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e_Marketing Blog Squidoo New Look Squidoo seems to have a new edit and publish interface. I've always found it a bit clunky in the past, but now it seems quite a bit easier to add modules. The process makes more sense to me. I just created a lense about Car Repair for a client. Free Blog or Your Own Domain? Once you've decided to create your own blog, the first question you have to address is whether you want your blog to be hosted on your own web hosting account or be part of an already established site like wordpress.com, blogger.com, or one of the many other free blogging sites. If you use one of the free "hosted" blogging sites (Wordpress.com, Blogger.com, LiveJournal.com, Blog.com, and many more) you can create a brand new blog in about 15 minutes. When you choose this option you become part of a larger site such as wordpress.com and your address will be something like http://yourtownrealestate.wordpress.com or http://yourtownmoneymanager.blogspot.com The advantage of this approach is that it is fast and cheap. Plus you will get some traction and search engine exposure for your blog because it will be part of a much larger network that gets crawled by the search engines on a regular basis. But in my estimation, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. 2009 Will Be Pivotal for Microsoft 2008 has not been the greatest year for Microsoft, but they have still done surprisingly well in spite of the economic slowdown around the world. In an article from PCWorld called Microsoft's Top Three 2008 Mistakes, Shane O'Neill of CIO.com discusses some of the things that went well for MS, and some that clearly did not. In spite of aggressive marketing by Apple, Mac sales fell 1 percent over the year and Windows PC sales were up 7 percent. Microsoft's grip on the PC market remained firm - with 90% of users running Windows, and 70% of internet browsers using Internet Explorer. One has to think that the bad press MS keeps getting will have to impact these market shares eventually. Although it sure seems like both Apple and Firefox do not understand that their elitist attitude ("we're so much better and smarter than the other 90% of you") is an implicit criticism of the very customer they are trying to reach. 2009 will be a pivotal year for MS as they continue to try to beat off Apple, Google and Mozilla (Firefox). According to the PC Word article Microsoft's biggest mistakes for 2008 were: 1. Poor marketing of Windows Vista - They've been letting Apple get away with bashing Vista for years now. It's just not as bas as the critics say it is, and MS's own lack of promotion reinforces the idea that the critics are right. 2. Letting Apple Build Anti-Vista Momentum - Even though the sales figures may not yet show it in a convincing way, Apple has taken the marketing game away from MS with their constant Vista-bashing. MS has not shown that it can adequately respond. Expensive ads featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld missed the mark. Just recently I saw an ad touting the unique features of Vista in a straight-ahead way. It's about time. 3. The Failed Yahoo Bid - Early in 08 the bid for Yahoo looked like it might be a case of two search losers getting together. The failure of the bid did nothing for MS's image as a "winner" or a company forging into the future. As it turned out it was probably good for MS that Yahoo rejected their offer. Now Yahoo is worth a fraction of what MS offered, Jerry Yang, the big Yahoo opponent of the bid is gone, and new Yahoo investors are now courting MS. MS is still interested in Yahoo's search business, and may very well end up with it in 2009. |
Cottage-Sales.com - Looking for a cottage or summer home in Canada? You've come to the right place. We have valuable background information on cottage sales and what to look for in a summer home. If you've done any searching for cottages or summer homes, you know this market changes daily. Cottage-Sales.com is a member of the Linknet network of websites. Dial Around Long Distance Plans Compared to Phone Cards by Rick Hendershot,
Linknet
Articles If you have done any research into the confusing world of long distance telephone rates, you have discovered that conventional long distance is expensive compared to almost any of the alternatives. This is especially true when you factor in the extra fees and taxes added on by governments. Conventional phone companies rely on people being either uninformed or unmotivated to check out the alternatives. Usually they bundle long distance with local services so you are never quite sure how much your long distance service is costing. For instance, many consumers sign up for a local plan that includes unlimited long distance calling. They usually pay between $50 and $70 for this package. But they could get the same level of service for much less money by staying with a $20-$30/month local package and using a dial around plan that charges only 1.9 cents/minute for calls to the USA and Canada. Phone Cards - a solution with serious limitations One alternative to conventional long distance service is to purchase a prepaid phone card. These cards are often purchased online. After signing up you are sent an account number and PIN which allow you to access the long distance system. Having a phone card lets you place long distance calls by calling a toll free access number, entering your account information, and then dialing the number you want to call. Some of the features and shortcomings of phone cards are as follows:
Dial Around Plans - a much better alternative A much better alternative is what is called a dial around plan. They are called "dial around plans" because you use a local number or toll free number to bypass or "dial around" the conventional phone company. You call the special access number, and once you get a dial tone you dial the area code and number of the party you are calling. Here are some of the features you can get with a quality dial around plan
Summary - Dial Around Plans are much more versatile While it is true that phone cards provide a convenience when traveling, dial around plans offer a better and cheaper long distance alternative for anyone who uses long distance service on a regular basis. For more information about convenient dial around plans visit Smartglobalcall.com , they specialize in low cost international calling options. Rick Hendershot is a writer and online publisher. Visit Linknet Articles for online article writing and distribution. |
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