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Beginner's Guide to Business Blogging
ChangeThis has just published Debbie Weilâ??s new Beginner’s Guide to Business Blogging. If you havenâ??t yet checked out ChangeThis, go there and explore right away. There are manifestos from the likes of Guy Kawasaki, Joel Spolsky, Seth Godin, Tom Peters, Brad Feld, Mark Cuban, Al Gore, and Robert Scoble just to name a few.
Debbieâ??s guide is a good overview of blogging and the potential for blogs in business. For experienced bloggers, much of this you already know. For those new to blogging (especially business blogging) or for those trying to justify their use in corporate settings, this is a canâ??t miss reference.
Iâ??d advise visiting ChangeThis or Debbie’s site and downloading the guide as it’s free until January 25, 2005. After that itâ??s $29 from her website.
How blogs work
The next time someone asks you what a blogs are, point them to this post on How Blogs Work in 7 Easy Pieces from Roland Tanglao at StreamLine. Roland provides a straightforward description of all the necessary blog components (with diagrams!).
Spell checking via Firefox extension
The more I post to my blog, the more I miss a spell checker. To this point, I’ve found myself writing posts in Microsoft Word for the spell checking capability and then cutting and pasting to my blog. This isn’t exactly efficient. I’ve found I get in the habit of just typing along to keep the flow of my thoughts moving and leaving the typos for software to take care of. It’s not that I can’t spell, but why take the time in the middle of your thoughts to pause and correct typing error? Software should make your life easier, right? When searching for an ideal platform to run my blogs, this was my biggest gripe – no readily available spell checking.
So, it finally struck me to search looking around for alternatives. After some serious searching, I found a plug-in for Firefox called SpellBound. Apparently, IE has had something similar for a while (not that I knew about it either) in a plug-in called ieSpell. With my almost 100% reliance on Firefox over IE now, I was pleased to see an extension already there fulfilling a need.
The SpellBound extension for Firefox will check any form on a web page by simply right clicking and selecting the “Check Spelling” menu item. You do have to check each form individually, but this is a minor complaint for the functionality provided. SpellBound spell checks very well, but please remember this is not the same as spell checking in Word. There are minor bugs and words that are missed. The ability to add words to a dictionary does exist though and this assists tremendously in improving the spell checking accuracy.
Marketing satellite radio
This morning on CNBC I heard that DirecTV is considering entering the satellite radio business. Who knows what level of accuracy this report has, but I made me think about the current media coverage of the satellite radio industry. Most of the hype surrounds the recent signings of big-name talents and content providers to the two main players: XM Radio and Sirius. Iâ??m talking about Howard Stern (Sirius), Major League Baseball (XM Radio), the National Football League (Sirius), Opie & Anthony (XM Radio), NCAA March Madness (Sirius), Dr. Laura Schlessinger (XM Radio), G. Gordon Liddy (XM Radio), NASCAR (XM Radio), and the list goes on. As a subscriber to XM radio, the feature that actually sold me on the service was the music programming itself(shocking, isn’t it?). Granted, all the other features and programming allowed me to justify the monthly subscription fee, but what struck me was the tremendous music selection on XM. Now, this is not to say that Sirius doesnâ??t have great music, but the key is the human factor of actually creating the play lists and having excellent DJ’s run the show. When I initially listened to XM, there were a handful of stations that made me say, “hmm, if I were to personally put together a radio station and play the songs that I wanted to hear, this would be it.” Now isnâ??t that the point of radio? Maybe itâ??s the original and most pure point of radio from a listener’s point of view? Why do we listen to any particular station? A radio station is selected that best suits one’s listening interests and preferences. So it was with XM Radio for me. Everything else was fine – the technology cool and the programming extensive – but the selling feature was great music 24/7 that freed me from trying to find it myself. Iâ??ve found I spend less time messing with my MP3 player and more time just enjoying music.
With that point made, it strikes me that none of the coverage on these satellite radio services actually speaks to the music. This point specifically strikes me as significant when there is talk of DirecTV getting into the market. I’ve had DirecTV for years (specifically for the NFL Sunday Ticket to watch my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers) and the service has always provided 30+ digital music channels. In the most generous terms, these channels were bad. I hope there wasnâ??t any active human intervention in the programming. So, if DirecTV plans on entering this business, I surely hope they have plans to upgrade their current music offerings. For this nascent industry’s sake, I hope a little more emphasis is placed on the music.
Innovative online storgage business model
I just stumbled on a new service from a company called Streamload. It essentially provides online storage for files, but with a unique twist on the business model. Instead of charging for the amount of total storage, Streamload users pay for the amount they download. Primarily aimed at heavy music users, this service could also be a cheap alternative to backup limited amounts of crtitical files. Zero cost to store data on their servers and in the case you actually need them to be backed up, you pay for the download. Not a bad idea.
Alternative to Adobe Acrobat for printing to PDF
If youâ??re looking for an alternative to Adobe Acrobat for creating PDF documents, Pdf995 by Software995 is an outstanding choice. Iâ??ve been using it to create PDF documents as a print driver and it works seamlessly. The only drawback to the free version is that a sponsored ad will pop-up in an Internet Explorer window (even if you use Firefox) each time you print to PDF. But as a very clean print driver for creating PDF documents from Windows, I havenâ??t found it obtrusive. This is especially true when you consider the price!
RSS news readers
Iâ??m currently on a quest to find an RSS news feed reader. Iâ??ve simply been using Firefox to this point to manage my feeds, but Iâ??ve found Iâ??ve outgrown the basic functionality provided by the browser and its extensions. Iâ??ve just installed trial versions of FeedDemon and NewsGator Outlook version. Iâ??m debating whether to use a separate app or keep everything within Microsoft Outlook. As a heavy Outlook user, the integration makes sense. The problem is there are less of the really useful features included compared to the stand-alone applications. Specifically, I like the built-in browser functionality in FeedDemon as well as its watchlists and “news clipping” features.
FeedDemon is created by Nick Bradbury, the creator of TopStyle and Homesite. The usability of Homesite was outstanding, so I have high expectations for this product. After I pound on both these software products, Iâ??ll post a more detailed commentary.
I’ve also tried FeedReader, but it was woefully lacking features. If all you need is a basic feed reader (thatâ??s free), I guess this is a viable option. Iâ??d stick with using a browser over FeedReader though.
If anyone has suggestions on other great RSS feed readers, please let me know.
Making money from desktop search
Following up on my earlier post regarding the new Yahoo Desktop Search, Nathan Weinberg points to a BusinessWeek article questioning whether desktop search will provide profit for Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft.
Interesting Google facts
Reading Frank Barnako’s latest Internet Daily column, I saw an interesting mention of a recent interview with Google’s Product Manager, Marissa Mayer. This is a highly recommended read as it provides some fascinating insights into the founders and culture of Google. The interview specifically underscores the importance of focusing on and managing to the user experience.
SearchEngineWatch also has some additional stories on Google from Mayer.
Apple launches low-end MP3 player and PC
Walt Mossberg’s personal technology column has an article about Apple’s two new products. The first is a stripped down Macintosh starting at $500. The second (and much more interesting to me) is a $99 iPod. Named the iPod Shuffle, this is an iPod with less functionality. Instead of a hard drive, the Shuffle uses flash memory. In addition, the iPod Shuffle limits users to around 120 songs versus the iPod’s thousands.
Mossberg gives it a so-so review, praising some features while questioning missing features that made the iPod a smashing success (no screen, no scroll wheel). From what I’ve seen so far, there are numerous competitors with quality products at this price point. In contrast, the Apple iPod, for the functionality delivered, has much less competition. I’m sure this will be another success though. Simply because of the aura and buzz currently surrounding anything iPod, the Shuffle will sell very well.
I’ve never been the biggest fan of Apple or its products, but I give credit where it is due. You have a hot product that has spawned its own mini-industry providing everything from music sites to accessories. With the nature of the consumer electronics market, Apple is doing the smart move to strike while the iPod is hot and milk its success for all its worth.
Additional Resources:
Apple Launches Low-End PC And $99 Digital Music Player
Macworld ’05: A New Direction?