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1. Negotiating an Angel Deal: What Angels, Entrepreneurs & VCs Need to Know. ... (03/11/10 09:00 PM)

2. Business Internet Marketing Professional Software: A Reliable Helping Hand. It is already a known fact that a lot of people are already being involved with internet marketing not only because they are very convenient as a person needs only a decent computer that has a stable ... (03/11/10 09:01 AM)

3. Need to Grow Your Email List? Play It Safe, Smart and Slower . Greetings, my fellow email marketers, and welcome to another round of "You Bet Your Email Life!" In this episode, contestants answer the perennial question: "What's the best way to gro... (03/11/10 09:01 AM)

4. A Cheat Sheet to Help You Conquer Social Media.

   

   Marketers who are still a little unsure about charting their path through the choppy waters of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn could do worse than check out this handy little guide to making social media work for them. The CMO's guide to the social landscape, created for CMO.com by client 97th Floor, takes all the major social media sites in the U.S. and analyzes their capabilities in four sectors: customer communication, brand exposure, driving traffic to your site, and SEOs. (For the full-sized version, click here.)

   

   Overall, it's YouTube and Digg that post the best results, although the former falls down on the traffic question, while the latter fails on customer communication. One thing that the cheat sheet neglects to mention, however, is how deeply you need to go into each Web site when launching a new campaign. It's pretty obvious that a softly-softly approach can get your message across on the social media. But if you over-market your product, it's un-friending all the way.

   [CMO.com Via The Common Hoster]

   
   

   
   (03/11/10 09:00 AM)

5. Sony Announces PlayStation Move, Its Wii-Baiting Motion Controller.

   

   Sony gave a brief tech demo of its motion controller at the E3 show last year (and discussed it with us just a few weeks ago), but a lot of the particulars were left unknown. Today, they demonstrated the newly-dubbed PlayStation Move, and released details about accessories, price, and release date. Sony's hoping the Move will attract buyers tempted by the Wii's motion-sensing gaming--but they've got a lot of ground to make up.

   The basics are much like the Nintendo's motion controller, except instead of Wii's motion-sensing bar that sits on top of your TV, the PlayStation Move will use Sony's PlayStation Eye camera. Other than that, the Move is also a remote-control-like controller that can be attached to a side-controller for two-handed play. But whereas Nintendo's Wiimote had to be attached to its Nunchuck sub-controller, the Move connects wirelessly via a little lightbulb-shaped adapter (which, thankfully, looks more like a microphone than, well, something less savory). For some games, like a swordfighting game, you'll actually need two separate controllers--and everything, including the sub-controller, will almost certainly be sold individually.

   

   The use of the PS Eye is interesting; it's definitely an advantage over the Wii's sensor bar, since it can use augmented reality to add graphics to whatever you're doing, onscreen. Instead of just pretending you're holding a tennis racquet, you can see yourself onscreen holding one, which is pretty cool.

   

   But beyond augmented reality, it's not clear that Sony's doing much to dispel the notion that they're just releasing a Wiimote-like accessory. Compared to Microsoft's Project Natal for Xbox 360, which forgoes the controller entirely for a system that maps your body and can respond to individual limbs or even other objects, Sony's doing very little innovating here. Gizmodo tried out the Move and found that it's slightly more responsive than Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus, and of course the PS3 is a far more powerful console than the Wii, but that it was mostly underwhelming. We've seen this before--and a "me too" product may not be enough to drag Sony out of third place in the current-gen console wars.

   The Move will be sold in a few configurations, including a standalone controller; a package with a PS Eye, Move controller, and a game; and a package with an Eye, Move, game, and a PS3 console. The only price we have for now is that the Eye, Move, and game combination will fall under $100. Sony is aiming for a fall 2010 launch window.

   [youtube H9o9fRsK59c]

   [Sony]

   
   

   
   (03/11/10 09:00 AM)

6. It's Banks vs. Families, Who Will Come Out on Top? Q&A With Elizabeth Warren.

   

   Elizabeth Warren is Main Street's woman in Washington. A professor at Harvard Law School, she's researched the travails of the consumer credit market and the hidden bankruptcy epidemic for over 25 years. Not satisfied with merely publishing academic research, she leaped at an invitation from Senator Harry Reid to take a more public role in reforming the financial system after the credit crisis: She's now the chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, the group charged with overseeing the bank bailouts.

   I caught up with Elizabeth Warren at a table outside the Senate Office Building cafeteria, a few hours after she finished grilling Citibank CEO Vikram Pandit at a typically contentious hearing. With new financial reform legislation imminent--"You're talking to me in the 4th quarter of the basketball game," she said--Warren spoke frankly to Fast Company about her hopes, fears, and frustrations.

   FC: You said it's the 4th quarter of the basketball game--what's the score?

   EW: The economy has been pulled back from the abyss, and Secretary Paulson, Secretary Geithner, both presidential administrations and Congress deserve credit for that. They saved the life of the patient.

   That said, the Treasury demonstrated that it was much better at shoveling hundreds of billions of direct grants and guarantees at the largest financial institutions than it was at protecting the real economy. The largest institutions were "too big to fail," but the foreclosure crisis and small business credit slowdown have been "too hard to solve."

   FC: I was really struck by your interview last fall with Adam Davidson on NPR's Planet Money. (The shouting match drew hundreds of blog comments.) He seemed to suggest that protecting the real economy, as opposed to bailing out Wall Street, was some kind of marginal issue or a personal issue of yours. What do you think about that?

   EW: I think the worldview that America begins and ends with its largest financial institutions is not only wrong-- it is dangerously wrong. Businesses are not America, and America does not exist to serve big institutions. America is about families. People who get up every day and earn their salary to pay their bills and try to make it one day to the next.

   I am a bit stunned that, in the depth of the financial crisis, anyone is saying that the focus should be on the Wall Street banks.

   FC: And yet it does seem sometimes that the business and economics news focuses on the fact that big banks are turning a profit again, or the stock market is back above 10,000, to the exclusion of foreclosures and unemployment and bankruptcies affecting Main Street.

   EW: There's a larger point here about diversity of views. Are you familiar with The Wisdom of Crowds? The underlying insight is that a crowd must be drawn from different points of view to make good decisions. That's how it is that 1,000 people can guess with such accuracy the number of jellybeans in the glass jar. We were actually talking about this at lunch today: If all the people who are providing the input have the same worldview, then errors are built into the system. And those errors are not small. They are seismic errors.

   You want the person who has a unique interest in defending the collapsing system as the person to oversee the bailout? That's astonishing!

   FC: So let's leap into your role as an advocate for financial reform. The Senate's version of the financial reform bill already passed in the House and is due in the Senate any day now. Senator Dodd has been signaling potential compromises, like housing the Consumer Financial Protection Agency within the Federal Reserve instead of as an independent agency. Paul Krugman said in his column recently that unlike with health care reform, where progressives ought to grit their teeth and pass it, the time has come to actually stand up and say, this so-called financial reform isn't worth supporting. Understanding that final details aren't out yet, can you imagine a situation in which you'd say the same?

   EW: Of course. There are already seven agencies in Washington that own a piece of the consumer financial protection apparatus. This is the worst of all possible worlds: a bloated, ineffective, unaccountable bureaucracy.

   We need to merge those bureaucracies into a single, streamlined, accountable regulator with autonomy and teeth. If we fall short of that, we will just be recreating one more bureaucracy so that we can all congratulate ourselves that we did something for the American people when the reality is otherwise. That would be a terrible thing.

   FC: What kind of assurances have you gotten from the Obama administration about their commitment to real reform?

   EW: President Obama has been clear from the beginning that he supports a strong, independent consumer agency. He has put a lot of energy behind it. He has had events at the White House, has spoken about it in public town meetings, and even made the ultimate commitment--talked about it on Leno.

   FC: I understand that at one point you pursued an entrepreneurial path to reform the consumer financial products market.

   EW: The short version is that I studied the economics of the middle class and I began to see that credit products were becoming increasingly dangerous. Families didn't know how much they were spending on credit and comparison among the products was practically impossible because of all the incomprehensible fine print. It wasn't the products that were priced the best that survived. Instead, the ones that were most loaded with tricks and traps provided the most revenue.

   So I thought at first that my academic research will be enough. I will publish a law review article and surely the world will change--that didn't happen. So I wrote a couple of popular books about it--The Two Income Trap and All Your Worth. But it still didn't change the world.

   The PEW Charitable Trust then got in touch with me and asked what ideas I was working on. And I told them: I'd like to build a private, market-based solution. I want to build an Underwriter's Laboratory to certify credit cards.

   The whole idea behind the current model is, "I will hold something shiny in front of your eye, 3.9% financing, and the way I'm going to make money is on tricks and traps that I've buried in the fine print: $29 there, $49 there, triple interest rate, double cycle billing, over and over and over ... ."

   So the idea was to take an independent group that will say here's a clean, clear industry credit card. It was called the Clean Card. So Pew said, we love this. They took me out to San Francisco to meet with the head of a very fancy bank consulting group. We put together a proposal and many of the executives we met with just loved it.

   They loved it at the first meeting and at the second meeting. It was almost as if you could see the CEOs thinking, "I'll have my picture on the cover of Business Week for transforming this market." They were saying, "We want to be part of this! We want to be the first movers, we want to be America's Credit Card." Then we come back for the 3rd meeting after the numbers guys have taken a closer look, and they say, "We can't do this." As one VP put it, if people really understood how much a credit card cost, they wouldn't use it and the bank would lose too much market share.

   And one of the issuers took me aside and said, "We get that our business model is unsustainable over the long haul, but no one of us can jump first. We all have to move together. If we all move together, we'll be fine competitively, but if one of us moves and we lose market share, then the ones who issue the dirty cards will control this market." So it was literally on the plane on the way home from the meeting with the issuer that I realized how broken the market is and started thinking about a new agency in Washington.

   FC: Ok, so you've concluded that the market is broken. Now you've come to DC and are working in the midst of biggest credit crisis the country's ever seen. What are you going to do if we finish out this crisis and still the market's not fixed?

   EW: If America can't come out of the crisis and repair the broken consumer credit market, then this government really is broken. The lobbying over this bill is enormous, and it's all on one side. It's one thing when insurance companies are on one side and doctors on the other. This one is exclusively big Wall Street banks who have a tremendous amount of money to spend on this to protect their revenue stream.

   FC: So even though you can call Vikram Pandit on the carpet and get him to answer a few questions, his lobbying staff is hard at work behind the scenes to make sure nothing changes.

   EW: The money is all on one side and the votes are all on the other. So, that's what we'll find out. It's banks vs. families. And we'll see who comes out on top.

   The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cElizabeth Warrenwww.thedailyshow.com

   
   

   
   (03/11/10 09:00 AM)

7. Need a Plumber? Redbeacon Adds Facebook Support to Its Service Provider Finder.

   

   Redbeacon, a site that matches users up with service providers (like plumbers, painters, personal trainers, and housekeepers), announced a few new options, most notably Facebook, that'll encourage a more social use of the site--and hopefully gain some users in the process.

   Redbeacon, which won the TechCrunch50 award last year, is less a reviews site than a straight utility. You type in your location and service needed, and Redbeacon finds a local provider that'll best address the job. It does snatch reviews from Yelp and Google to help you make your decision, but it's more specific than a search engine.

   Even better, it retrieves an actual quote from the business it recommends: not an estimated quote, or a base quote, but an actual quote from the business, directly responding to your inquiry. Redbeacon says that in the few months since their October launch, they've been able to secure a 100% response rate for quotes, usually within hours. The service then lets you book an appointment right from the site, like OpenTable, and it's all free to the consumer (Redbeacon takes 10% off the top from the service provider).

   Redbeacon's announcing a bunch of changes today. Users can now upload photos and more detailed descriptions of the service they need, which should help businesses deliver more exact quotes. But most importantly, they're now using Facebook to add a social element to the service. It only makes sense; when you're looking for an electrician, you'd typically ask a friend or relative before just calling someone in the yellow pages. Redbeacon now uses Facebook Connect to allow users to ask questions of friends and post about good experiences.

   It's a bit similar to Aardvark, which we wrote about before--algorithms aren't necessarily the best way to find out what you want to know, and social networking is one way to get answers from people, rather than a search engine. Redbeacon's still expanding out from its San Francisco base, and its userbase is still pretty small, but it's a great idea--and seeing as how Redbeacon is more concerned with the service than with users visiting their Web site, we could start seeing embedded uses of the service in other platforms soon.

   [Redbeacon]

   
   

   
   (03/10/10 09:00 PM)

8. Why the End Times Might Reek of Methane.

   What does a climate change "tipping point" look like? We may be about to find out first hand.

   Carbon dioxide isn't the only greenhouse gas out there. Other substances, such as water vapor and nitrous oxide, also trap heat to varying degrees. Discussions about global warming focus on CO2 for a couple of key reasons: the first is that human activities have demonstrably increased carbon dioxide; the second is that the other gases tend to cycle out of the atmosphere pretty quickly. For the most part, unless there's a sudden, massive increase in the amount of the other greenhouse gases, we can safely focus on CO2.

   Well, guess what?

   Scientists from Alaska's International Arctic Research Center, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Stockholm University have published an article in Science magazine indicating the discovery of a startlingly large amount of methane coming from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf--methane that was thought to be frozen, in the form of methane clathrates. How much methane? An amount equivalent to the total of methane coming from the rest of the world's oceans. The key paragraph, from the National Science Foundation press release:

   They found that more than 80 percent of the deep water and more than 50 percent of surface water had methane levels more than eight times that of normal seawater. In some areas, the saturation levels reached more than 250 times that of background levels in the summer and 1,400 times higher in the winter. They found corresponding results in the air directly above the ocean surface. Methane levels were elevated overall and the seascape was dotted with more than 100 hotspots. This, combined with winter expedition results that found methane gas trapped under and in the sea ice, showed the team that the methane was not only being dissolved in the water, it was bubbling out into the atmosphere.

   Okay, it's a lot of methane... so what?

   Click for larger

   Methane--CH4--actually traps a significantly greater amount of heat than does CO2. The NSF article cites it as 30 times greater greenhouse impact than carbon dioxide, and I've seen references between 20x and 72x, depending upon how it's measured. Regardless, this is a big difference, and the amount of methane frozen under the Siberian permafrost can be measured in the millions of tons (up to 70 billion tons across the entire permafrost region). If the East Siberian methane melts, it would be akin to tripling the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, raising temperatures around the world by 8-10° C, and arctic temperatures by 20° C by the end of this century. That would be very, very bad, like you-really-don't-want-to-go-there bad.

   It turns out, in fact, that one of the biggest mass extinctions in Earth's history has been tied to a rapid methane clathrate melt.

   You see, the East Siberian methane is fairly close to the surface; as temperatures rise, methane clathrates deeper down will start to melt, making temperatures go up faster, melting even deeper stores of methane ice, and so on. It's a runaway feedback loop--what some folks call the "clathrate gun." This whole process would take just a few decades. Melting methane clathrates are pretty much the scariest of the so-called "tipping point" effects of anthropogenic global warming. We don't need to burn every fossil fuel on the planet to make something awful happen, we just have to burn enough to start to thaw out methane ice, and natural processes take it from there.

   There are two immediate questions we need to answer:

   1) Does this study show us that there's a runaway methane event underway? The short answer is no. This is the first detailed study of methane concentrations in the region, so we don't know for sure whether the methane concentrations are increasing slowly, increasingly quickly, or not increasing at all. That the amount of methane is so disproportionate (and is higher than amounts found in ice core samples from thousands of years ago) suggests that something is happening, but in my expert opinion, it's not yet time to panic.

   2) What can we do about it? It depends on how fast the methane clathrates are melting. If they're melting slowly, our best bet would be to do everything humanly possible to cut anthropogenic carbon emissions to zero. We have to avoid pushing the climate into a runaway methane tipping point; the faster we cut our carbon emissions, the better chance we have of avoiding this catastrophe.

   If the methane clathrates are melting quickly, however, the story gets more complicated. Although we'd want to get to zero as quickly as we could, because of the carbon we've already put into the atmosphere--which keeps warming us--and because of ocean thermal inertia--the pace at which the ocean warms up and cools down--we'd still see another few decades of warming. Simply going to zero wouldn't be enough to avoid a methane runaway, if the clathrates are already melting quickly.

   This is where the desperation moves come in. It's quite likely that, for many people, a clathrate melt would mean geoengineering goes from being a "Plan B" to "Plan Ohmygodyouhavetostartdoingthisnow." At the very least, we would need to step up the study of how temperature-management geoengineering would affect the overall environment, because there's a very good chance we'll want to use it.

   We also would want to look at ways to remove the methane from the oceans and the atmosphere. I have a long post over at my main blog detailing what this would entail, but it's enough to say here that while it wouldn't be easy, it looks like it might be possible. This would have its own side-effects, too, of course... but probably not as bad as a mass extinction event.

   The big lesson here is that the Earth's environment is a fantastically complex system, and changing one parameter--in this case, the temperature--can have effects far beyond what a simple straight line extrapolation would suggest. If we're lucky, follow-up studies will show that the methane emissions are either stable or only growing slowly, giving us enough time to upgrade how we live without having to do anything risky. But even if this is the case, good luck can't hold on forever.

   (For more details on the effects of rapid methane melts, see this piece at Climate Progress, and this piece at Worldchanging.)

   
   

   
   (03/10/10 09:00 PM)

9. South Korea Unveils "ReCharging Road" for Eco-Friendly Buses .

   

   We've covered sustainable urban developments in Seoul before. On Tuesday researchers launched an environmentally friendly public transport system using a "recharging road"-- with a vehicle sucking power magnetically from buried electric strips.

   The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), towing three buses, went into service at an amusement park in southern Seoul. If the prototype proves successful, there are plans to try it out on a bus route in the capital.

   The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), which developed the system, says OLEV needs a battery only one-fifth the size of conventional electric vehicles and eliminates the need for major recharging.

   It also avoids the need for overhead wires used to power conventional trams or trolley buses.

   Guests including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-Hoon and KAIST President Suh Nam-Pyo were given a 1.4-mile ride Tuesday around the zoo at Seoul Grand Park.

   Recharging strips have been installed in four segments totalling about a quarter of a mile along the route.

   Pick-up equipment underneath OLEV collects power through non-contact magnetic charging from strips buried under the road surface. It then distributes the power either to drive the vehicle or for battery storage.

   If the system is used on Seoul bus routes, underground power lines would have to be installed on only 20% of the route at places like bus stops, parking places, and intersections, KAIST said in a statement.

   The technology was first developed in a project involving the University of California-Berkeley, but KAIST said that produced no tangible results.

   The state-funded institute says it has applied for more than 120 patents in connection with OLEV, which it describes as safe, clean, and economical.

   "Of all the world's electric vehicles, this is the most economical system," Suh told reporters, adding the operating cost is only about one-third of ordinary electric vehicles. "The potential for application [of this technology to public transport systems] is limitless. I dare say this is one of the most significant technical gains in the 21st century."

   Suh said KAIST plans to use OLEVs to shuttle delegates at the G20 summit that Seoul will host in November.

   For more climate and energy coverage check out Grist.orgIncluding: Dear Vinod Khosla & Tom Friedman: No Amount of Sequestration Will Make Coal Clean

   
   

   
   (03/10/10 09:00 PM)

10. As SocNets Get Serious About Geo-Location, What Else Needs to be Done?. Twitter, Foursquare and Facebook have all stepped up their location-based services. The most comprehensive - just by its size and presence - is Facebook. The social networking site will be... (03/10/10 09:00 PM)

11. Crib Sheet: Padmasree Warrior, CTO of Cisco Systems.

    Cisco's big announcement recently about how its new product was going to change the Internet for the better got the tech community very excited--not to mention the financial world, as the company's share price rose to a 52-week high. And then, yesterday, they launched the thing--a datacenter-level router that should give mobile Internet a bit more "poke." But for some time, Fast Company has known that, for Cisco's shares to go through the proverbial roof, would be somehow to clone its CTO, the absolutely brilliant Padmasree Warrior, and make her available in every home.

    Ms. Warrior (who recently said on Twitter that if she'd had a choice in her own name, it would have been "The") truly is the future of the tech industry. Basically, she's the human face of all those big, swinging tech players who we all revere but somehow wonder just how normal they are. A working mother, she was born in India and moved to the U.S. after gaining a BS at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. Just 16 at the time, she describes it as the major transition of her life, "more than being CTO of Cisco or coming to the U.S., because I was very young."

    "I visualize work and family as incongruent and in conflict with each other. It's tough, but I try to maintain this seamless integration (of family, community, self and work.)" She's on the board of Chicago's Joffrey Ballet and the Museum of Science and Industry, and holds a bunch of directorships. She spends her free time (just how much has she got these days?) with her family and friends, and, given that's she's gone on record as saying she likes going to concerts, we thought we'd spice up her Crib Sheet with a bunch of lyrics. Extra points to commenters who can identify the artists.

    This is Major Tom to ground control, I'm stepping through the door, And I'm floating in in the most peculiar way: "I am still commuting back and forth, my family lives in Chicago. Hopefully I will get more proficient in going back and forth between the two cities." One thing that Cisco's teleconferencing tech can't solve, it seems.

    Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC, Didn't get to bed last night: Last month, Warrior was part of a U.S. delegation to Russia, alongside Ashton Kutcher and Jack Dorsey of Twitter, Rumors of Cisco Systems' acquisition of ChatRoulette have yet to be substantiated--although we could start the ball rolling right here.

    War, Hurghhh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothin' (say it again): "Biological warfare debases my concept of humanism."

    Three (Is the magic number): The most influential people in her life are her parents and her husband. "My Mom taught me the power of love. I learned to focus on the long-term big picture from my father. His sense of humor and light-hearted approach always make me smile. My husband is a pivotal anchor in my life. His influence encourages me to be independent and take risks."

    Years go by, I'm lookin' through a girly magazine, and there's my homeroom angel on the pages in between: "If I had to pick three of my favorite magazines they would be Fast Company, Silicon India, and Smithsonian.

    Got no butler, Got no maid, Still I think I've been overpaid: "I would have dinner with P.G. Wodehouse. I have read all of his books at least ten times over. I am a great fan of his character Jeeves, the English Gentleman's perfect valet. His intellectual brilliance and audacious sense of humor fascinate me. Dinner with P.G.W. sounds simply scrumptious."

    Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, Trash it, change it, mail - upgrade it: "Tech is all about building human connections."

    Let me sleep all night in your soul kitchen, warm my mind near your gentle stove: "It seems in my home all important decisions are made in the kitchen:) Is the kitchen the center of gravity in your home?"

    On your video phone, make a cameo, tape me on your video phone, I can handle you: "I'm most excited by the evolution of entertainment and content over the next five years. In the past five years we saw it go from passive consumption to on demand, and going forward it's always on demand and that's where the mobile comes in. The screen is going to be with you, no matter where you are."

    Face to face my lovely foe, mouth to mouth, raining heaven's blows: "If we had our way, [a virtual World Economic Forum] would be a year or so [away.] But in some cases, you really do need to meet and talk."

    [Via ZDNet.com, Beet.tv, WITI, livemint.com. Photo via Twitpic]

    
    

    
    (03/10/10 09:00 PM)

12. EA Sports Active 2.0 Will Measure Your Heartbeat, Share Your Data, and Work on Your iPhone.

    

    Given the roaring success of Wii-exclusive EA Sports Active, the hardcore workout video that masquerades as a video game, a sequel was pretty much inevitable. Thankfully, this one's more Dark Knight than Electric Boogaloo.

    The new, improved EA Sports Active will include a heartbeat monitor that straps around your arms and one of your thighs. But instead of just showing you how hard you're working--as if you need another numerical reminder while you're dripping in sweat--it senses your motions, and translates them into actions in the game. It's similar to Wii Sports, only you can use your whole body, not just a handheld remote, to jump and shoot hoops.

    There's also an online hub, where you can store fitness data and download new workouts. You can also use the site to share workout progress with your friends--instead of, say, posting rapidfire updates on Twitter and Facebook about how many calories you've burned or miles you've run. (I'm happy for you. We're all happy for you. Now stop making me feel so lazy!)

    EA Sports Active 2.0 hits stores this fall, with expanded versions for the PlayStation 3, iPod Touch, and iPhone. There's no word on how, exactly, the game's technology will integrate with the mobile platforms, but EA promises that it "will go with you wherever you are." Sounds awesome...and omnious.

    [Via GamesBeat]

    
    

    
    (03/10/10 09:00 PM)

13. Smart Windows: Good for Seeing Through, Generating Electricity Too.

    

    Photovoltaic solar power may be the bees knees in green power cleverness, but you still have to work out how to mount the panels on your building. That's going to be much easier now a Dutch company has combined them with windows.

    PV panels aren't exactly the most attractive of household additions, in their typical "we just bolted these suckers onto your shingles" installation (though they are much more visually attractive than the solar heating units the come with the ugly cylindrical water tanks on the top.) There are fresh re-inventions that are tackling this problem, like the neat PV solar roof tiles, but they're not universally suitable.

    Whereas every home has windows. And this fact has led Dutch company Peer+ to create Smart Energy Glass panels that generate current from the sun while also acting as like those old-fashioned devices that lets you see right through a wall. But that's not all. Similar to the other up-and-coming LCD glass treatments that let you blank a window at the flick of a switch (removing the need for curtains, blinds or shutters,) these smart windows also have selectable darkness. Darkest is the highest privacy mode, and thanks to a trick of the optics concerned, also leads to the most efficient power generation from solar input. And you can even choose between a range of shades for the glass and also incorporate logos or text into the panels, which will appeal to countless businesses.

    But before you think I'm leaping at this invention over-enthusiastically, let me explain why it's important. The reason is a simple one: Style. Sure, you may lose some of the potential efficiency of this solar PV generation tech compared to specialist dedicated panels that are carefully aligned at the right angle to the average solar incidence direction for your home. But these things look good. And if green tech is to achieve serious adoption by the public (and architects too,) then design really has to play into things at some point. This solution, much like those solar tiles, is a neat way of leveraging this.

    [Via Springwise.com]

    
    

    
    (03/10/10 09:00 PM)

14. IBM's Hottest New Cell Phone Market: Senior Citizens (and the Illiterate).

    

    Among cell phone users in developed countries, IBM is betting the market with the biggest growth potential is...people over the age of 65?

    It makes more sense than you'd think. According to recent findings, most of them already own cell phones, so it's not as if they're adverse to the technology. But unlike younger generations, who are seemingly targeted with a new cell phone gimmick every week, they're largely ignored on the marketing front--excepting a few efforts from Nokia and Samsung, which makes the senior-friendly Jitterbug

    IBM's two-year research program, which also involves the National Institute of Design of India and Tokyo University, will explicitly focus on making cell phones easier to use, for both the elderly and the illiterate. Moreover, the software it develops will be open-source, so all governments and businesses can take advantage.

    "As the population in Europe and North America ages, the need for specialized mobile devices will become acute," Ben Wood, research director at British consultancy CCS Insight, told Reuters. "Phone makers will have to adapt if they want to appeal to a generation that has grown up with mobile devices, but can't use them in the ways they used to."

    In other words, the conventional "wisdom"--make the buttons bigger! make the ringtones louder!--is old news.

    [Story via Reuters; image via AARP]

    
    

    
    (03/10/10 09:00 PM)

15. What Would You Ask Nature? Submit to the Biomimicry Institute/Designers Accord Challenge!.

    

    Thanks to a smart TED talk by biologist Janine Beynus that made the rounds a few years ago, books like Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, and new online resources like AskNature.org, more and more designers are realizing a simple truth when trying to find responsible, ecological solutions: If we're trying to do it, chances are, nature already did it better.

    Biomimicry is quickly becoming a cornerstone of sustainable design (read our story on biomimicry from 2008), but for designers who want to incorporate biomimicry into their work, many don't know where to start. Some famous biomimetic solutions have gotten passed around the mainstream press--including examples like self-cleaning surfaces modeled on lotus flowers, or the sticky repositionable tape inspired by gecko feet--but biomimicry isn't as easy as using nature as a crib sheet. "One of the big realizations that designers have when they play with biomimicry is that it's not a tool, it's a mindset shift," says Dayna Baumeister, who co-founded the Biomimicry Guild with Benyus in 1998. "Because of that--because of the fundamentally different way of thinking--it's hard."

    Biomimicry expert Janine Benyus' 2005 TED talk

    Even for biologists, it requires a shift in thinking, says Baumeister, from learning about nature to learning from nature, including how each of those processes fit within a larger ecosystem. In a way, it's examining nature's solutions for survival, but through a design lens, says Chris Allen, project manager for AskNature.org. "You can look at brilliant engineering and strategies for living over thousands of years."

    A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEThe Biomimicry Guild has worked alongside companies to help them achieve that shift in thinking, from a longstanging relationship with flooring and finishes company Interface, to a team currently on-site at an architectural project in India, where they're creating buildings that not only are made from natural materials, they actually behave like natural organisms. Currently there's a great deal of excitement bridging algorithms found in nature and information technology or "generative design," where we're able to extrapolate data from the way that nature goes through its iterative design process in evolution.

    A rainforest strategy in need of a real-life application: The bill of toco toucan acts as a heat exchanger to regulate body temperature by adjusting blood flow

    And, using biomimetic principles, we've also been able to learn more about our own species: The Biomimicry Guild is starting conversations with global companies that manufacturer things like cosmetics--in which case their own in-house scientiststs have been studying hair and skin for decades.

    Because biomimicry experts believe that designers play an integral role in making sustainable, nature-inspired decisions in a project, they believe that's where their influence is best appropriated. A biologist working in biomimetic design is known as a Biologist at the Design Table, or, in a biomimetic-appropriate acronym: a BaDT. There are currently very few BaDTs--only about 75 worldwide--since they have to undergo extensive training. But eventually, the goal is to have a BaDT in every design firm who can help guide the designers towards smarter, more nature-influenced solutions--and that's where we come in.

    A lightweight chair design inspired by spiderwebs, by Linda Dong as part of the Student Design Sketch Challenge

    A REAL-WORLD BIOMIMICRY CHARRETTETo start a larger conversation between biologists, designers and businesses, we thought we could help by seating at least three BaDTs at three design tables of Designers Accord adopters across North America. We've tapped teams from three firms: Smart Design, New York; IDEO, Chicago and Boston; and Taller de Operaciones Ambientales, Mexico City. Each team will be paired with a Biomimicry Guild BaDT who will lead them through a two-day biomimicry design workshop as they work to solve a business problem, documenting their processes and reporting back to us in a little over a month with their bio-inspired solutions and how they got there.

    Now all we need to complete the puzzle is your company's challenge! Do you have a real-life design problem that you just haven't been able to crack? Do you have a system, material, structure, process in your business that's seriously in need of innovation? Explain your problem as clearly as possible in the form below, including what limitations have prevented you from being able to achieve your goals in the past. If we think your challenge is a good match for one of the firms, we'll contact you for more information. Your company could be featured on FastCompany.com as "clients" for one of three biomimetic challenges, and receive a solution for your problem--courtesy of nature, of course.

    If you have any questions, feel free to add them in the comments, and be sure to submit your challenge by 11:59pm PST, March 17, 2010. We'll see you back here in a little over a week with an update.

    SUBMIT YOUR DESIGN CHALLENGE

    If you have a design and sustainability story to share, let us know about it! Check out the brand new Designers Accord Web site. And follow us on Twitter @designersaccord to hear what the Designers Accord community is thinking about.

    Browse more Designers Accord Case Studies

    
    

    
    (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

16. Effective Communication for Telemarketers. In order to understand customer needs, telemarketers should effectively employ superior communication skills. Communication is very important in the process of maintaining customer attention because ... (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

17. What Is Joint Venture and Why We Need It. A joint venture, or abbreviated as JV and sometimes called joint adventure, is a tactical union flanked by two or more parties to embark on a financial activity together. This alliance agrees to creat... (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

18. Google Aims at Small Business Software Market, With Cloud-Connected Apps Store.

    

    Google's up to its old tricks again, extending software tentacles in new directions to capture or subvert entire markets: This time it's aiming at business software by launching Google Apps Marketplace, which does clever cloud-connecting stuff.

    Digging through Google's slightly obfuscating explanation in its blog post on the news, it seems that the App Marketplace has been conceived to make it super-easy for "Google Apps administrators" to find, enable, and distribute to their users all of the apps sitting in Google's cloud storefront. The word "efficiency" is used in there too, since Google's trying to point out that by having all of this stuff in one place, user's "daily workflows" in Gmail, Calendar, Contacts are streamlined, and the system lets everybody share data between the apps and each other for collaborative working.

    There's the usual Google emphasis on open standards, meaning it's easy for app developers to quickly build hooks for your data into and out of other apps. And there's mention of the Google Apps userbase of some 25 million people, to tantalize and tempt developers to write more apps.

    But what, when you get right down to it, is this all really about? It's actually quite subtle: Google's positioning itself as the conduit between Apps and small businesses, as well as being a workflow facilitator. In other words, a business may conduct its calendar planning or document creation using Google's standard tools--and if the business then needs a project management tool, it can access one via Google's market place and then hook it up to Google's core productivity software offerings, in one neat integrated swoop.

    By doing this Google makes itself invaluable to a business, since it can basically offer almost any business management/creation tool that a company may need (assuming developers write an app for the task,) as well as placing it in the cloud for easy back-up and go-anywhere access. And we know that that's where Google likes to be--nestling right at the core of an operation, monitoring all the to-ings and fro-ings its users get up to, so it can then sell them highly targeted ads or new services.

    [Via Googleblog]

    To hear more news like this follow me on Twitter...which is a non-Google offering. For the moment.

    
    

    
    (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

19. Former Sun Microsystems CEO: HTC Isn't the First Company to Face Legal Threats From Steve Jobs.

    

    Jonathan Schwartz, former CEO of Sun Microsystems, has stepped up to defend Google (in a roundabout way, via HTC) from the patent attacks recently levelled by Apple. If you want to be truly disturbed at how virulent the patent litigation scene is in the tech world, read on.

    Sun, which is perhaps best known for its creation of Java, OpenOffice, and its development of the UNIX core, apparently suffered a threat of patent litigation directly from Steve Jobs back in 2003. Schwartz explains that in the tech world, patents are used not just as defenses against intellectual property theft, but as offensive weapons that can eliminate competition if levelled correctly.

    In 2003, after I unveiled a prototype Linux desktop called Project Looking Glass, Steve [Jobs] called my office to let me know the graphical effects were "stepping all over Apple’s IP." (IP = Intellectual Property = patents, trademarks and copyrights.) If we moved forward to commercialize it,"I’ll just sue you."

    Schwartz managed to convince Jobs not to bother suing, as Sun held patents on several aspects of UNIX, on which Mac OS is built, that could be used to great effect in a countersuit. "Steve was silent," Schwartz writes.

    He even describes a similar instance to the altercation with Steve Jobs, in which Bill Gates attempted to induce a pricey settlement over patent violations--only to be again stymied when Sun revealed its stacked hand of patents, which would be used in a countersuit if the need arose.

    The post is framed as a motion of solidarity with Google, although interestingly, Schwartz seems to have completely bypassed the implications we'd all been feeling regarding that case. After all, Google isn't named in the suit at all, and HTC, which is, is by no means limited to Google software--HTC is an OEM which also creates branded hardware running Windows Mobile as well as Android. Of course, as HTC is a renowned Google partner for Android, creating the Nexus One (branded the "Google Phone") and the upcoming next generation of Android devices, the two are inextricably linked in the public's mind, to the point where suing HTC feels like suing Google.

    Schwartz's feelings on the Apple-HTC lawsuit are really fascinating, though it's important to remember that Schwartz has a vested interest as a major stockholder in making Sun seem spotless. But regardless, it's disheartening to hear about this kind of behind-closed-doors threat session.

    [Jonathan Schwartz via AppleInsider]

    
    

    
    (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

20. If the Customer Is Truly King, Then Sonoma Partners Is One Smitten Queen.

    

    Any time a head of a company uses the word "upswing" in detailing his business' recent success, there is a bit of a compulsion around these parts to comment on the company. Please excuse a little cheerleading. But it is especially important to draw attention to an Upswing-ing outfit that saw its revenues swing up by ... 44% last year!

    So how did Chicago-based Sonoma Partners do it? The firm works exclusively with Microsoft Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management software, thus they were in a prime position to goose their bottom line during a downturn. First they identified an opportunity in the soft belly of the bear--in this case, Sonoma Partners realized that companies needed a competitive advantage more than ever and a good place to start is by solidifying bonds with customers. If you aren't going to be able to lure new clients into your realm, you sure as hell better hold on to the ones you've got.

    Sonoma does this by working with groups in the service industry, like a hotel chain or the home of the Bulls and Blackhawks, The United Center, to both customize their CRM and help them manage it. And they've amped up their customization efforts over the past year, suiting detailed data to each firm with which it works,

    This prompted Principle Mike Snyder to crow dryly: "A large part of our business upswing is attributable to our customization efforts, which allow our clients to get the maximum benefit out of CRM."

    Huzzah!

    Snyder gives examples of such customization as everything from on-the-ground reports during election days to helping a real estate firm better manage its leases.

    The company has also been somewhat lucky in that it is catching a cresting wave. As Snyder notes, Microsoft's customer relations technology is enjoy a moment. And I've written here in the past about anecdotal evidence that one check on the plus side of the recession ledger is improved customer service almost across the board. This goes back to the idea that businesses are holding tight to their existing customers. And that works out well for you, me and, clearly, Sonoma Partners.

    Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/ / CC BY 2.0

    
    

    
    (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

21. Please Exit in an Orderly, Well-Designed Fashion.

    Slate editor Julia Turner explains why American exit signs need to be shown the door.

    

    Over at Slate, in her epic six-part series on wayfinding, deputy editor Julia Turner explains the exit sign: designed to stand out, but ignored by designers -- at least in the US -- for 75 years. In America, we have the commanding, red EXIT, standardized in the '30s and '40s. But most everywhere else, it's the ISO standard: a green man bounding out the door, developed in the late '70s by the Japanese designer Yukio Ota. It's called, unsurprisingly, the running man, and its advocates say it's more legible (wordless and green, not red, which means "stop" not "run away"). But still we stick with the red letters. Why?

    

    Well, mainly because we couldn't think of anything better, Turner says. The only alternative she cites was developed for the AIGA's symbol set for DOT (right) but it never caught on, for obvious reasons. Still, there might be hope. In his new pictograph system for MTA, being tested at the Jamaica station, Mies Hora is splitting the difference, using a green-lettered EXIT and the running man. Maybe it'll ween us off the red menace altogether.

    (By the way, hear Turner talk about the graphic design horror that is Penn Station on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show. It's not the designers' fault -- it's bureaucracy. The three owners of Penn Station just can't get their act together to unify the wayfinding system. You can see a nice, if overly dramatic, slideshow of getting lost in Penn Station at the Slate article here.)

    
    

    
    (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

22. Need Inspiration? 137 Years Of Popular Mechanics for Free. Need inspiration? Need mechanical knowledge for a project? Want money making ideas? 137 years of Popular Mechanics are now freely available online here. From Business Opportunities Weblog. (03/09/10 09:00 PM)

23. Marketing across the Generations. Each generation of the US population has unique wants and needs that marketers and retailers should address differently, according to The Nielsen Company. Todd Hale, SVP, consumer and shopping... (03/09/10 09:00 PM)

24. Web Site Marketing Internet Business - the Basic Strategies You Need to Know. Web Site Marketing Internet Business refers to businesses that are promoted and marketed online. Because millions of people are now aware of the internet's presence, many people nowadays tend to use t... (03/09/10 09:01 AM)

25. Home Business Internet Marketing -Tips You Need to Know. Doing an online business, especially if it is a Home Business Internet Marketing, requires researching and effective advertising strategy. Running an online home business can be really tough to handle... (03/09/10 09:01 AM)

26. . ( )

27. Goldman Sachs Slashes Nexus One Sales Forecast to Around 1 Million.

    

    An analyst at Goldman Sachs has thrown a wrench into the works of Google's smartphone by downgrading the sales forecast of the Nexus One. Initial expectations were high: analysts had said as many as 3.5 million units would be sold in the first year. But with just 80,000 sold in the first month, according to mobile analytic group Flurry, figures have now been revised down to around a million.

    Compare and contrast this with other handsets. The first iPhone took 74 days to hit a million in sales; version 2, in 2008, took just three days (by this time, however, it was available pretty much worldwide). The iPhone 3GS version hit 1.6 million within a week.

    Moving away from Apple, which--let's face it--currently has the smartphone market all sewn up, how are other Android phones faring? Well the Droid, Motorola's last-ditch attempt to keep its head above water, flogged 525,000 through Verizon in the same month that the Nexus One was released. 

    And maybe this is what the first bona-fide Google phone needs: a network. It's interesting to note that, on the Nexus One website, the T-Mobile version ($179) is sold out, while the contract-free version ($529) is yours for the taking. There's no doubt that Google fluffed the launch back in January. There was a little bit of fluttery hype, but no announcements, no big fanfare, it was just unveiled, like any other product, around the time of CES, the tail-end of a bunch of Android OS upgrades. And then there was the customer service--or lack of it.

    Goldman Sachs indulged in a bit of stern finger-wagging in its forecast note. "We assume that Google rolls out a second Nexus handset, markets it more agressively, and makes it available offline, and therefore forecast that Google sells two million handsets per year in 2011 and future years." If that's not a Must Try Harder report card, I don't know what is.

    One gets the feeling that even Larry and Sergei are over the gPhone. Last week John Herlihy, Google's top guy in Europe, said that data mining was where the sexy jobs were at in Mountain View, although he took the view that smartphones were an essential tool for Google. Just not their own-brand ones, it seems.

    [Via Electronista]

    
    

    
    (03/09/10 09:01 AM)

28. Work Smart: Avoid Office Distractions With Time Blocking.

    

    The most important decision you'll make today is about what to pay attention to and what to ignore.

    [twistage f975f499540cb]

    In an interruption-driven culture, it's too easy to let everyone else decide where your attention goes and how to spend your next 10 minutes. If you jump every time your phone rings, a new email arrives, your Blackberry buzzes, or someone stops by your desk, you're undermining your most important work and costing your company money. A recent study shows that unnecessary interruptions costs the U.S. economy $650 billion dollars in lost productivity per year.

    Being available to your boss and co-workers is part of your job. But the most creative and important work you do requires total focus and attention for an extended period of time. Your brain needs at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted time to dive in, concentrate on one thing, and get into the zone where you're truly focused and doing your best work. Time blocking is a technique that sets the stage for that to happen.

    When you've got a project that requires deep thinking, block out hour-long "meetings" with yourself to devote your full attention to it. During your time block, forward the phone to voicemail, shut down Microsoft Outlook, silence your Blackberry, and if you have to, leave your desk with the materials you need and focus solely on the task at hand. Sound crazy? Even an employee low on the totem pole can do it.

    I used to work as a software programmer at a busy office that had an open seating layout. There were no cubicles--sales people sat elbow to elbow next to graphic designers who sat next to engineers, and people constantly interrupted each other. It got so bad that when I was on deadline, I'd book hour-long meetings in a conference room where I was the only attendee. I'd put the meeting in my calendar a day or two ahead of time so that I showed up as "busy" in Outlook. When the time came, I'd steal off to the conference room with my laptop to work uninterrupted. When I confessed to another programmer that I was holding fake meetings with myself just to get work done, he asked if he could join me--under the condition that we would not distract one another. I got the most work done in the shortest amount of time during those blocks.

    Time blocking works best when you've got a discrete, single task or project that involves deep engagement, like research, number crunching, brainstorming, or writing. Set a definite start and end time when you don't have other meetings to attend. Commit to coming out of a single time block with a specific task accomplished. If the Internet is too tempting a distraction, download the files you need to get the job done before you start, and turn off your laptop's Internet connection during your block.

    When you work in an office where interruptions are the rule and not the exception, use time blocking to reclaim hours you'd otherwise spend dealing with distractions.

    Gina Trapani is the author of Upgrade Your Life and founding editor of Lifehacker.com. Work Smart appears every week on FastCompany.com.

    Last week: Three Ways to Use Google Wave in Your Business

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

29. How the U.S. Dollar Stacks Up to Other Currencies.

    Share As we manage our budgets and try to stretch the dollar to cover everything we need, currencies in other countries are growing against the dollar. Have a look at how the U.S. dollar fares against the 15 most powerful currencies in the... Read more

    (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

30. ChatRoulette Sparks "Next" Proxy War Between the U.S. and Russia.

    Andrey Ternovskiy, the 17-year-old creator of Chat Roulette, is now embroiled in a bidding war that pits the U.S. and Russia against each other over where the company will end up. Could it blow up like Facebook? Or fizzle like MySpace?

    

    Andrey Ternovskiy, creator of Chat Roulette, just might be sitting on the hottest Internet property since Facebook was founded five years ago. But he's not American. He's Russian. And that's putting him smack in the middle of some powerful forces. On the one hand, Russia investors backed by the Prime Minister himself are egging him to stay. But the freedom and riches of America might just draw him away.

    That tension is outlined in the first profile of Ternovskiy to appear, published by German daily Der Spiegel. Just check out this amazing scene, in which Yuri Milner--a Russian investor with a net worth is around $680 million and who's Facebook's largest overseas backer--tries to entice Ternovskiy:

    Milner and Ternovskiy talk for an hour and a half. The multimillionaire would like to go into business with the teenager, who hasn't been to school in weeks and is on the verge of being expelled because of his truancy. After all, Ternovskiy is a businessman now. Milner wants to buy 10 percent of Chatroulette. He wants Ternovskiy to name his price but the teenager simply strings the entrepreneur along.

    And the stakes, of course, are international in scope:

    ...The combined value of Google, Microsoft and Facebook amounts to roughly $500 billion, or about a third of the Russian economy's annual output. So if Russia--which has more than 50 million Internet users and boasts one of the fastest-growing markets--hopes to catch up, then it will need to keep talents like Ternovskiy at home. But Ternovskiy doesn't sign with Milner straight away. He wants to think about Milner's offer first. How much is his idea really worth? Some estimates put it at worth somewhere between €10 million and €30 million. And should he join forces with a Russian business partner or with an American company?

    The profile has a few fascinating tidbits--Ternovskiy is busy trying to keep "freaks and fuckers" off the site. And the pictures are priceless--the fresh-faced tyke as he grins in a bedroom filled with empty bookshelves, or out in front of his grim Soviet-era housing complex.

    But more troubling for Milner and Russia, he's planning on at least visiting America to hear out investors. "The Internet is my world. It connects Moscow with the West," he says. And he's always dreamed about owning a Silicon Valley start-up.

    There's been lots of talk that American is on the decline, because we no longer draw the smartest young immigrants. But it's telling that Ternovskiy's dreams seem to be drawing him here.

    While ChatRoulette may seem like a goofy gimmick for one-handed-Web-surfing pervs, there's no reason it can't become something mainstream. French Connection already uses it for marketing. (Why couldn't product designers and marketers sit down for random interviews? And why shouldn't ever fifth "next" be an ad?) Moreover, as our intrepid Dan Macsai suggests, ChatRoulette opens up a whole new world of Internet socializing. Which actually sounds a lot like Facebook, right? You could imagine all sorts of silos, from dating to random conversations, filtered by topics or interests. But Ternovskiy will need the right business partners to make sure it doesn't suffer the fate of MySpace instead.

    [Der Spiegel via ReadWriteWeb]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

31. Entrepreneur Hits The Ground Running. Who needs months of planning to start a business? According to Vindy.com, not Maria Elena Ibanez. The decision to start Intermark Foods even came to her quickly, on a Saturday while she was at the beauty parlor. Ibanez had already built two successful international computer distribution companies, selling the second one just before the [...] (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

32. The Home Office, Kids Edition.

    

    Kids and offices don't mix, right? Tempting though it would be to take a leaf out of Apple's book and employ my young charges--open up a blogging sweatshop, if you like--I think I'd be on the fast track to nowhere--I'd get sacked after the seventeenth pitch of Why Haribo Gummi Bears are So Grate.

    One of the most startling thing about having children around--and if you're working from home, they will be around at some point--is how much of an influence you are on them. I don't have children of my own, but my boyfriend has two--a 10-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, but more on them in a bit. And, in the year or so I've been around them, I've realized just how much they try and emulate what you do. So, they see you putting your make-up on to go out and before you know it, that gorgeous blond cherub who just sat down with a plate of fish fingers has made herself up to look like David Bowie in his Aladdin Sane period. They see you tapping away at a computer, they'll want to do it too. Which is a good thing--a great thing, actually, as there will come a time when they're able to sort out your IT woes and download all the latest Lawnmower Metal bands for you to listen to. The downside, however, is that they want, in the immortal words of Rob Reiner's mother in When Harry Met Sally, what you're having. And if that's a slice of your computer, then that's what they'll get.

    Anyway, back to my sorta stepkids. The eldest, Charlie, is an absolute whizz on the computer, so much so that every time he comes to stay he eyes up my iMac in a way comparable to how I imagine Hugh Hefner would behave on a visit to a sorority house at Gothenburg University. This has had two effects on our relationship. First of all, he has bonded with me in the only way that a 10-year-old geek (two in binary years) might. My shiny little computer is the holy grail of the household and, in the initial period of our relationship, became the center of a tug-of-love. He saw it as something to watch Doctor Who on, before he discovered the joys of e-commerce. "Can I have your credit card number?" was, I believe, the first sentence he directed at me.

    I, however, see my computer somewhat differently. For starters, it's the one thing in my house that enables me to earn a crust, so to say I am territorial about it is something of an understatement. Friends' toddlers have either vandalized or permanently knocked out of action the various decorative objects I've collected on my travels. A much-loved Seventies globe light I picked up in a junk shop in Berlin was smashed to smithereens at Christmas by a one-year-old, and you just have to shrug your shoulders, usher the kids out of the way of the shards of glass and get the Hoover out. But to knock my computer out of action would render me pretty useless.

    So, here are my seven golden survival tips.

    1. Earmark another computer for the kids to use. Given that the shelf life of a computer is, say three to five years (let's not forget those awfully persuasive marketing campaigns exhorting us to upgrade to a newer model), there's probably a good chance that there's an unused laptop kicking around the house. Failing that, ask your friends if you can take an unwanted laptop off their hands. Wipe everything off but the bare minimum, and hand it over to the kids. That's their computer for them to do whatever they want on it--well, within reason. Understand about firewalls. Don't, however, make the mistake of putting an old desktop in their bedrooms. Call me old-fashioned, call me a killjoy, I don't care. Just don't do it, unless, of course, you want your kid to act like he's got ADHD, as that's what sleep deprivation does to them.

    2. Close the door. If your home office has a door on it, then you're laughing. If it's got a doorframe, then you're halfway there. Introduce rules. Door open? Come on in. Door closed. Back off unless it's really important. You may want to consider getting a lock on the door--which works both ways, keeping you in and them out.

    3. Introduce strict times about when they can and can't use your computer. If you green light your computer for your kids' use, then there are a few things you should do. Give them a separate log-in and make it clear that they can't use your settings. That way they can't go in and wreak havoc with your desktop. No food or drink to be consumed around your computer. It may anger the wildlife. (That's you.) Make it clear that you have first dibs on the computer. If you need to use it, then they're off. Make sure your Google settings are on Safe.

    4. Keep them away from your most pristine (but hopefully not your only) laptop. My colleague Kit's MacBook Air suffered a severe malfunction when his son mistook it for a trampoline.

    5. Manage time. Having kids around forces you to be much more diligent about working to a timetable. Most of my work is done in office hours, but there are occasions when I have to work late. And that's hard if you've got kids. Either you down tools until they're in bed (which means you're stuck at your desk until your brain resembles mashed pumpkin) or you ask them if you can have an hour between when they get back from school and supper to work. If they've got homework, then that's the time for them to do it. Tidy away your paperwork before they get home. Important phone calls are done either when they're napping or out of the house.

    6. Back up everything. I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Back it up. With kids, accidents do happen, so, should the unthinkable happen and your work be sucked into a vortex of nothingness, then at least you've got a copy. It wasn't their fault, they were just trying to be like you. And if they go the trampoline route, then a decent home insurance policy can help. If you're a Machead like me, then it's worth paying a little bit extra for Applecare, which gives you three years' cover on your Apple products. I've had free batteries, new keyboards--and, in one case, a new casing around my laptop trackpad. It's saved me thousands.

    7. Give them an even bigger screen. Get a pile of DVDs and sit 'em in front of the telly. And buy yourself a pair of noise-reducing headphones. And if that fails, bribe them with Gummi Bears.

    [Images: deryckh (top image); Kit Eaton (baby)]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

33. Adventures in Virality: Jay-Z Spoof "Entrepreneur State of Mind" Namechecks Notable Blogs, Us .

    

    Where's Weird Al when you need him? The curly locked spoofmeister could have hit Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind" out of the park, but instead, we're being treated to "The New Dork: Entrepreneur State of Mind."

    It's a blatant bid at a viral video from Pantless Knights, the makers of the popular "Mac or PC" rap. A dreadlock bedecked singer in skinny jeans smooshes together a maelstrom of tech and entrepreneurship buzzwords with notable names and spits hot gems like this one: "I'm the new Zuckerberg, and since my Web site I've been cookin' dough like a chef servin' kilobytes." When the chorus rolls around, the tubed-topped, code wonk's version of a video vixen sings and plays the Keys.

    Photos of Steve Wozniak, Kevin Rose, and Reid Hoffman scurry through the background while our square emcee namedrops Valleywag, Geekologie, TechCrunch, Mashable, and Gizmodo. At the 2:05 minute mark he sings "startin' big trends with the tweets that I pass on / you should follow me cause I'm friends with Ashton," as he wags around his copy of Fast Company's Dec/Jan issue.

    Mission accomplished, son.

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

34. Futuristic New York and Sustainable Sao Paulo Projects Win Zumtobel Prize.

    

    How can we examine ways that the built environment impacts both sustainability and humanity? The Austrian-based Zumtobel Group created an award that focuses on those contributions in architecture and engineering that can improve quality of life. The Zumtobel Group Awards were announced today with a dozen bright ideas including the two winners: A creative work environment that's completed in Sao Paulo, and a visionary research proposal for a "self-sufficient" New York City.

    

    In the built category, a Sao Paulo workspace named Harmonia//57 designed by French-Brazilian architects Triptyque was named as the winner. The firm was charged with creating a flexible environment on a unique site deluged with heavy rain and very high temperatures. Taking advantage of the abundance of natural resources, the designers added not only a green roof, but vertical gardens as well.

    

    They also created a rainwater catchment system which could store water for toilets and landscaping on bright green cisterns on the roof. To engage the local community in a highly-creative neighborhood, the architects stopped construction for 10 days to allow a series of programs to be held in the half-realized space, transforming the site into an open studio.

    

    The research winner, New York City Resource & Mobility is an intensely exciting proposal for the future of New York, where hovering pod-like robots (like War of the Worlds, but friendly, we assume) will assist us with everything from transportation to farming. Architects Terrefuge/Terreform ONE created a master plan for New York that assumes the city will need to be completely self-sufficient due to rapid growth and radical climate change.

    

    Streamlined mass transit and an efficient food supply are among the issues tackled by the master plan, which even closes the loop between a growing population and the increased trash it generates: The proposal hopes to reuse the solid waste in landfllls to build seven more Manhattan islands.

    [Zumtobel Group Award]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

35. Great Trees and Shrubs we will Barter With on Craigslist. Great Trees and shrubs up for Barter
    Our tree farm has produced more trees than we can sell in this depression. If you need trees lets talk... I will try to make it happen... Here are s... (03/08/10 09:01 AM)

36. Why You Need a Good Logo Designer.

    ... Read more

    (03/08/10 09:00 AM)

37. Apple Debuts First iPad Ad During Oscars, Demonstrates a Dozen Ways to Hold the Thing.

    

    Apple debuted its very first iPad ad during the Oscars tonight, showing off the tablet's various functions (with an emphasis on reading) in signature style. Oh, and if you were wondering how to hold a giant slab of screen with no kickstand, the ad makes sure to demonstrate about a dozen options.

    It's a pretty typical modern Apple ad: soundtracked to inoffensive, perky indie rock, it shows the gadget's functions front and center, in this case committing to essentially a dead sprint through the iPad's uses. Newspapers, movies, calendar, maps, photos, email, iWork, and, of course, books are all given just enough time to register before the ad flashes on to the next one.

    The ad, then, is a continuation of the iPhone campaign, rather than the MacBook ads, which typically feature a narrator explaining whatever change Apple's made to the line to warrant a new product. It makes sense, since the iPad shares the OS, software, interface, and (some) accessories of the iPhone, and has almost nothing in common with Apple's computer line--but it just reinforces the idea that this product is little more than an oversized iPhone. Apple doesn't even need to explain what it is--you can watch 30 seconds of a demo and realize that if you can use an iPhone, you can use this. That, of course, is to both its strength and detriment, but time will tell if people embrace the jumbo-sized mobile or not. The iPad will be released on April 3rd.

    [YouTube via MacRumors]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 AM)

38. No iPad Tethering, but Games for Days: Steve Jobs .

    

    It's just 25 days 'til iPad arrives on sale in some global locations, and the fever's mounting. To spur it on, Apple pushed its first ad during the Oscars, which Steve Jobs was at. He's also been emailing fans to confirm some details too.

    The Oscars

    The Oscars, like 'em or loathe 'em, count as one of the most viewed TV events around the World...making them an absolutely perfect platform for Apple to tease its upcoming tablet PC. The glamor, the glitz, the very media-centric nature of the show all tie in sweetly with the iPad phenomenon. And it all acts to accelerate the typical pre-launch hype Apple uses to get everyone excited in the several months between it launches a new product and it arriving on sale.

    iPad-to-iPhone Tethering

    When he launched the iPad back in January, Steve did a neat job of showing the World how cool the device is (without having to resort to his trademark "Boom!" either) but he also kept a lot of information back, leaving plenty of room for rumors. And for Apple to maybe add in some surprising "extra" features before it actually launches--just as it did for the iPhone.

    One of the key features that Jobs (and Apple, on the iPad Web page) omitted was details on iPad 3G tethering to supply mobile Net to a PC. We know the iPhone can do it (mine's happily connected up right now to write this piece in fact--but then I am not in the U.S. with your ever-so-friendly AT&T) and the assumption as soon as we learned the iPad ran iPhone OS was that it would be able to too. Sure enough, code fragments inside the SDK have revealed it to be true--and frankly, it's not surprising.

    But what we didn't know is if the iPad Wi-fi version could tether to a 3G iPhone. This concept also makes sense on a practical level, as who'd want to pay for two 3G connections if you're carrying both devices frequently. Well, we now know that lots of people will have to do this--Steve just did one of his famous short emails to a answer a question that a member of the public in Sweden put to him on this very matter. And all Steve said in response was "No," the iPad won't tether to an iPhone.

    It's a shame, but it's probably a feature of business negotiations with 3G carriers who are concerned about potential lost revenue and network over-loading. Will this news play into user's decisions on which iPad version to buy? It's definitely influenced mine.

    Battery Life

    Another little gem Steve revealed by email (from his iPad--neat!) answered a question concerning the claimed 10 hour life of the iPad. The figure seems phenomenal--and it's been used as part of the long running Flash fiasco--and it's a key statistic in the iPad's battle to steal some of the Amazon Kindle's market, with its huge battery life.

    So, when a skeptic quizzed Steve about the matter, he felt the need to step in: "... yes we are getting 10 hours in 1.5 pounds" of iPad weight. Of course, no one apart from Apple employees have really put the figure to the test yet, since nobody has gotten their hands on one for long enough. Only then will we see if the figures ring true. And for Apple's sake they better had, since all this hype will result in one or two (almost inevitable) class action law suits.

    Games

    As soon as the iPad's screen size was confirmed, it was clear that it'd be even more perfect as a gaming platform than the iPhone or iPod Touch--all that extra real-estate and resolution is just asking to be exploited. And now Secret Exit has revealed screenshots of its iPad version of the runaway iPhone success story Zen Bound, and they look utterly gorgeous. They're also the first big screenshots of an iPad-only game.

    

    Zen Bound 2 does lend itself perfectly to the touchscreen and accelerometers in the device, of course. And though it's beautiful, it's hardly graphically intense. So we've yet to see how the iPad's A4 processor copes with serious 3-D graphics. It won't be long though.

    To learn more about iPad as its launch date approaches, follow me, >Kit Eaton, on Twitter.

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 AM)

39. WANTED: Case-Mate Hug.

    

    The Case-Mate Hug is a wireless inductive charger, a lot like the Powermat or Palm's Touchstone. Inductive chargers let you plop your gadget down onto a special surface for charging, rather than fiddling around with wires--and the Hug is one of the best out there.

    Inductive chargers aren't magic, however. They work via a magnetic field, but gadgets (aside from the Palm Pre Plus) don't have the required magnetic parts, so you need to use a case. It's a little lame, but if you were planning on using a case anyway, Case-Mate's solution essentially adds wireless charging (which is undeniably cool) for just a bit more money.

    

    The Hug is compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS only, for now--other models, including BlackBerry, will be coming out in a few months. The Hug's got a lot of great features, like smart charging, which switches the power off once your iPhone is fully charged to conserve battery life. It's also significantly better-looking than the Powermat, and is actually cheaper once the Powermat's required case is factored in (about $30 cheaper at Amazon). I played with the Hug at CES this year and was very impressed with the build quality of both the case and the dock; they've got a nice solid heft and feel to them, and the case feels like it actually would provide some protection.

    The Case-Mate Hug is available starting today online and at most retailers. The kit sells for $100, and includes the dock, case, and a screen protection kit.

    [Case-Mate]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 AM)

40. Best Buy to Partner With Panasonic, Push 3-D Televisions With Heavy Price Cuts.

    

    As reported by Japan's Nikkei newspaper, Panasonic is going to partner with retailer Best Buy in the US for a major push of 3-D technology. Best Buy brings the retail space, Panasonic brings the hardware, and presumably, customers will come, too--because Panasonic's cutting prices by almost 50% to entice them.

    Beginning this coming Wednesday, Best Buy will construct special exhibition areas for Panasonic's new line of 3-D HDTVs (both LCD and plasma, more on that below) in a few hundred of its biggest stores. The Nikkei reports that that number will expand to 1,000 stores by the end of the year--a lot, but Panasonic has big plans for these TVs.

    Panasonic's been hurting in the U.S.--it might be the fourth-biggest HDTV-maker in the world (behind Samsung, LG, and Sony) but in the U.S. it's also beaten by lower-priced brands like Vizio. In fact, Panasonic as a whole has been in the red for two straight years, and they're hoping a huge push on 3-D TVs will provide it. Even more, their plasma business has been severely underselling (as in all plasma vs. LCD sales numbers recently), and the company is hoping that plasma's inherent superiority for 3-D (thanks to faster refresh rates) will reignite enthusiasm for the tech.

    But what about those price cuts? Panasonic expects its entire line to cost at least 30% less than it does in Japan, and sometimes as much as 50%--they're expecting/hoping U.S. sales to make up a full half of their revenue in the coming year, so they want to encourage the tech as well as some brand loyalty as much as possible. The given example: a 50-inch set in Japan costs 430,000 yen, or about $4,800. Here in the States? $2,500. That's a huge slash, even considering electronics prices are often lower in North America than Japan, and might just lead to the kind of sales Panasonic needs.

    On the other hand, Avatar lost Best Picture--it's still possible that 2010, like 2009 and 2008, will not be the year of 3-D.

    [Via Wall Street Journal]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 AM)

41. Oscar or Not, "Coraline" Is a $65-Million Gamble That Paid Off for Phil and Travis Knight.

    

    On the morning that Oscar nominees were announced last month, Nike founder Phil Knight called his son, Travis, at 6 a.m. They both had just gotten word: Coraline, the debut film by their studio Laika, was up for best-animated film. "Phil is a man of few words, but it was a nice conversation," Travis told me recently. "A great father-son bonding moment."

    On Sunday, they're hoping for another such moment at the Academy Awards. Whether or not they walk away with a gold statuette, it's been a remarkable and improbable journey for the new filmmakers. Even Nike didn't reach the Olympic medal stand with its first shwoosh-emblazoned shoe.

    As we chronicled in our story "The Knights' Tale," when Coraline was just starting production in 2007, Laika is a family affair. After rescuing the struggling animator Vinton Studios from financial ruin, Phil took control of the company and set his sights on building a movie studio, a Pixar rival. Despite no previous interest in management, Travis, then a talented, 29-year-old animator, came to embrace the leadership opportunity created by his father. Travis, who has since become Laika's CEO, was instrumental in bringing in Henry Selik, of The Nightmare Before Christmas fame, to direct Coraline, based on the best-selling young novel by Neil Gaiman.

    They were determined to make a distinctive, darker-than-Disney movie that married old-fashioned filmmaking, stop-motion animation, and the latest technology, 3-D. The two had never been combined before. "People didn't gravitate toward us when we were trying to find partners," said Travis. "The film was weird, stop-motion was this odd thing, and we were an unknown quantity, a bunch of clod-hopping rubes up in Oregon. It's difficult to convince people that something new and innovative can bear fruit."

    Coraline was a $65-million gamble for the Knights and Laika. "We knew it was very, very possible the film would tank completely," Travis said. Focus Features, however, was able to build early word-of-mouth by targeting niche audiences. The film went on to make $123 million worldwide at the box office ($75 million of that in the U.S.).

    That revenue, and the Oscar nomination--not to mention 10 nominations for the industry's top animation awards, more than any other film, including Pixar's Up--have given Laika instant credibility and much-needed breathing room. "It definitely makes it easier to have conversations with [Hollywood] people," said Travis.

    For now, Laika's second next project, scheduled to start production this spring, remains under wraps. What we do know is that it'll be introduced, "From the studio that brought you the Oscar-nominated -- or Oscar-winning -- Coraline ... "

    Either way, that's an awfully nice head start.

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 AM)

42. . ( )

43. Small Trade Businesses Need Local Advertising. So many small trade businesses today need local advertising; but the traditional methods of an ad in the Yellow pages, and a weekly ad in the classified section of their local paper, isn't bringing th... (03/07/10 09:01 AM)

44. Fixing a Bad Credit. Bad credit score? Find out how to repair bad credit. Owning a Visa card really shown to be a convenience in that it permits us to buy the stuff we need even without money in our pockets. Yes, we ... (03/07/10 09:01 AM)

45. Why This Is The Year To Shine For The China Economy. Why Investors Need to Understand China?^TMs ?oeCrucial Year” About: Premier Wen Jiabao, Premier Wen, global financial crisis, China's economy, China investing, China economy, China Stock Digest... (03/06/10 09:01 AM)

46. The Secret To Getting More Leads. Petroleum, kerosene, liquid hydrogen, Cryogenic propellant? Do you need to be a rocket scientist to succeed in an internet or home business? Nope, but it is necessary that you have a reliabl... (03/06/10 09:01 AM)

47. Online Marketing For Accountants: How to Market Your Services on the Internet. Accountants are indispensable in the modern world. They keep track of important numbers and figures needed to run a business, otherwise even the CEO wouldn't know where to start looking if the investo... (03/06/10 09:01 AM)

48. Measuring Online Ads Properly. Online advertising agencies need to focus less on impressions and more on serving the needs of their clients’ audience, according to John Burbank, CEO, Nielsen Online Division. To obtain the business... (03/05/10 09:01 PM)

49. This Week’s Weird Jobs.

    This week's weird jobs include shuttling around drunk people, pretending you're a cop, and rockin' out to tunes in an Easter Bunny outfit: 1. Washington, DC: Seeking Fat Male Need a very large/obese man for photograph. If you have a... Read more

    (03/05/10 09:00 PM)

50. Niche: Rainbow Roses. Are you a florist? Do you need a product to differentiate you from all of the other flower shops in your community? Have you heard about rainbow roses? Rainbow roses, the brainchild of Dutch flower shop owner Peter Van de Werken, are colorful roses that are made by injecting die into the stem of [...] (03/05/10 09:00 PM)

51. Advantage of Distributing Promotional Pen And Pencil Sets. The ideal marketing tool is something that can fully represent a business, does not need a hefty amount of money for its production, and that it is totally effective. There are some items that suit th... (03/05/10 09:01 AM)

52. Three Major Outsourcing Challenges. The explosive growth in the outsourcing industry in recent years has brought about newer outsourcing challenges needing more skillful solutions. Thanks... (03/05/10 09:01 AM)

53. . ( )

54. Romantic Gifts For Him- All That Your Man Needs. Love is a magical feeling and no matter how strong you are but you cannot express it easily. There are many who try to express this emotion to their loved ones by presenting gifts. The a href="ht... (03/04/10 09:01 AM)

55. Want To Know Some Plastic Pallets Buying Tips?. Plastic pallets are generally used for storing a particular object. In our day to day need, we require this kind of plastic pallets. In the market you will get various kinds of pallets, but all of the... (03/04/10 09:01 AM)

56. Stuffed Toys That Kids Can Wear. It’s simply a fact of life that when parents travel with children their favorite toys must come along for the ride. Even if that means mom and dad are stuck carrying it all. Before having her son, Lise Lafontaine chalked up the need for parents to tote toys around as simply a responsibility. After [...] (03/04/10 09:01 AM)

57. Ideal place for SEO Services. If you own a website or e-business a quality service article content writer is what you are looking for. Whether you need SEO articles for marketing purposes, or web content that has information about... (03/03/10 09:00 AM)

58. Interesting Information For Novice Boat Builders. Novice boat makers often look confused at the wide variety of boat designs provided by the designers of boat. They are perplexed over what style of boat is suitable for their needs and use. More often... (03/03/10 09:00 AM)

59. Why Do You Need a Brochure?. A brochure is used as an introductory mailer. It is useful in order to present and introduce the company. It plays a pivotal role in creating and representing a corporate identity and image of an orga... (03/03/10 09:00 AM)

60. Corporate Events- For the Benefit of your Company. In this competitive world, employees need something more than just a holiday. Corporate Events like holiday parties, picnic... (03/03/10 09:00 AM)

61. Website Traffic- 7 Ways to Drive Laser-Targeted Traffic. Website traffic is the the elusive and sought after often unattainable but always desired fruit. An affiliate marketer may have all the things needed for him to be able to succeed in a business such a... (03/03/10 09:00 AM)

62. Profiling Green Moms: What Marketers Need to Know. We are in a perfect storm brought on by the economic downturn, emerging consumer interest in sustainability, and the power of social media. And whether for reasons of cost savings or family health, women who are moms, write blogs, and self-identify as "green" have exactly the motivation and conviction marketers ... (03/02/10 09:00 AM)

63. The Biggest Mistake Entrepreneurs Make that Impact Their Sales. Awhile ago, I was attending an event and I met someone who offered a service I needed. We exchanged cards and promised to be in touch when we returned home. When I got home I turned over all those bu... (03/02/10 09:00 AM)

64. Tips For Online Marketing Strategies. Money is the most essential need of human being. The whole system of life is set up based upon money. Thus it has become the most essential thing required in life. There are many ways to earn money. S... (03/02/10 09:00 AM)

65. . ( )

66. Business Advice From Van Halen. What if you could identify the early-warning signs of a business problem? What if, in fact, the red flags are there right now, waving at you unheeded from information you’ve already collected asks Fast Company. Your source of data doesn’t need to be high tech. In fact, it doesn’t even need to be numerical. Consider Van [...] (02/26/10 09:00 PM)

67. This Week’s Links.

    Private industry in the US funds the biggest innovation machine in the world. (via rtable.net) The new rules of short selling, explained. The Wall Street Journal has a list of 10 Wall Street blogs you need to read. This isn't something... Read more

    (02/26/10 09:00 PM)

68. This Week’s Weird Jobs.

    This week's jobs have one foot in each gender. Grampa needs a cute girl to get him drunk. Someone else wants a man's man to sell grills. Still another group wants a big, handsome fella to wrangle out-of-control drunk girls. Pick your... Read more

    (02/26/10 09:00 AM)

69. 8 Tax Credits You Need to Know About.

    This is a guest post by Manny Davis of Back Taxes Help. In 2009, many tax credits were augmented and created. Tax credits can help you lower your total tax bill and increase your chances for a tax refund. Below are some of this year's most... Read more

    (02/24/10 09:00 PM)

70. Invention Saving Food for Those in Need. ABC News 4 reports finding a way to save food that’s still good for those in need. “It’s a chamber that we designed to do a non-destructive test on a can that was potentially suspected of having a leak or a seem violation,” said Rich Dabruzzi, a five year volunteer with the Lowcountry Food Bank and [...] (02/24/10 09:00 PM)

71. Can Your Business Be Successful Without a Website?. A reader wrote: Dear Dane, Does my small business need a website, or can I just a Facebook Fan Page to promote my services? If recent big television commercials are any indication, some very large companies think that they can do business online without a website. During Super Bowl 44, for example, many of the ads didn’t [...] (02/24/10 09:00 PM)

72. Mom Makes Sense Of Your Unorganized Mess. Look around your home office. What do you see? If you’re anything like Pamela Meyer than what you see is probably in need of a little organization, reports 9News.com. Then Meyer stumbled upon Angela Cody-Rouget, a professional organizer who runs a business called Major Mom. Cody-Rouget started the company in 2006, after serving 14 [...] (02/23/10 09:00 PM)

73. . ( )

74. Let Your Profits Roll in With Persuasive Copywriting. There is so much to gain from persuasive copywriting. To be exact, this is what online business owners need to secure consistent income flows. You are at a good position to start earning a lot if you ... (02/20/10 09:00 AM)

75. 9 Poorly Conceived Marketing Campaigns.

    The world of marketing is a tricky thing. Most companies need to get the word out about their new product or service, but finding the best way to do it is often easier said than done when you want to be memorable, informative and entertaining all... Read more

    (02/18/10 09:01 AM)

76. Gizelle Fashion Content vs. Textbroker.com. Every Internet marketer knows they need fresh and unique content to get targeted traffic. This content can be used on article directories, forums, blogs, etc. Today, we will review two of the top lead... (02/09/10 09:01 AM)

77. We Need More Female IT Leaders. ... (02/04/10 09:00 AM)

78. Revamp to Revenue: Five Ways to Turn on the Profits With Your Website. In the current economic climate, more business owners need to evaluate their website and revamp it to turn it into a presales tool, lead-generation machine, or even a revenue-producing cash cow. Can it be done? It just takes a few tweaks to turn on the profits. (02/02/10 09:00 PM)

79. Help for Haiti: Workshop for a Cause.

    

    Image by Getty Images via Daylife

    If you follow Joseph Jaffe (and if you don't you will after this post), you may have noticed that he and Mitch Joel have both posted a challenge called "Keynote for a Cause" to donate 100% of the proceeds from a keynote speech to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.  This weekend, David Thomas of SAS jumped on board offering his social media expertise in the form of a workshop from which he will donate all of the proceeds to the Red Cross.

    This got me thinking and inspired me to act as well.  My wife and I already donate the largest portion of our charitable funds each year to Project Haiti through St. Edward and Isidore Parish here in Green Bay, WI - a group that sponsors medical and other missions to Haiti several times each year.

    Like David, I don't command tens of thousands of dollars for a keynote speech, and I'm not really a keynoter anyway. What I do well is teach organizations how to use social and new media for marketing. When we find ourselves in a situation like this, it's a call for all of us to use whatever talents we have to make a difference in the situation at hand. So, with that, I'm throwing my hat in the ring to offer up two Workshops for Haiti.

    So, how will this work?

    It's simple. You need some social media expertise and your humanitarian side wants to help those in need of our help in Haiti, so you raise the bid on the social media workshop and feed your need for knowledge and make an impact in your world all at once! The funds will be split between Project Haiti and The Red Cross.

    The particulars:

    My half-day social media workshops normally start at $4500 but for this I'm setting the reserve price at $1500 and we'll work up from there.

    If you want to put in a bid, DM me on Twitter (@danavan), e-mail me: dana [at] marketingsavant [dot] com or drop me a voicemail at 888.989.7771 with your highest bid. If someone bids you up, I'll drop you a line to see if you want to raise yours!

    Bidding ends on Thursday, January 28th at Noon.

    Funds will be split 50/50 between Project Haiti and The Red Cross.

    Workshops in Wisconsin - I'll cover travel/lodging. Anywhere out of the area is your responsibility (I travel cheap)

    Bid me up!

    In the mean time, make a difference for those that need it and text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 or help us with Project Haiti - Donations can be sent to:
    St. Edward and Isidore/Project Haiti
    3667 Flintville Road
    Green Bay, WI 54313-8330

    
    
    
    (01/21/10 09:00 PM)

80. I Need a Caption for This Image.

    I Need a Caption for This Image
    
    This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

    I Need a Caption for This ImageThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I used this image in a recent presentation on social media to help set the table for one of my primary themes – social media is not a single tool or tactic, it’s more of a strategy or behavior. Suggest a caption in the [...] (01/20/10 09:00 PM)

81. How to Be Successful With New Web Initiatives. One of the traps that many organizations fall into when launching a new Web initiative is putting the focus of the project on new technology or new functionality. Instead, you need to start your project with the end result in mind. This article outlines project phases that you need to ... (01/19/10 09:00 PM)

82. 10 Tips for Using LinkedIn to Generate Leads. You need to rethink the way you use LinkedIn. Without some of us even noticing, it has developed into a useful lead-generation tool for marketers and salespeople who are looking to build relationships with prospects. (12/29/09 09:00 PM)

83. What Small Business Needs to Do to Get Ready for Mobile Marketing Now.

    What Small Business Needs to Do to Get Ready for Mobile Marketing Now
    
    This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

    What Small Business Needs to Do to Get Ready for Mobile Marketing NowThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing We’ve been talking about the coming of mobile marketing for a long time now. I remember talking about it when I was doing work for one of first PCS carriers, Aerial Communications (now owned by T-Mobile), back in [...] (12/28/09 09:00 AM)

84. Marketers' Choice: Run With the Big Dogs, or Stay on the Porch. Marketers need to establish and institutionalize the processes for drawing and communicating Marketing's impact, consistently and repeatedly. That means running with the "big dogs" in Finance, Sales, and the chief executive's seat... and speaking their language, and framing decisions in their terminology. (12/08/09 09:05 PM)

85. Selling B2B Social Media Internally: Ten Arguments to Win Over the Boardroom, Part 2. It's year's end, and you need to rally internal support for integrating social media into your marketing mix? or have it play a much larger role. Here's how to win over the Executive Committee members, who are sure to have questions, critiques, and objections aplenty. (12/08/09 09:05 PM)

86. Don't Make These Value-Proposition Mistakes. You think your value proposition is as strong as it needs to be because you are making sales, right? But you may be selling in spite of, not because of, your value proposition. (12/01/09 09:00 PM)

87. The Perfect Small Business Collaboration Tool.

    The Perfect Small Business Collaboration Tool
    
    This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

    The Perfect Small Business Collaboration ToolThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I need to warn you this post is a bit more commercial than my standard content, but I use the tool I’m going to tell you about today so much that I think you will benefit from just learning about it. I’ve been working for about [...] (12/01/09 09:00 AM)

88. . ( )

89. Seth, fill THIS out!. Seth was swinging his guru-hammer awfully close to me today: Seth’s Blog: Promiscuous dispersal of your email address: “I just went through the hassle of trying to get some B2B firms the details needed to give me an informed quote on a project. I visited eight sites. Six of them hide their email address. They use forms [...] (11/23/09 09:01 PM)

90. Five nails in the Trade Pub coffin. Here is another voice putting to words the paradigm shifts we have been witnessing in the last few years. But the important point is noting that things HAVE changed, and that we need to act accordingly. Tom Pick at WebMarketCentral Blog asks rhetorically Will Content Marketing Kill Trade Publications?: “The challenges faced by trade publications go far [...] (11/23/09 09:01 PM)

91. Professional Editing Needs a Professional Eye. Professional Editing - What and Why?
    
    If you own a company or website, editing is an essential component to your success. What you write and how clearly you express yourself ... (11/21/09 09:01 AM)

92. Offer Alternatives to Identify Your Best Prospects. The art of aligning your strategic objectives with the needs within your clickstream is critical to targeting your message and converting those people who are the best fits for your offering. (11/19/09 09:01 AM)

93. How Many Segments Do I Need?. Sheena Iyengar is a full professor in the Management Division of the Columbia Business School. I learned of her work in Malcolm Gladwell?s Blink. Iyengar is one of the leading experts on choice, and how choice impacts our decision-making. She is also my new hero. (11/19/09 09:01 AM)

94. Moving From Data to Action. Your site visitors are not one big herd of cattle moving from Point A to Point B. So to optimize response, you need to segment your visitors and your analysis. (11/18/09 09:00 PM)

95. A multi-modal approach to lead nurturing . To be successful at lead nurturing marketers can't rely on one specific channel but rather they need to leverage a multi-modal portfolio of channels especially when you have a complex sale. Why? The goal of lead nurturing is to maintain... (11/03/09 09:00 PM)

96. Copywriter: Hiring the Web Copywriting Services You Need. Do you want to hire a copywriter? To get the best results, you need to communicate exactly what you need, and the results you want from the copy that's written for you. Here are three tips which w... (11/03/09 09:01 AM)

97. How to Create Winning Headlines. Let's talk about everything you need to know about writing headlines and sub-headlines that can entice people to keep reading your offer. When you follow these steps correctly this method of sales cop... (10/14/09 09:01 AM)

98. Common Writing Mistakes Realtors? Make. "...genuine fur floors..." "Needs some updates to it's electricity" "Their is fruit trees in the backyard." If you recognize any of these errors, chances are you've been peru... (10/03/09 09:00 AM)

99. Why You Need To Learn Internet Copywriting. Internet copywriting can be intimidating, especially for business owners who do not consider themselves to be "writers". However, learning copywriting and applying it to your business website can and... (09/29/09 09:01 AM)

100. 7 prospecting rules that produce leads. Need to improve your teleprospecting efforts? Check out my guest post for ZoomInfo, a blog that offers advice on all aspects of sales and marketing. The site features industry news, analysis, and surveys. And, from time to time they let... (09/10/09 09:00 PM)