headline and think about the most exciting ways to convey your information. Make your headline something of a curiosity, something that dares your readers to take a look at what you have to say. Five ways to legally swindle the government. 15 under $5 DIY projects. Follow your great headline up with some astounding content, and your readers will be clamoring for more.

2. Short sentences: Keep the sentences within your list post short. Do not attempt to overwhelm your readers with the breadth of your information. You will have ample opportunity to elaborate on your points. After all, the single list post might lead to more list posts. When you are editing, see which sentences can be split into multiple sentences. If you must use commas, use only one comma per sentence.

3. Short paragraphs: Along the same lines as #2, shorten the paragraphs within your lists. Your readers do not want to embark on a dissertation about your subject, they want to know the fifteen reasons that you like ham. The shorter the paragraphs, the more likely they are to be read. Many of your readers are skimming the headlines rather than delving into the thorough nature of your post.

4. Use action words: Eliminate the passive voice. Remove words which are wishy washy from your lists. ‘Apparently’ or ‘it seems that’ and other statements reduce the confidence that the reader has within you. Take every opportunity to ‘trade up’ your words to focused action words. Remove the qualifiers.

5. Be honest: Honesty is always the best policy. While you are removing the qualifiers within your list, make sure that you are not removing the truth from your statements. Each one of your points needs to be absolutely true and verifiable. If there are grey areas, revise or remove the point from the list.

6. Spellcheck and grammar: Spelling and grammar are important. Take the time to read over your post before you distribute it to the world. Make sure that there is nothing awkward about your sentence structure. Examine your word usage. Search for words that are spelled correctly yet used improperly. You do not want to remove your garnered authority with tiny mistakes.

7. Be passionate: Your passion fuels better blog posts and list posts. If you are writing about a subject which inherently bores you, save that one for the time when you have absolutely nothing to say. Your passion should shine through on your lists, starting with the headline, traveling through the copy and ending with that final punctuation mark.

8. Editing is important: Self editing is essential to writing a great list post. Your writing needs to be focused and simple, especially when writing in the short bulleted format. Examine your work for words and phrases that you use all too often. Look for useless adverbs and flat writing.

9. Make it interesting and relevant: You may know the seven ways to make the perfect sandwich, but that might not be appropriate content for your blog about dog training. You want the topic to be wide enough so that others will read but narrow enough so it is relevant to the topic of your blog.

10. Be controversial: Create a list post about something which can engender debate. Don’t be controversial for the sake of the controversy, but take one side of an argument which will spur your readers to respond. Six reasons why X public figure is wrong makes a great topic of debate and can draw attention from all around the blogsphere. When you are controversial about a passion, you create great link bait.

The best list posts are concise and simple. They have been well thought and offer the slightest bit of controversy. By using action words and editing properly, your list posts will get attention.

This post was written by James Adams, a writer who spends his time covering new technology developments and reviewing hardware such as the HP Q6000A at a leading supplier of toner cartridges based in the UK.

GMail: “Priority Inbox” To Help You Focus On Important Emails

Often time we get a lot of email in the last minute before going to a meeting or exam! But we are unsure if its just another autoresponder mail or a genuinely urgent as well as important.

Check above video – its a very good animated video explaining Priority Inbox neatly.

To solve this problem, Google has introduced a new feature called Priority Inbox. This is a separate section in your email and will automatically separate your important mails, based on which email you read and reply to.

And ofcourse it has some filters to manually mark someone’s email as important or as unimportant.
And Like most things, Priority Inbox isn’t perfect, so it needs your help to get more experience in knowing what is important to you. So it has a + and – symbol to mark any email(either in ‘Priority Inbox’ or regular ‘Inbox’) important or unimportant.
Priority Inbox is in Beta, and will be enabled to all GMail and Google Apps users in 1 or 2 weeks time.

Source: Priority Inbox