What Company Is Offering:
StrategicRating.com creates custom 'Strategic' Business Plans, in the format preferred by the SBA and banks, though personal (or remote) "Whiteboard-style interviews/presentations. Using a growing network of local Certified Business Partners (CBP's), StrategicRating.com provides "live" plan consulting and support for their CBP-based interviews.
A thought-provoking and strategy planning interview/discussion of your Market and your Business is presented by a business plan specialist. This allows rapid coverage of everything from your past Investments, returns and operations to your future opportunities, projections and delivery assurances. Their interview assesses your experience and "insight" of your markets, products/services, promotion, sales, competition, distribution, supply, inventory, governance and balance sheet.
How It Works:
Following the interview, at StrategicRating.com, the information collected from the interview is processed through multiple business planner and strategy planning models and applications. After some hand-editing (and on average, 24 hours) this creates:
=> A Custom Business plan in the format preferred by Banks/SBA, with Projections
Supported by:
* Comparative Industry data.
* Industry expert Analytics and Strategies supported by proven models of business.
logic, reflecting opportunities and problems based on "insights" gained from the
interview of the business and market.
* A Focus on accurate expense to projection alignment, based on roll-ups of expenses
by department.
=> Several Business Strategy Reports (Actions, Key Factors, Improvements needed).
* Supporting Rationale/Logic trails validate weighted strategy recommendations,
interview topic-alignments and/or inconsistencies.
=> An invaluable service delivered for ~ 1/3 of the comparable cost / depth / value of the
analysis, Strategies, and Business Plan.
More at:http://www.strategicrating.com/
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Google's Plan for Mobile Domination
Google is gaining market share throughout the mobile industry -- regardless of your carrier or how basic your phone may be -- with a set of innovative services that such companies as Yahoo and Microsoft are struggling to match. Let's say you don't want to pay the extra $15 a month that Verizon charges for unlimited mobile-Web access, or you have a spotty connection. Google lets you perform searches using SMS, which is very reliable. Stock quotes, flight info, sports scores? A simple query, such as the weather example above, will get you these data nuggets. "SMS allows you to get a lot of the most common structured forms of information out of Google," says Sumit Agarwal, lead product manager for Google Mobile.
In January, California will join the states that have made it illegal to text while driving. Google's voice-powered service, GOOG-411, is great for hands-free access to local information. Call 800-GOOG-411 and the system prompts you to tell it where you are and what you want. You can even have it send directions via a text message.
Google's GrandCentral service gives you one master phone number to hand out and then lets you manage your communications in a variety of cool ways. You can route a caller to a specific phone or flag someone with priority status so you receive their calls anywhere; pick up while the caller is still leaving a message; and manage your voice mail, including receiving notifications via email or text and having them transcribed so they can be saved forever.
Fire up an iPhone and Google's mobile ambitions become quite apparent. The company wants to offer an irresistible mobile-intelligent version of the desktop Google experience. Google's iPhone search option is front and center. Start to enter a word and you begin getting results before you're even done typing -- a huge time-saver. You can also drill down into a rich suite of Google services: Translate, Talk, and YouTube, to name a few.
Luckily, you don't need the coolest and latest device to use a bunch of services. Maps, Mail, Calendar, and Reader work in some form on a large number of handsets, but they can do so much more on a smartphone. With Maps, I love that you can get turn-by-turn driving directions and traffic info without having to enter where you are, because Google can figure it out even without GPS, by triangulating your position using Wi-Fi and cell towers.
So why would Google create its own phone platform? To take these services even further. For instance, the G1 includes a compass. Point in any direction to see maps of those streets. Android is also a lab to explore what the world looks like when all these apps will work together. Theoretically, Google will be able to analyze traffic, see you're running 10 minutes late to an appointment, and prompt you to send a message to the person you're meeting. "As you bring these different pieces together, the experience changes dramatically and usage skyrockets," Agarwal says.
He's not kidding. Google reports that users do 50 times more data queries with a smartphone than a basic one. Just type 466-453 and join the ranks of data-driven mobile Google addicts.
More at:http://www.fastcompany.com/
In January, California will join the states that have made it illegal to text while driving. Google's voice-powered service, GOOG-411, is great for hands-free access to local information. Call 800-GOOG-411 and the system prompts you to tell it where you are and what you want. You can even have it send directions via a text message.
Google's GrandCentral service gives you one master phone number to hand out and then lets you manage your communications in a variety of cool ways. You can route a caller to a specific phone or flag someone with priority status so you receive their calls anywhere; pick up while the caller is still leaving a message; and manage your voice mail, including receiving notifications via email or text and having them transcribed so they can be saved forever.
Fire up an iPhone and Google's mobile ambitions become quite apparent. The company wants to offer an irresistible mobile-intelligent version of the desktop Google experience. Google's iPhone search option is front and center. Start to enter a word and you begin getting results before you're even done typing -- a huge time-saver. You can also drill down into a rich suite of Google services: Translate, Talk, and YouTube, to name a few.
Luckily, you don't need the coolest and latest device to use a bunch of services. Maps, Mail, Calendar, and Reader work in some form on a large number of handsets, but they can do so much more on a smartphone. With Maps, I love that you can get turn-by-turn driving directions and traffic info without having to enter where you are, because Google can figure it out even without GPS, by triangulating your position using Wi-Fi and cell towers.
So why would Google create its own phone platform? To take these services even further. For instance, the G1 includes a compass. Point in any direction to see maps of those streets. Android is also a lab to explore what the world looks like when all these apps will work together. Theoretically, Google will be able to analyze traffic, see you're running 10 minutes late to an appointment, and prompt you to send a message to the person you're meeting. "As you bring these different pieces together, the experience changes dramatically and usage skyrockets," Agarwal says.
He's not kidding. Google reports that users do 50 times more data queries with a smartphone than a basic one. Just type 466-453 and join the ranks of data-driven mobile Google addicts.
More at:http://www.fastcompany.com/
Post282 is a place where you can create and run your own private community websites
What Company Is Offering:
Post282 is a place where you can create and run your own private community websites for chatting with friends, sharing images and movies, posting links to cool stuff you find on the web, and a whole bunch of other stuff! Creating your community is free and takes about 15 seconds!
How It Works:
Post282 lets you upload your own images and place them in your posts. However, we currently don't permit uploading of videos to the site (assuming your community is hosted on Post282.com, rather than a customized installation). This is simply in order to reduce the amount of bandwidth they use each month.
However, you can upload your videos to other sites and then link to them in your posts. Modern video hosting sites (YouTube, Google Video, MetaCafe, and so on) let you upload your videos, and then embed them into your own website using embed code.
To add videos to your posts, simply copy the embed code from the site where the video is hosted, and paste it into the 'Add Video' box on the Create Post page.
To make it even easier, for YouTube, Google Video, MetaCafe, or iFilm videos, you can just copy the link to the page the video is on (copy from the address bar at the top of your browser), and paste it into the 'Add Video' box on the Create Post page.
There are two ways to add images to your posts:
First, you can copy a link to the image into the 'Image' box on the Create Post page, and then press the 'Add Image' button. The image should then appear in the textarea below. To get a link to an image you see on the web, either right-click on it and select 'Copy Shortcut' (IE Users), or right-click on it and select 'Copy Image Location' (Firefox users). You can then paste the copied link into the Image box. However, the practice of hot-linking to images on other people's websites is not encouraged. This is because you will be using their bandwidth to display images on your community website.
The second approach is preferable. First, save the image you want to post onto your computer. Then, on the Create Post page click on the 'Browse' button, find the image you want to upload, and click 'OK'. Then click on the 'Begin Upload' button. A copy of your image will then be transferred to the Post282 servers, and once the upload has completed, a link to the image will appear in the 'Image' box. Select whether you want the image to be Small, Medium, or Large in your post (you can resize the image anyway, once you've added it to the post), and click on the 'Add Image' button.
More at:http://www.post282.com/
Post282 is a place where you can create and run your own private community websites for chatting with friends, sharing images and movies, posting links to cool stuff you find on the web, and a whole bunch of other stuff! Creating your community is free and takes about 15 seconds!
How It Works:
Post282 lets you upload your own images and place them in your posts. However, we currently don't permit uploading of videos to the site (assuming your community is hosted on Post282.com, rather than a customized installation). This is simply in order to reduce the amount of bandwidth they use each month.
However, you can upload your videos to other sites and then link to them in your posts. Modern video hosting sites (YouTube, Google Video, MetaCafe, and so on) let you upload your videos, and then embed them into your own website using embed code.
To add videos to your posts, simply copy the embed code from the site where the video is hosted, and paste it into the 'Add Video' box on the Create Post page.
To make it even easier, for YouTube, Google Video, MetaCafe, or iFilm videos, you can just copy the link to the page the video is on (copy from the address bar at the top of your browser), and paste it into the 'Add Video' box on the Create Post page.
There are two ways to add images to your posts:
First, you can copy a link to the image into the 'Image' box on the Create Post page, and then press the 'Add Image' button. The image should then appear in the textarea below. To get a link to an image you see on the web, either right-click on it and select 'Copy Shortcut' (IE Users), or right-click on it and select 'Copy Image Location' (Firefox users). You can then paste the copied link into the Image box. However, the practice of hot-linking to images on other people's websites is not encouraged. This is because you will be using their bandwidth to display images on your community website.
The second approach is preferable. First, save the image you want to post onto your computer. Then, on the Create Post page click on the 'Browse' button, find the image you want to upload, and click 'OK'. Then click on the 'Begin Upload' button. A copy of your image will then be transferred to the Post282 servers, and once the upload has completed, a link to the image will appear in the 'Image' box. Select whether you want the image to be Small, Medium, or Large in your post (you can resize the image anyway, once you've added it to the post), and click on the 'Add Image' button.
More at:http://www.post282.com/
Live365 is an Internet radio network
What Company Is Offering:
The Company gives individuals and organizations a "voice" to be able to reach a global audience, while offering radio listeners an unparalleled choice in music and other audio content. Through easy-to-use tools and services, anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can create his or her own Internet radio station. As a result, Live365 offers the most diverse array of high-quality radio available today, with thousands of stations spanning myriad genres and representing over 150 countries.
Live365 is an Internet radio network. It offers Internet radio stations that you can listen to.
It is completely legal to create, broadcast and listen to Live365 stations. All broadcasting stations adhere to rules set forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA"). Live365 broadcasters are required to agree to and abide by these rules upon starting a station. Live365 also has licenses with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ("ASCAP"), Broadcast Music, Inc. ("BMI") and The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers ("SESAC"). These licenses allow broadcasters to stream licensed music on their stations.
More at:http://www.live365.com/
The Company gives individuals and organizations a "voice" to be able to reach a global audience, while offering radio listeners an unparalleled choice in music and other audio content. Through easy-to-use tools and services, anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can create his or her own Internet radio station. As a result, Live365 offers the most diverse array of high-quality radio available today, with thousands of stations spanning myriad genres and representing over 150 countries.
Live365 is an Internet radio network. It offers Internet radio stations that you can listen to.
It is completely legal to create, broadcast and listen to Live365 stations. All broadcasting stations adhere to rules set forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA"). Live365 broadcasters are required to agree to and abide by these rules upon starting a station. Live365 also has licenses with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ("ASCAP"), Broadcast Music, Inc. ("BMI") and The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers ("SESAC"). These licenses allow broadcasters to stream licensed music on their stations.
More at:http://www.live365.com/
Reply.com is simplified the process of purchasing clicks and leads online
What Company Is Offering:
Reply.com is the leading online marketing platform for the acquisition of locally-targeted and category-specific consumers on a cost-per-click or cost-per-lead basis. By eliminating the need for complex and expensive online marketing infrastructures and large teams of experts, Reply.com makes Internet marketing available to businesses of all sizes. Reply! provides a highly-profitable alternative to online marketing solutions offered by major search engines and ad networks.
How It Works:
With the launch of the Reply! Marketplace, they simplified the process of purchasing clicks and leads online. Buyers can now easily target the types of consumer actions they are interested in purchasing, throttle volume daily, and dynamically change the price they pay. With increased control and segmentation, buyers can profitably move offline advertising budgets online. Using Reply!, buyers can focus on managing phone calls and orders, rather than keywords and technology.
Sellers earn a premium for quality, have access to a highly liquid marketplace that maximizes yield, and can more efficiently liquidate inventory.
Why To Use It:
Many large business segments require personal contact, either face-to-face or by phone, to close a transaction. There are millions of consumers using the Internet to research such products and services, including automotive, real estate, mortgage, insurance, education, home improvement, and travel, and there are countless businesses—large and small—trying to reach those consumers.
More at:http://www.reply.com/
Reply.com is the leading online marketing platform for the acquisition of locally-targeted and category-specific consumers on a cost-per-click or cost-per-lead basis. By eliminating the need for complex and expensive online marketing infrastructures and large teams of experts, Reply.com makes Internet marketing available to businesses of all sizes. Reply! provides a highly-profitable alternative to online marketing solutions offered by major search engines and ad networks.
How It Works:
With the launch of the Reply! Marketplace, they simplified the process of purchasing clicks and leads online. Buyers can now easily target the types of consumer actions they are interested in purchasing, throttle volume daily, and dynamically change the price they pay. With increased control and segmentation, buyers can profitably move offline advertising budgets online. Using Reply!, buyers can focus on managing phone calls and orders, rather than keywords and technology.
Sellers earn a premium for quality, have access to a highly liquid marketplace that maximizes yield, and can more efficiently liquidate inventory.
Why To Use It:
Many large business segments require personal contact, either face-to-face or by phone, to close a transaction. There are millions of consumers using the Internet to research such products and services, including automotive, real estate, mortgage, insurance, education, home improvement, and travel, and there are countless businesses—large and small—trying to reach those consumers.
More at:http://www.reply.com/
Neokast enables individuals and businesses to broadcast high quality multimedia content
What Company Is Offering:
Neokast enables individuals and businesses to broadcast high quality multimedia content over the Internet to large audiences through the industry's most secure, reliable, and cost-effective video streaming solution. It enables the distribution of high-quality online multimedia content to an unlimited audience.
How It Works:
Neokast.com viewers watching content will share some of their upload bandwidth to support the network. So in exchange for receiving a stream, everybody contributes something back. This way the system scales with the number of users without requiring a significant server infrastructure at the publisher.
More at:http://www.neokast.com/
Neokast enables individuals and businesses to broadcast high quality multimedia content over the Internet to large audiences through the industry's most secure, reliable, and cost-effective video streaming solution. It enables the distribution of high-quality online multimedia content to an unlimited audience.
How It Works:
Neokast.com viewers watching content will share some of their upload bandwidth to support the network. So in exchange for receiving a stream, everybody contributes something back. This way the system scales with the number of users without requiring a significant server infrastructure at the publisher.
More at:http://www.neokast.com/
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