BzzAgent, the word-of-mouth media network, will launch a new social network within its service on Monday, entitled the Frogpond.
This new section will create a meeting place for consumers and online networks, where users can discover, experience and review online properties in the same manner as they do with other products. Being able to test a new site, track activity and gain user feedback is increasingly important with online communities, and the Frogpond is looking to allow businesses to reach out to an existing database of consumer reviewers (agents) that are willing to test and share information about the services they’ve tried out. The Frogpond will provide tracking tools for the businesses as well as additional sharing tools for the users, as an effort to encourage the “buzz” to start spreading. These tools will include links and badges, and the ability to share via email and instant messengers.
This is another way in which aspects of the offline world are being moved even further into an online world, and having a hub with access to a large, potential user base is something every start-up is looking for. The model has worked so far for TripAdvisor, and about 20 companies will be anxiously awaiting reviewers upon launch, including iVillage, Sportsvite, OurStage, Kayak, Joopz, and more. Similar services include Spigit and TryBeta.
More at:http://www.bzzagent.com/frog/FrogPond.do
via-Mas
Monday, July 23, 2007
AdGridWork is a free advertising network and text link exchange
AdGridWork is a free advertising network and text link exchange. It's 100% free. Thats right folks: Free Advertising. No payments. Ever. Increase your traffic. We have thousands of sites on our network all ready and waiting to freely advertise your website or product. Improve your search engine rankings. Our network of advertisers provides links to your sites which are vital to increasing your rankings. We have attractive advertisement blocks AND text links. Most people are blind to the traditional AdSense ads. Our free ads are fresh, simple and appealing to the eye. Promote to a targeted audience. You can define exactly what types of sites you want your free advertisement to appear on. Registration and setup is a snap. Our service is completely user-friendly. Free metrics and tracking tools for webmasters. We provide your with detailed information on the users viewing your advertiseme.
More at:http://www.adgridwork.com/
More at:http://www.adgridwork.com/
Tracking All Blogging Trends
A service designed for marketing and communications practitioners BuzzLogic's on-demand service is designed with the needs of marketing and communications practitioners foremost in mind. Getting going is as easy as entering a search query. All you need to use BuzzLogic is an active subscription, access to a browser and the Internet. And training is a snap. The BuzzLogic service is built around an intuitive, easy-to-use dashboard that quickly guides users to the conversations, influencers and content they need. Easy-to-set up alerts notify practitioners when the volume around a conversation suddenly increases or other variances are exceeded, or even when a specific blogger joins a conversation. Board and management-ready, customizable reports can be exported into popular formats including PDF.
The company shows when certain bloggers blog and when there is a buzz bigger than usual about a certain subject. BuzzLogic can zero in on the subjects that a relevant to you company and alert of of the frequency of certain keywords. The company will make in depth charts and graphs for you to research and can send them to you in PDF format. The service isn't cheap by any means, at $500 bucks a month it will set you back a bit, but the information you can gain from the service can prove to be invaluable.
More at:http://buzzlogic.com/
The company shows when certain bloggers blog and when there is a buzz bigger than usual about a certain subject. BuzzLogic can zero in on the subjects that a relevant to you company and alert of of the frequency of certain keywords. The company will make in depth charts and graphs for you to research and can send them to you in PDF format. The service isn't cheap by any means, at $500 bucks a month it will set you back a bit, but the information you can gain from the service can prove to be invaluable.
More at:http://buzzlogic.com/
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Loopt lets you find your friends on a map on your mobile phone
Loopt lets you find your friends on a map on your mobile phone.
Loopt works on mobile phones and using location-based technologies, allows you to know where your friends are by automatically updating maps on your mobile handset.
You may then send messages to nearby friends or receive automatic alerts when they are nearby so that you never miss an opportunity to meet. You can essentially put yourself on a map for your friends to locate you.
You can create a profile, shares photos, and tag places.
They Raised:Loopt received $2.25 Million of a total $12 Million available in their Series B round from New Enterprise Associates and Sequoia Capital.
More at:www.loopt.com
Loopt works on mobile phones and using location-based technologies, allows you to know where your friends are by automatically updating maps on your mobile handset.
You may then send messages to nearby friends or receive automatic alerts when they are nearby so that you never miss an opportunity to meet. You can essentially put yourself on a map for your friends to locate you.
You can create a profile, shares photos, and tag places.
They Raised:Loopt received $2.25 Million of a total $12 Million available in their Series B round from New Enterprise Associates and Sequoia Capital.
More at:www.loopt.com
On Making Money With Acrylic Globe
After traveling internationally as a Marine and later as a product developer for a plastics company, in 1981 John Szal combined his love of travel and design in Spherical Concepts (sphericalconcepts.com), a maker of acrylic globes.
The firm's Earth and sky globes, which range in diameter from three inches to five feet, are handcrafted in Frazer, Pa., using a process based on glass blowing. Continents or constellations are silk-screened onto a sheet of acrylic, which is then heated and inflated.
The 12,000 globes sold in 2006 pulled in more than $3 million. Spherical has an exclusive deal with National Geographic Maps and sells globes at upscale retailers, such as Hammacher Schlemmer. In May a four-foot granite globe designed by the company's cartographers was unveiled at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
More at:http://sphericalconcepts.com/main.php
Via-Cnn
The firm's Earth and sky globes, which range in diameter from three inches to five feet, are handcrafted in Frazer, Pa., using a process based on glass blowing. Continents or constellations are silk-screened onto a sheet of acrylic, which is then heated and inflated.
The 12,000 globes sold in 2006 pulled in more than $3 million. Spherical has an exclusive deal with National Geographic Maps and sells globes at upscale retailers, such as Hammacher Schlemmer. In May a four-foot granite globe designed by the company's cartographers was unveiled at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
More at:http://sphericalconcepts.com/main.php
Via-Cnn
Get A Freelancer From Anywhere
What They Claim:
We can help you find freelance programmers, Web Designers and Copywriters. Outsource projects to India, Romania, Ukraine or any other country.Find out why we have thousands of successfully outsourced projects. Post your project today! We can offer freelance programmers, interpreters and graphic designers the ability to work independently. As a freelancer you can choose among hundreds of outsourced projects. Join free and pay only a small commission.
More at:http://getafreelancer.com/
We can help you find freelance programmers, Web Designers and Copywriters. Outsource projects to India, Romania, Ukraine or any other country.Find out why we have thousands of successfully outsourced projects. Post your project today! We can offer freelance programmers, interpreters and graphic designers the ability to work independently. As a freelancer you can choose among hundreds of outsourced projects. Join free and pay only a small commission.
More at:http://getafreelancer.com/
The New Way To Job Search
Amiko is the new resumé. The Internet has changed the way people are hired, more and more companies are using online job postings to find employees. Printing and mailing resumés can cost and arm and a leg. If you post your resumé on a job site, it only works for that site. Amiko allows you to span the job sites, from Monster to Craigslist, just post a link to your Amiko resumé and that's it.
Now with My Amiko.com you can create an online resume for yourself free of charge, you can even include a picture of yourself on the resume. Amiko makes it easy to add and or delete things from your resume with the click of a button. With Amiko you can scan job sites such as Monster and Craigslist, and post a link to your resume.
More at:http://myamiko.com/
Now with My Amiko.com you can create an online resume for yourself free of charge, you can even include a picture of yourself on the resume. Amiko makes it easy to add and or delete things from your resume with the click of a button. With Amiko you can scan job sites such as Monster and Craigslist, and post a link to your resume.
More at:http://myamiko.com/
With ACB2B.com you can find goods to import from China
With ACB2B.com you can find goods to import from China. You can join the site for free and start searching for importers or exporters, heck you can even look for people to hire overseas. Its sort of like an international Craigslist especially for businesses. One of the great things about the site is, it allows you to make your posts in English and the workers at the site will translate your messages into Chinese so you arent pigeonholed into only dealing with Chinese that speak English, you are advertising to the whole lot of them. They also have a full detailed page about how to do business in China, showing some of the different laws you will need to abide by and some cultural differences to be advised of.
There is so much business happening between the US and China between large companies, it is about time for the average entrepreneur to be able to take advantage of the global market that our top companies have been for years. Finally there is a company to help facilitate that.
More at:http://acb2b.com/
There is so much business happening between the US and China between large companies, it is about time for the average entrepreneur to be able to take advantage of the global market that our top companies have been for years. Finally there is a company to help facilitate that.
More at:http://acb2b.com/
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Shelfari, the virtual bookshelf community, is holding a Harry Potter contest: The Seven Days of Harry Potter Seven.
Shelfari, the virtual bookshelf community, is holding a Harry Potter contest: The Seven Days of Harry Potter Seven.
The grand prize is a J.K. Rowling signed, first first-edition copy of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, the book that started it all. In order to participate, simply add the latest Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” to your Shelfari bookshelf within seven days of its release, and write a review. Shelfari is taking advantage of the popularity of this book to emphasize the social utility of its site. Groups can be formed around particular books, genres or motifs, and individuals can discover and share information, reviews and opinions about books, encouraging others to read and share themselves.
In other Shelfari news, the company has recently launched its Facebook application, letting users share their bookshelves on their Facebook profiles.
more at:http://www.shelfari.com/
The grand prize is a J.K. Rowling signed, first first-edition copy of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, the book that started it all. In order to participate, simply add the latest Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” to your Shelfari bookshelf within seven days of its release, and write a review. Shelfari is taking advantage of the popularity of this book to emphasize the social utility of its site. Groups can be formed around particular books, genres or motifs, and individuals can discover and share information, reviews and opinions about books, encouraging others to read and share themselves.
In other Shelfari news, the company has recently launched its Facebook application, letting users share their bookshelves on their Facebook profiles.
more at:http://www.shelfari.com/
Resolio For Making Your Resume
Resolio can make your life a little bit easier.
Resolio’s resume creation process is full of AJAX goodness. The resume is divided into categories just like it would be on paper, and the resume builder walks you through the step-by-step process of creating all of the necessary sections. After filling out all of the required personal information, hobbies, job information, etc., you can choose from a wide variety of very well designed templates. No longer do employers have to suffer looking through a stack of bland white and black templates, Resolio includes many colorful and bold resume templates.
After you have put the finishing touches on your resume work of art, you have a few choices for publishing. First, you can publish to Resolio’s servers (e.g. http://resolio.com/list/rev2.html). Second, you can embed your resume into your own page using javascript. Third, you can copy the html or XML and paste it into your own page. This is a well designed, feature rich resume builder. I would definitely recommend it.
More at:http://resolio.com/
Resolio’s resume creation process is full of AJAX goodness. The resume is divided into categories just like it would be on paper, and the resume builder walks you through the step-by-step process of creating all of the necessary sections. After filling out all of the required personal information, hobbies, job information, etc., you can choose from a wide variety of very well designed templates. No longer do employers have to suffer looking through a stack of bland white and black templates, Resolio includes many colorful and bold resume templates.
After you have put the finishing touches on your resume work of art, you have a few choices for publishing. First, you can publish to Resolio’s servers (e.g. http://resolio.com/list/rev2.html). Second, you can embed your resume into your own page using javascript. Third, you can copy the html or XML and paste it into your own page. This is a well designed, feature rich resume builder. I would definitely recommend it.
More at:http://resolio.com/
Goalmigo is a website that helps you achieve your goals
Goalmigo will help you keep track of all your goals. Once you’ve registered simply jot down your goals (quick description, title) and the date by which you’d like to accomplish them. Goalmigo will send out an email to supporters who’ll help you achieve those goals. Along the way you’ll get progress reports which are also sent out to your supporters. If you’ve accomplished your goals you can support others or add others’ goals to your list adjusting them to fit your purposes. Goals can be made public or private. Other useful features include badges, profiles, videos and links.
Goalmigo is a website that helps you achieve your goals. The name Goalmigo is a combination of "goal" and "migo", "migo" taken from the Spanish word amigo meaning friend. Goalmigo encourages users to share their goals and progress with their friends.
more at:http://www.goalmigo.com/
Goalmigo is a website that helps you achieve your goals. The name Goalmigo is a combination of "goal" and "migo", "migo" taken from the Spanish word amigo meaning friend. Goalmigo encourages users to share their goals and progress with their friends.
more at:http://www.goalmigo.com/
Optimize Ads Placements
If you have ads on your site you want them to be completely visible to your visitors. Depending on the user’s browser, OS and screen resolution, many ads get cut-off and remain below the ‘fold’ (the visible portion of the screen without scrolling). Obviously, no one is going to scroll down just to see an ad, which is why FoldSpy analyzes your site as your visitors see it. Data is collected live and displayed over an interactive overlay. This allows website owners to better place ads so that they are always above the fold. FoldSpy can be installed freely on any site using the FoldSpy hash keyword. Once in place you’ll be able to view your site at various screen sizes and manipulate it as you see fit. The free version using stats collected from all FoldSpy users. For $6 a month FoldSpy will collect data only from your site.
More at:http://www.foldspy.com/
More at:http://www.foldspy.com/
Buy And Sell Time
Monetime is a free online directory for services with integrated e-commerce features available on demand for very low fees. Our aim is to make life easy for individuals that sell services of any sort by providing a) an online presence for sellers with detailed information about their services in a directory that is spiderable by search engines, b) advanced e-commerce features that allow buyers to book their services direct from the seller's profile page and pay online, and c) integrated mutual feedback/review mechanisms that allow users to build trust with other buyers and sellers in the community.
More at:http://www.monetime.com/
More at:http://www.monetime.com/
Convoq is an innovative provider of SaaS integrated online meeting and live chat systems for sales, marketing, training, service
Convoq is an innovative provider of SaaS integrated online meeting and live chat systems for sales, marketing, training, service and support departments. Its ASAP family is a Flash-based suite featuring live chat and web conferencing capabilities including desktop sharing, PowerPoint presentations, remote desktop control, VoIP audio, video, and Record & Playback. The management team has deep software and collaboration experience and has a core competency in integrating real-time communications into the context of hosted web services such as Salesforce.com. Convoq delivers its software solutions as a subscription-based hosted service, with a flexible, flat-fee pricing model.
More at:http://www.convoq.com/
More at:http://www.convoq.com/
Friday, July 20, 2007
Share Your Knowledge And Earn
Launchtags lets you create mini-pages about your expertise, interests, know how, hobbies, ideas or just about anything bright and shiny. Use text, pictures, videos, links and RSS feeds to build your page. Share 50% of the advertising revenue brought in by the traffic to your great page. Launchtags.com is simple, free and fun.
Members create mini-pages on which they can post videos, photos and links about their chosen subject. They’ll earn fifty percent of all advertising revenue generated from their pages. Subjects range from books and grandfatherly advice to London Hotels and France. Each contributor is given a profile which also links to each mini-page they’ve created. The Launchpad section plays host to ideas, it’s where you go for inspiration to create your own mini-page. Launchtags is free for everyone.
More at:http://www.launchtags.com/
Members create mini-pages on which they can post videos, photos and links about their chosen subject. They’ll earn fifty percent of all advertising revenue generated from their pages. Subjects range from books and grandfatherly advice to London Hotels and France. Each contributor is given a profile which also links to each mini-page they’ve created. The Launchpad section plays host to ideas, it’s where you go for inspiration to create your own mini-page. Launchtags is free for everyone.
More at:http://www.launchtags.com/
How To Make Millions With Just Cat Pictures!
Eric Nakagawa, a software developer in Hawaii, posted a single photo of a fat, smiling cat he found on the Internet, with the caption, "I can has cheezburger?" in January, 2007, at a Web site he created. It was supposed to be a joke. Soon after he posted a few more images in the same vein: cute cats with funny captions written in a silly, invented hybrid of Internet shorthand and baby-talk. Then he turned the site into a blog, so that visitors could comment on the postings. What happened after that would have been hard for anyone to predict.
"We just thought, O.K., they're funny,"Nakagawa says. "Suddenly we started getting hits. I was like, where are these coming from?"
He saw traffic on the blog, I Can Has Cheezburger, which he runs with his partner, "Tofuburger" (she refuses to disclose her real name) double each month: 375,000 hits in March, 750,000 in April, 1.5 million in May. Cheezburger now gets 500,000 page views a day from between 100,000 and 200,000 unique visitors, according to Nakagawa. The cheapest ad costs $500 for a week. The most expensive goes for nearly $4,000. Nakagawa, an accidental entrepreneur who saw his successful business materialize out of the ether, quit his programming job at the end of May: "It made more sense to do this and see how big it could get."
Cheezburger's story is unusual in the upper reaches of the blogosphere in that the time between launching and reaching a critical mass of readers who sustain the site is so compressed. But many of the most popular bloggers have similar tales of starting out with a niche idea—an inside joke, a particular obsession—and watching it explode. Of course, most blogs linger in obscurity and are read by only a handful of people, and few ever reach the level Cheezburger has. What about a blog like Cheezburger lets it break away from the pack?
The initial appeal of the blog may have been a fluke, but its growth since then has been part of a tightly controlled experiment to help answer that question. Nakagawa and his partner constantly tweak the site to see what draws readers and what leaves them cold.
"We basically have a playground where people keep coming to play, so we're trying to create new games all the time,"Nakagawa says.
To drive traffic, they try to time their new posts with when people are most likely to be reading: in the mornings, on their lunch breaks, or in the evenings. Early on, when Nakagawa saw the site getting 1,000 page views a day, he added a widget that allows visitors to rate each post on a scale of one to five cheeseburgers. That helped boost traffic to 2,000.
Readers don't just rate or comment on the posts. They create them. Cheezburger depends on its fans to submit pictures, write funny captions, and send them in. Nakagawa has built a tool to let readers select a ready-made photo or upload their own, add and position captions, choose font styles, and submit a finished product. Any visitor can vote on the submissions, and the most popular ones make it to the main page. The function saves Nakagawa from having to find funny captions for photos, and it creates a lasting bond with readers.
That kind of interaction helps make I Can Has Cheezburger as much a community as a blog. A post by one user will inspire another to play off the theme, forming a narrative. "It's like you're creating a story supplied by people in the community, and then the people in the community supply the next part of the story,"Nakagawa says.
The idea of building a community around content supplied by users sustains several top blogs, and most put the idea of community ahead of making money.
More at:http://icanhascheezburger.com/
"We just thought, O.K., they're funny,"Nakagawa says. "Suddenly we started getting hits. I was like, where are these coming from?"
He saw traffic on the blog, I Can Has Cheezburger, which he runs with his partner, "Tofuburger" (she refuses to disclose her real name) double each month: 375,000 hits in March, 750,000 in April, 1.5 million in May. Cheezburger now gets 500,000 page views a day from between 100,000 and 200,000 unique visitors, according to Nakagawa. The cheapest ad costs $500 for a week. The most expensive goes for nearly $4,000. Nakagawa, an accidental entrepreneur who saw his successful business materialize out of the ether, quit his programming job at the end of May: "It made more sense to do this and see how big it could get."
Cheezburger's story is unusual in the upper reaches of the blogosphere in that the time between launching and reaching a critical mass of readers who sustain the site is so compressed. But many of the most popular bloggers have similar tales of starting out with a niche idea—an inside joke, a particular obsession—and watching it explode. Of course, most blogs linger in obscurity and are read by only a handful of people, and few ever reach the level Cheezburger has. What about a blog like Cheezburger lets it break away from the pack?
The initial appeal of the blog may have been a fluke, but its growth since then has been part of a tightly controlled experiment to help answer that question. Nakagawa and his partner constantly tweak the site to see what draws readers and what leaves them cold.
"We basically have a playground where people keep coming to play, so we're trying to create new games all the time,"Nakagawa says.
To drive traffic, they try to time their new posts with when people are most likely to be reading: in the mornings, on their lunch breaks, or in the evenings. Early on, when Nakagawa saw the site getting 1,000 page views a day, he added a widget that allows visitors to rate each post on a scale of one to five cheeseburgers. That helped boost traffic to 2,000.
Readers don't just rate or comment on the posts. They create them. Cheezburger depends on its fans to submit pictures, write funny captions, and send them in. Nakagawa has built a tool to let readers select a ready-made photo or upload their own, add and position captions, choose font styles, and submit a finished product. Any visitor can vote on the submissions, and the most popular ones make it to the main page. The function saves Nakagawa from having to find funny captions for photos, and it creates a lasting bond with readers.
That kind of interaction helps make I Can Has Cheezburger as much a community as a blog. A post by one user will inspire another to play off the theme, forming a narrative. "It's like you're creating a story supplied by people in the community, and then the people in the community supply the next part of the story,"Nakagawa says.
The idea of building a community around content supplied by users sustains several top blogs, and most put the idea of community ahead of making money.
More at:http://icanhascheezburger.com/
File123 is a secure online storage vault that allows businesses and households to store, search and retrieve paper and digital files
File123 is a secure online storage vault that allows businesses and households to store, search and retrieve paper and digital files. Users can fax or scan paper documents and email or upload computer files. Each account features: • 1 GB of storage for free and only $4.95 per month for 10 GB. • Create unlimited number of folders • Share large files with anyone via email • PDF file conversion allow the user to download either their original file or a PDF document. • OCR: Each file is read by our optical character recognition engine and every keyword is indexed for easy searching. • Site secured by Hacker-safe and Verisign SSL • Data secured by Amazon S3’s redundant data warehousing services • The site was built using all the latest Web 2.0 standards.
More at:http://www.file123.com/
More at:http://www.file123.com/
Price Protectr "It will monitor the prices of products you buy online and see if they go down "
Price Protectr is site for the consumer. It will monitor the prices of products you buy online and see if they go down (which apparently they often do). They will then notify you and you can collect your refund. Normally, you buy a product online knowing they have a price protection policy, but it is up to you to monitor the prices and ask for a refund. Who would do that? The site monitors 33 major stores including Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City, Costco, Future Shop, Sears and Staples. All you have to do to get the service started is enter the URL of the product you bought and wait for the good news. Of course, it is up to you at that point to go back to the online store and start the refund process; but Price Protectr does offer detailed instructions on how to handle that process at most of its stores.
This site demonstrates the beauty of the internet. This site will help you reap money, for free. All you have to do is join, record you purchases at those stores with price protected policies, and wait.
More at:http://www.priceprotectr.com/
This site demonstrates the beauty of the internet. This site will help you reap money, for free. All you have to do is join, record you purchases at those stores with price protected policies, and wait.
More at:http://www.priceprotectr.com/
Get Your eCommerce Site With BlinkCart
BlinkCart will change your eCommerce experience .Get your eCommerce site rolling on some serious wheels with BlinkCart, a service that allows you to add a shopping cart to any page that supports HTML or Javascript codes. That means this shopping cart already works with your current website with nothing to download or install, given that it’s a fully web-based system. Sign up for a free trial account on the website and then choose your payment method, including PayPal, Check, or Bank Deposit. Then, add the products you wish to market, and copy and paste the button code on to your webpage. Your shopping cart will be up on your website in five minutes or less, making it the most convienient and affordable way to boost sales on your site.
How It Works:Works with your existing web pages •Accept multiple payment methods (Paypal, Cheque, Bank Deposit, etc.) •Shipping calculation (fixed or by weight) •Sales tax, VAT calculation •Product specific discount code support •Product thumbnail & stock level support •Online orders & inventory management system •Fully web based system. Nothing to download or install.
More at:http://www.blinkcart.com/
How It Works:Works with your existing web pages •Accept multiple payment methods (Paypal, Cheque, Bank Deposit, etc.) •Shipping calculation (fixed or by weight) •Sales tax, VAT calculation •Product specific discount code support •Product thumbnail & stock level support •Online orders & inventory management system •Fully web based system. Nothing to download or install.
More at:http://www.blinkcart.com/
Locate Your Nearest Golf Course Via BunkerShot
BunkerShot has an information rich website showing where the nearest and best courses are to wherever you happen to be located. There are even instructional videos on the site to show you how to cure that slicing problem you have or how to grip the club like Tiger Woods, you can even book your tee time online through BunkerShot. The site has an RSS feed that you can subscribe to to make sure that you are always in the know about what is going on in the golf world, and my personal favorite, a golf dictionary to figure out all of that crazy golf jargon.
More at:http://bunkershot.com/
More at:http://bunkershot.com/
Honeypitch fuses a proposal automation solution with CRM and business productivity tools.
Honeypitch fuses a proposal automation solution with CRM and business productivity tools. Quickly combine a presentation, proposal, estimate and contract into an invite-only website that can be negotiated online. The goal is to enable teams to create the perfect pitch of ideas, services, and products that generates immediate feedback and results. Each highly-personalized "Honeypitch" has version-controlled sections and topic-based message boards that allows both parties to agree to terms with confidence.
HoneyPitch will assign you anywhere from 1 to 50 employees depending on the package that you choose just to help you make your pitch the best and most effective that it could be. They can help you acquire sponsors, raise venture capital, or just about whatever you need HoneyPitch.com will find a way to help you get it. With affordable rates that start off at free (it doesn't get much more affordable than that, does it) up to $200 a month, you can get the help you need now.
More at:http://honeypitch.com/
HoneyPitch will assign you anywhere from 1 to 50 employees depending on the package that you choose just to help you make your pitch the best and most effective that it could be. They can help you acquire sponsors, raise venture capital, or just about whatever you need HoneyPitch.com will find a way to help you get it. With affordable rates that start off at free (it doesn't get much more affordable than that, does it) up to $200 a month, you can get the help you need now.
More at:http://honeypitch.com/
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Make Millions With Unusual Trade Associations
Pop quiz: What do birthing classes, spice sellers and crematoriums have in common -- besides bracketing the cycle of life?
Give up? They all have trade associations run by the quietest and fastest-growing company on K Street, SmithBucklin.
The Chicago-based firm (with a major Washington office) is the world's largest trade association management company. Its more than 200 trade associations and professional societies include Lamaze International, the American Spice Trade Association and the Cremation Association of North America.
These are not what you'd call high-profile entities, but that's the way SmithBucklin likes it. The company has stayed in the background, helping obscure but useful organizations, since 1949.
"People say, 'My God, there's really an industry for this?' " said Henry S. Givray, SmithBucklin's chief executive. "They don't fully grasp what we do."
What it does is operate full-time trade associations on what amounts to part-time budgets. It hires professional managers -- or develops them from within -- and assigns them to run one or two trade groups. Then it backs them up with teams of experts in accounting, training, marketing, event planning, human resources and, here in Washington, government affairs.
Voila, instant trade association! And the associations' members are none the wiser. Independent associations, however, are not always pleased with the competition. "Stand-alone association execs can sometimes get a little nervous about what we do," Givray said.
But clearly it's working well. SmithBucklin has grown at a compounded annual rate of 11 percent over the past five years and has 750 employees. Its industry (yes, it is an industry) comprises 676 companies, up more than 40 percent from 10 years ago.
Washington is, of course, a major hub for associations. Of the nation's 86,000 trade associations and professional societies, 3,500 are located in the D.C. area, more than in any other locale.
So SmithBucklin has a large and growing office here. In May, it hired Russell Snyder, 45, as senior vice president for its 160-person Washington office. Snyder, who last worked at SmithBucklin's largest competitor, Kellen Co., is a third-generation association executive.
Snyder's grandfather Calvin Snyder worked for the predecessor of the National Association of Realtors. His father, Dick Snyder, was the top executive of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association. Dick Snyder was also responsible for roping his son into supervising associations for a living.
Russ Snyder has had responsibility over a weird and eclectic collection of groups: the National Candle Association, the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association and the Greeting Card Association, among others. He now helps oversee three floors of a building on M Street NW that house 25 associations and a six-person lobbying shop. The associations include a few that you might have even heard of: the Pet Food Institute and the Regional Airline Association, for example.
Snyder's office also conducts back-office functions for the Managed Funds Association, which represents one of the country's most controversial businesses -- hedge funds.
Snyder said he enjoys his new job and would recommend it to the next generation of Snyders. In the meantime, he has had to spend a lot of time just keeping his clients' acronyms straight.
More at:http://www.smithbucklin.com/
Via-WashingtonPost
Give up? They all have trade associations run by the quietest and fastest-growing company on K Street, SmithBucklin.
The Chicago-based firm (with a major Washington office) is the world's largest trade association management company. Its more than 200 trade associations and professional societies include Lamaze International, the American Spice Trade Association and the Cremation Association of North America.
These are not what you'd call high-profile entities, but that's the way SmithBucklin likes it. The company has stayed in the background, helping obscure but useful organizations, since 1949.
"People say, 'My God, there's really an industry for this?' " said Henry S. Givray, SmithBucklin's chief executive. "They don't fully grasp what we do."
What it does is operate full-time trade associations on what amounts to part-time budgets. It hires professional managers -- or develops them from within -- and assigns them to run one or two trade groups. Then it backs them up with teams of experts in accounting, training, marketing, event planning, human resources and, here in Washington, government affairs.
Voila, instant trade association! And the associations' members are none the wiser. Independent associations, however, are not always pleased with the competition. "Stand-alone association execs can sometimes get a little nervous about what we do," Givray said.
But clearly it's working well. SmithBucklin has grown at a compounded annual rate of 11 percent over the past five years and has 750 employees. Its industry (yes, it is an industry) comprises 676 companies, up more than 40 percent from 10 years ago.
Washington is, of course, a major hub for associations. Of the nation's 86,000 trade associations and professional societies, 3,500 are located in the D.C. area, more than in any other locale.
So SmithBucklin has a large and growing office here. In May, it hired Russell Snyder, 45, as senior vice president for its 160-person Washington office. Snyder, who last worked at SmithBucklin's largest competitor, Kellen Co., is a third-generation association executive.
Snyder's grandfather Calvin Snyder worked for the predecessor of the National Association of Realtors. His father, Dick Snyder, was the top executive of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association. Dick Snyder was also responsible for roping his son into supervising associations for a living.
Russ Snyder has had responsibility over a weird and eclectic collection of groups: the National Candle Association, the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association and the Greeting Card Association, among others. He now helps oversee three floors of a building on M Street NW that house 25 associations and a six-person lobbying shop. The associations include a few that you might have even heard of: the Pet Food Institute and the Regional Airline Association, for example.
Snyder's office also conducts back-office functions for the Managed Funds Association, which represents one of the country's most controversial businesses -- hedge funds.
Snyder said he enjoys his new job and would recommend it to the next generation of Snyders. In the meantime, he has had to spend a lot of time just keeping his clients' acronyms straight.
More at:http://www.smithbucklin.com/
Via-WashingtonPost
Splunk,a system that could accurately track a transaction
Splunk,a system that could accurately track a transaction as it traversed the entire enterprise stack. If the transaction broke somewhere along the way, their software could help IT discover the cause of that failure. While it was clearly a pain point for some businesses, there was no clear customer and the value proposition was a relatively hard one to articulate. But the technology they were building created a whole lot of intelligence built on the fumes of the data center (namely the log files).
They had figured out that if they could track, manage and correlate log files across the entire data center in near real time, that they could create the killer IT Search Engine that would allow an end user to see into their enterprise stack in a way never before possible. The Splunk works using Voip data and how one could track all systems that touched a particular extension by simply searching for that extension in the Splunk engine. It was clearly a better way to manage the massive amounts of IT data that exist in enterprises today.
Splunk team has built precisely what they promised -- a large-scale, high-speed search technology for your data center. But despite the fact that Splunk's software has been downloaded by over 100,000 users and despite the fact that there are now more than 350 paying enterprise customers (including 21st Century Insurance, BEA, British Telecom, Catholic Healthcare West, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Comcast, Dow Jones, FedEx, Fiserv, GE Consumer Finance, LinkedIn, Mantech, Mozilla.org, NASA, Shopzilla, Telstra, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of State, Vodafone and Yahoo!), I would still have a tough time answering the question posed by my Limited Partner.
Splunk has not built an application. Nor is Splunk merely selling software. Splunk has created a software enabled platform that continues to be extremely broadly applicable. Is Splunk mission critical when it comes to maintaining availability of large scale enterprise systems? Yes. Is Splunk invaluable in the fight to maintain the security of your data center? Yes. Does Splunk uniquely simplify the process of data compliance? Yes. Can Splunk help you dig into your data and analyze it like no other solution? Yes. But, frankly, that's just the tip of the iceberg -- once you are able to query individual pieces of data across your entire data center in real time, the applicability of the platform is limited only by the creativity of its end users. And those end users are driving value back into the platform, creating applications we hadn't thought of before.
More at:http://www.splunk.com/
They had figured out that if they could track, manage and correlate log files across the entire data center in near real time, that they could create the killer IT Search Engine that would allow an end user to see into their enterprise stack in a way never before possible. The Splunk works using Voip data and how one could track all systems that touched a particular extension by simply searching for that extension in the Splunk engine. It was clearly a better way to manage the massive amounts of IT data that exist in enterprises today.
Splunk team has built precisely what they promised -- a large-scale, high-speed search technology for your data center. But despite the fact that Splunk's software has been downloaded by over 100,000 users and despite the fact that there are now more than 350 paying enterprise customers (including 21st Century Insurance, BEA, British Telecom, Catholic Healthcare West, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Comcast, Dow Jones, FedEx, Fiserv, GE Consumer Finance, LinkedIn, Mantech, Mozilla.org, NASA, Shopzilla, Telstra, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of State, Vodafone and Yahoo!), I would still have a tough time answering the question posed by my Limited Partner.
Splunk has not built an application. Nor is Splunk merely selling software. Splunk has created a software enabled platform that continues to be extremely broadly applicable. Is Splunk mission critical when it comes to maintaining availability of large scale enterprise systems? Yes. Is Splunk invaluable in the fight to maintain the security of your data center? Yes. Does Splunk uniquely simplify the process of data compliance? Yes. Can Splunk help you dig into your data and analyze it like no other solution? Yes. But, frankly, that's just the tip of the iceberg -- once you are able to query individual pieces of data across your entire data center in real time, the applicability of the platform is limited only by the creativity of its end users. And those end users are driving value back into the platform, creating applications we hadn't thought of before.
More at:http://www.splunk.com/
ZoomInfo is a business related people search engine
ZoomInfo is the premier business information search engine, with profiles on more than 35 million people and 3.8 million companies. ZoomInfo delivers a single site for quick and easy access to in-depth information on industries, companies, people, products, services and jobs. Find out more about how ZoomInfo can work for you.
The site aims to cover a large field. Search by company, people or job. Refine your search by geography or revenue. ZoomInfo will list info about where a person has worked as well as career highlights. If you need something more extensive, ZoomInfo has something called PowerSearch. It gives you the ability to perform in-depth people and company searches.
More at:http://www.zoominfo.com/
The site aims to cover a large field. Search by company, people or job. Refine your search by geography or revenue. ZoomInfo will list info about where a person has worked as well as career highlights. If you need something more extensive, ZoomInfo has something called PowerSearch. It gives you the ability to perform in-depth people and company searches.
More at:http://www.zoominfo.com/
TagTogga
TagTooga is going to change your experience of searching on internet. Dont go for Googles, the MSNs and the Yahoos, which all basically give you the same results, check out TagTooga.com, TagTooga will show you results that you might had never found if you went through the regular search routes. Anyone can submit their site to TagTooga as well, it is a simple 1 minute process. It is a totally free directory that anyone can edit. If there is a site that you like, and you think it should be more easily seen by the internet searching public, submit it in to the site and it will show up in search results, its that simple.
More at:http://tagtooga.com
More at:http://tagtooga.com
Mirro For You"Its New Media Player"
Miro is a free, open-source software project led by a non-profit organization. It's a platform that benefits everyone by keeping online video open. Our organization isn't controlled by venture capitalists or stockholders, which means we always put our users first. Open video will only have a real impact if it can reach a mass audience. Your ideas and efforts work better than any paid marketing campaign, because it comes from somewhere real.
Miro is downloadable for absolutely free and also has an emphasis on the open source video market, hence the old name, Democracy TV. Miro boasts that it has more HD TV than any other media player, which is an excellent selling point since laptops and recent computers are HD compatible. With Miro you can watch over 1500 free channels, and now on to the really cool stuff... You can download and save videos from YouTube and program Miro to automatically download any videos that show up within your search criteria.
More at:http://getmiro.com/
Miro is downloadable for absolutely free and also has an emphasis on the open source video market, hence the old name, Democracy TV. Miro boasts that it has more HD TV than any other media player, which is an excellent selling point since laptops and recent computers are HD compatible. With Miro you can watch over 1500 free channels, and now on to the really cool stuff... You can download and save videos from YouTube and program Miro to automatically download any videos that show up within your search criteria.
More at:http://getmiro.com/
Snooth is a wine review and recommendation service
Snooth is a wine review and recommendation service that launched early last month. The idea is simple--provide a few simple ratings of wines you like or dislike, and Snooth will serve up ones it thinks you'll enjoy. It runs on a similar system to the one you find on Netflix, with one to five star ratings, and a bevy of user reviews. The system currently has a listing of over 1.5 million wines, and if you can't find one you've had or liked in the past, you can simply add it.
In addition to showing user rants and raves, Snooth pulls professional reviews from online publications, which it pools into separate ratings. Each wine's page also features the option to buy it from one of the partnered wine dealers, which will jump you off Snooth's site, and onto their online store. In most cases, I found that the deals on the partner sites weren't that much better than the prices at my local wine dealer, but it's nice to have that option.
There's also a friends system, with user profiles that let you see what your Snooth buddies have been rating on the site, and an RSS feed in case you feel like keeping tabs in your favorite feed reader.
I like Snooth. I think it's simple to use, and does its job. After just five ratings you start getting recommendations, which is handy. As for actually purchasing wine online, I think I'll stick to my favorite.
More at:http://www.snooth.com/
In addition to showing user rants and raves, Snooth pulls professional reviews from online publications, which it pools into separate ratings. Each wine's page also features the option to buy it from one of the partnered wine dealers, which will jump you off Snooth's site, and onto their online store. In most cases, I found that the deals on the partner sites weren't that much better than the prices at my local wine dealer, but it's nice to have that option.
There's also a friends system, with user profiles that let you see what your Snooth buddies have been rating on the site, and an RSS feed in case you feel like keeping tabs in your favorite feed reader.
I like Snooth. I think it's simple to use, and does its job. After just five ratings you start getting recommendations, which is handy. As for actually purchasing wine online, I think I'll stick to my favorite.
More at:http://www.snooth.com/
Oh, don’t forget is a very simple tool used to send text message reminders
Oh, don’t forget is a very simple tool used to send text message reminders.
After entering your cell number, the date and time you want the message to be sent, and the message, Oh, don’t forget sends out the text message to your phone free of charge. This is a really handy tool for keeping track of those fleeting thoughts and random appointments that are thrown at you each day.
As explained in the F.A.Q. of the site, the service works without knowing the cell phone provider because “ohdontforget is actually one half web application, and one half magic voodoo potion. Even I’m not sure how the magic voodoo potion works :)” Makes sense to me.
More at:http://ohdontforget.com/
After entering your cell number, the date and time you want the message to be sent, and the message, Oh, don’t forget sends out the text message to your phone free of charge. This is a really handy tool for keeping track of those fleeting thoughts and random appointments that are thrown at you each day.
As explained in the F.A.Q. of the site, the service works without knowing the cell phone provider because “ohdontforget is actually one half web application, and one half magic voodoo potion. Even I’m not sure how the magic voodoo potion works :)” Makes sense to me.
More at:http://ohdontforget.com/
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Pat Pending
When we were alerted to online retailer Pat Pending, it sounded promising: customers can buy exclusive rights to a design, allowing them to resell copies of a garment, or resell their rights to the design. Interesting new business model, right?
What would make this concept worthwhile, is if a customer could buy the rights to a truly unique design. Think a Threadless-like graphic on a t-shirt, or a quirky dress designed by a talented fashion student. (In their defence, Pat Pending is currently asking designers to submit designs that slogans can be printed in/on.) Buy and sell those designs, produce and ship the goods, add easy to operate, no-inventory webshops like Zlio, and you've created an innovative service that adds value for all parties involved. A bit like Etsy, the marketplace for handmade products, but for people who are better at selling than creating. Consumers across the world are designing and creating products, while others increasingly use the web to become part-time shopkeepers. An online design brokerage could match part-time designers with part-time sellers, each focusing on what they do best. One to start? If you do, be sure to let us know .
More at: www.patpendingstore.com
What would make this concept worthwhile, is if a customer could buy the rights to a truly unique design. Think a Threadless-like graphic on a t-shirt, or a quirky dress designed by a talented fashion student. (In their defence, Pat Pending is currently asking designers to submit designs that slogans can be printed in/on.) Buy and sell those designs, produce and ship the goods, add easy to operate, no-inventory webshops like Zlio, and you've created an innovative service that adds value for all parties involved. A bit like Etsy, the marketplace for handmade products, but for people who are better at selling than creating. Consumers across the world are designing and creating products, while others increasingly use the web to become part-time shopkeepers. An online design brokerage could match part-time designers with part-time sellers, each focusing on what they do best. One to start? If you do, be sure to let us know .
More at: www.patpendingstore.com
Healthline provides a search engine for health and health related items.
Healthline raised : $21 Million from GE/NBC Universal's Peacock Equity Fund, Aetna Ventures, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, U.S. News and World Report, VantagePoint Venture Partners and Reed Elsevier Ventures.
Healthline was founded as YourDoctor.com in 1999 and stuck around until it was re-launched as Healthline Networks in 2005. According to Healthline, they have become a top 10 health information destination site with over 4.2 million monthly unique visitors generating over 17 million page views per month.
Their current search engine Healthline.com provides comprehensive health content, from information on diseases to symptoms and drugs. Their search engine was developed in conjunction with physicians. They have an astounding terminology database of over one million medical terms and consumer-friendly synonyms, as well as 70,000 medical concepts. Their taxonomy gives structure and organization to the information.
Interesting virtual world and market place.
More at:www.healthline.com
Healthline was founded as YourDoctor.com in 1999 and stuck around until it was re-launched as Healthline Networks in 2005. According to Healthline, they have become a top 10 health information destination site with over 4.2 million monthly unique visitors generating over 17 million page views per month.
Their current search engine Healthline.com provides comprehensive health content, from information on diseases to symptoms and drugs. Their search engine was developed in conjunction with physicians. They have an astounding terminology database of over one million medical terms and consumer-friendly synonyms, as well as 70,000 medical concepts. Their taxonomy gives structure and organization to the information.
Interesting virtual world and market place.
More at:www.healthline.com
With Ebates You Can Make Money While Shopping Online
Ebates finds all the rebates online and collects them for you after you have purchased an online product. All you have to do is register, search for the item/product you want, buy the product and your cash back will return in your Ebates account.They have 800+ stores to buy from linked to their site, including all of the major brand stores. It's brilliant in its simplicity, actually. They even guarantee that you will receive your check from them every three months, that your earnings from the stores will be posted as soon as they receive them, and that your private information will be secure and confidential.
Ebates is all about saving money and getting Cash Back whenever you shop online. When you become a member and shop through Ebates, you can save literally thousands of dollars every year on the things you're already buying.
More at:http://www.ebates.com/
Ebates is all about saving money and getting Cash Back whenever you shop online. When you become a member and shop through Ebates, you can save literally thousands of dollars every year on the things you're already buying.
More at:http://www.ebates.com/
Connectbeam utilizes the technology that made other social networking sites prosperous and is transforming it to work in the context of business
Connectbeam utilizes the technology that made other social networking sites prosperous and is transforming it to work in the context of business. The site is testimonial rich from well know computer magazines and was listed in InformationWeek as one of 5 Enterprise 2.0 startups to watch. Connectbeam is privately held and venture backed.
The company has received attention from the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch and many other blogs, and Gartner and other analyst firms. Connectbeam brings the 'Web 2.0' information-sharing, collaboration, and ease of use of sites like MySpace and del.icio.us to the daily work-flow of enterprise employees. It helps companies boost innovation, improve decisions, intensify collaboration, and build critical stakeholder relationships. Connectbeam was founded by experienced entrepreneurs with decades of experience in the enterprise software market. The company is venture backed and privately held.
More at:http://connectbeam.com/
The company has received attention from the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch and many other blogs, and Gartner and other analyst firms. Connectbeam brings the 'Web 2.0' information-sharing, collaboration, and ease of use of sites like MySpace and del.icio.us to the daily work-flow of enterprise employees. It helps companies boost innovation, improve decisions, intensify collaboration, and build critical stakeholder relationships. Connectbeam was founded by experienced entrepreneurs with decades of experience in the enterprise software market. The company is venture backed and privately held.
More at:http://connectbeam.com/
Connecting Entrepreneurs
Cofoundr is a private community for entrepreneurs -- programmers, designers, investors, and other individuals deeply involved with starting new ventures. Members use this site to find co-founders, build teams, and get advice. The site is currently in public beta.
It’s a place to network with people who are interesting in starting up a new venture on the web. Ideas are everywhere, but you need a team to turn them into reality, well, a virtual reality, in a completely different sense of the word. Sign in and start building your profile, specify your abilities and the kinds of people you are looking to network with. Post your idea on the bulletin board or write on the forum. This is about increasing your chances to work with programmers if you’re more talented from the business end, finding promising ventures to invest in, and all of these things vice versa.
Building a proper network for this genre of business is going to be particularly successful, for a couple of reasons. First of all, because besides broader interest networks like LinkdIn or informal, decentralized discussion boards and networking are currently the only options for us. Secondly, because it’s more intelligent than simply uploading a profile and maybe some interests, it’s specifically designed so that you can network specifically to build a team and get your startup rolling. Kudos for this much overdue and well designed network.
More at:www.cofoundr.com
It’s a place to network with people who are interesting in starting up a new venture on the web. Ideas are everywhere, but you need a team to turn them into reality, well, a virtual reality, in a completely different sense of the word. Sign in and start building your profile, specify your abilities and the kinds of people you are looking to network with. Post your idea on the bulletin board or write on the forum. This is about increasing your chances to work with programmers if you’re more talented from the business end, finding promising ventures to invest in, and all of these things vice versa.
Building a proper network for this genre of business is going to be particularly successful, for a couple of reasons. First of all, because besides broader interest networks like LinkdIn or informal, decentralized discussion boards and networking are currently the only options for us. Secondly, because it’s more intelligent than simply uploading a profile and maybe some interests, it’s specifically designed so that you can network specifically to build a team and get your startup rolling. Kudos for this much overdue and well designed network.
More at:www.cofoundr.com
Download World Cinemas With"Jaman"
Jaman invites you to pop up the Jiffy and enjoy world cinema, without burning though your pockets at the Cineplex. Download and experience the magic of movies and then discuss them with other film aficionados. Jaman has created a portal that’s opening up a whole new world of social cinema, with high def films from all over the world with three full-length features. Watch, discuss, and watch it again if you want, best of all, you won’t have to worry about sneaking gummy bears past security to enjoy a spectacular cinematic adventure.
More at:http://www.jaman.com/
Via-Killerstartups
More at:http://www.jaman.com/
Via-Killerstartups
SwarmBuy provides a marketplace where individual consumer voices can be combined into a collective bargaining force
SwarmBuy provides a marketplace where individual consumer voices can be combined into a collective bargaining force. When a buyer is looking for a product they can join an existing Swarm or, if one doesn't exist, they can start a new Swarm point for the product. Buyers then choose amongst any available seller offers for the deal they like the most. On the flip side... Sellers can search for items they are willing to fulfill and can make offers to the members of the associated Swarms. Sellers may offer to fulfill as many, or as few items as they want, leaving the unfulfilled remainder available to other sellers. Sellers compete against one another to attract buyers by offering competitive prices and deals. Sellers benefit from this approach by having the opportunity to fulfill large orders that might not be possible for them within a traditional environment. Sellers are welcome to create their own swarms.
More at:http://www.swarmbuy.com/
More at:http://www.swarmbuy.com/
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
New Business Opportunities "Virtual Real Estate"
Weblo is a virtual world and virtual market place for you to buy and sell whatever you like. The catch is that nothing is for real, it is all pretend.
Three popular virtual items are property (real estated), celebrity fan sites, and domains. While the items are pretend they mimic real world entites or individuals. You may purchased property by being the first to register the exact address. Once it is purchased you may sell it to others.
Interesting virtual world and market place. Take a look at Weblo.
They raised:Weblo raised $3.3 Million from VantagePoint Venture Partners.
More at:http://weblo.com/
Three popular virtual items are property (real estated), celebrity fan sites, and domains. While the items are pretend they mimic real world entites or individuals. You may purchased property by being the first to register the exact address. Once it is purchased you may sell it to others.
Interesting virtual world and market place. Take a look at Weblo.
They raised:Weblo raised $3.3 Million from VantagePoint Venture Partners.
More at:http://weblo.com/
Build Start Up In Just72-Hours
Last weekend in Boulder, Colo., home of InformationWeek's Rocky Mountain Bureau, a group of about 70 or so entrepeneurs, investors, software developers, Web designers and marketing geniuses, plus at least one massage therapist, got together with an audacious goal: create and launch a new online business in 72 hours. Conceived by 23-year-old graphic designer Andrew Hyde, Startup Weekend was an experiment in company creation and an attempt to set the land-speed record for entrepreneurialism.
In marathon small-group sessions punctuated by hourly meetings (and 90-second yoga breaks), the flash entrepeneurs winnowed a group of 10 business ideas down to the three and then chose one: VoSnap, an online voting tool that "facilitates group decision making quickly and easily" by allowing boards of directors, business colleagues, knitting clubs to cast votes and share opinions immediately using a laptop computer, a mobile phone, or any other connected device.
Exhausting just to read, the Startup Weekend minute-by-minute blog is a look inside the sausage factory, from the early consensus on the initial group of business ideas, to "Legal has incorporated the company—it's real now" at 1:50 a.m. on Sunday, to boos and applause from the punch-drunk crowd, to business-building decisions made in minutes instead of weeks. The launch of VoSnap.com was supposed to happen by midnight Sunday evening; unfortunately at 3 a.m. on Monday, the small core of developers still at their screens "were ready to launch *something*" reports David Cohen, one of the instigators of the weekend, "but were crippled by the timing and the disbanding of the group. Nobody had the right passwords to the production servers, or whatever. It didn’t get done."
Oh well, every fledgling business has glitches – even one conceived and (nearly) launched in two-and-a-half days. Cohen has some very candid thoughts on what went wrong ("development is hard") and the many things that went right, including the following lessons for next time: make the goals clear both inside and outside the room; choose the "most experienced and respected folks," not just the Big Dog personalities, as team leaders; don't be laid back about milestone decisions; and make the Sunday midnight deadline completely firm. "Launch something at that time, no matter what."
Sounds like good advice for any startup, not just a weekend job. Cohen says 5 other cities have already contacted the Startup Weekend principals to ask about setting up their own versions.
More at:http://www.vosnap.com/
Via-Information Week
In marathon small-group sessions punctuated by hourly meetings (and 90-second yoga breaks), the flash entrepeneurs winnowed a group of 10 business ideas down to the three and then chose one: VoSnap, an online voting tool that "facilitates group decision making quickly and easily" by allowing boards of directors, business colleagues, knitting clubs to cast votes and share opinions immediately using a laptop computer, a mobile phone, or any other connected device.
Exhausting just to read, the Startup Weekend minute-by-minute blog is a look inside the sausage factory, from the early consensus on the initial group of business ideas, to "Legal has incorporated the company—it's real now" at 1:50 a.m. on Sunday, to boos and applause from the punch-drunk crowd, to business-building decisions made in minutes instead of weeks. The launch of VoSnap.com was supposed to happen by midnight Sunday evening; unfortunately at 3 a.m. on Monday, the small core of developers still at their screens "were ready to launch *something*" reports David Cohen, one of the instigators of the weekend, "but were crippled by the timing and the disbanding of the group. Nobody had the right passwords to the production servers, or whatever. It didn’t get done."
Oh well, every fledgling business has glitches – even one conceived and (nearly) launched in two-and-a-half days. Cohen has some very candid thoughts on what went wrong ("development is hard") and the many things that went right, including the following lessons for next time: make the goals clear both inside and outside the room; choose the "most experienced and respected folks," not just the Big Dog personalities, as team leaders; don't be laid back about milestone decisions; and make the Sunday midnight deadline completely firm. "Launch something at that time, no matter what."
Sounds like good advice for any startup, not just a weekend job. Cohen says 5 other cities have already contacted the Startup Weekend principals to ask about setting up their own versions.
More at:http://www.vosnap.com/
Via-Information Week
OblinQ can get you money through the internet without really selling anything.
OblinQ can get you money through the internet without really selling anything. OblinQ will help you make a website where you recommend products through any merchants and if someone decides to buy through your site you are given a referall fee for the hit from participating merchants. The basis behind OblinQ is that they believe that the consumer moreso than anyone else knows exactly what other consumers want. So by someone creating a virtual boutique store they can zero in on exactly what it is that the customers desire. And they think that the makers of these virtual boutiques deserve to be paid for their efforts.
Become a BRAND. Start recommending products with your very own store. You did the research, you bought stuff you love. Why not share and recommend your ideas to others? Earn commissions from participating merchants. "Even if you don't have your own e-commerce capabilities, you can create a website through OblinQ and get in on the new monetization strategies available in today's web economy through services such as OblinQ. " - Beti Cung, Manager, Microsoft Emerging Business ...
More at:http://www.oblinq.com/Home/Home.aspx
Become a BRAND. Start recommending products with your very own store. You did the research, you bought stuff you love. Why not share and recommend your ideas to others? Earn commissions from participating merchants. "Even if you don't have your own e-commerce capabilities, you can create a website through OblinQ and get in on the new monetization strategies available in today's web economy through services such as OblinQ. " - Beti Cung, Manager, Microsoft Emerging Business ...
More at:http://www.oblinq.com/Home/Home.aspx
Make Videos And Earn Cash
VIDSZoo.com has developed and created the most unique online video sharing competition available on the internet today. VIDSZoo.com “Where Where Creativity…PAYS!” the next generation of online video sharing is here and it’s called VIDSZoo.com. Navigate through the site and find out what being a part of the “Zoo” is all about. art of the “Zoo” is all about. VIDSZoo.com believes that we are in partnership with our members and as such, we have made the commitment to provide an easy, fun win/win situation enviornment that is sure to please.
In VIDSZoo’s case, you charge for membership, host contests, and share the revenue. Members upload their home made flicks and submit them in the appropriate category; there’s no submission limit, however, each video can be placed in only one category. If within 30 days your video is voted to the top, you’ll get cool merch (iPods, cell phones, etc.) or cash; there’s also a possibility of attending the (prestigious?)Blue Monkey Video awards. Even if you’re not a winner you’ll still enjoy unlimited uploads, a personal profile page and video library, and more. Sign up now for a free trial period; after that it’s $35 a year.
More at:http://www.vidszoo.com/
In VIDSZoo’s case, you charge for membership, host contests, and share the revenue. Members upload their home made flicks and submit them in the appropriate category; there’s no submission limit, however, each video can be placed in only one category. If within 30 days your video is voted to the top, you’ll get cool merch (iPods, cell phones, etc.) or cash; there’s also a possibility of attending the (prestigious?)Blue Monkey Video awards. Even if you’re not a winner you’ll still enjoy unlimited uploads, a personal profile page and video library, and more. Sign up now for a free trial period; after that it’s $35 a year.
More at:http://www.vidszoo.com/
Analystsedge.com is like reddit or digg for finance news
Analystsedge.com is like reddit or digg for finance news. Users can post and rate their favorite stories on all things finance. And, like Digg, the stories with the highest ratings get to the top of the site. The site offers three main categories of private equity, hedge fund, venture capital fund news. The site has a forum, and also lists the all-time most popular stories and the most recent news. The site also has a job board, which you can post for $150/30 days. The only obvious missing component that is a social networking angle to create individual profiles, which they may be hoping to add as the site gains momentum .
Creating a niche site for the financial world seems smart and will probably make some financial institutions and insider traders nervous.
More at:http://www.analystsedge.com/
Creating a niche site for the financial world seems smart and will probably make some financial institutions and insider traders nervous.
More at:http://www.analystsedge.com/
Monday, July 16, 2007
ViaTalk Free is a way to call people at no charge
ViaTalk Free is a way to call people at no charge. ViaTalk will connect you for free and you’ll get up to 10 minutes to chat away. Simply enter in your phone number and then enter the phone number of the person you’re trying to reach, and ViaTalk will connect you. This obviously works best if you’re using a land line and calling someone long distance, if you don’t already have a long distance phone plan. You could also use it with your cell phone, but then it wouldn’t be entirely free.
This service also doesn’t seem to work with International phone numbers. The primary goal of ViaTalk Free, however, is to help bring VoIP more into the mainstream, introducing broadband phone options to users that may not have considered VoIP as a personal option. Unfortunately there isn’t much information on the ViaTalk site regarding the free service option, but who doesn’t like free?
More at:http://www.viatalkfree.com/
This service also doesn’t seem to work with International phone numbers. The primary goal of ViaTalk Free, however, is to help bring VoIP more into the mainstream, introducing broadband phone options to users that may not have considered VoIP as a personal option. Unfortunately there isn’t much information on the ViaTalk site regarding the free service option, but who doesn’t like free?
More at:http://www.viatalkfree.com/
Make Millions With A Microsite
Gerald Prolman launched OrganicBouquet.com in 2003 to sell sustainably grown flowers that are freshly picked and then gift-wrapped. But as the company grew, he needed a better way to meet the increasing demand from florists, event planners and other whole-salers. So in June, Prolman launched a microsite to make it easier for these customers to place orders.
A microsite lets you focus on a specific purpose, such as selling clearance or discounted items, selling products to businesses vs. consumers, promoting new merchandise, or trying out a new product line. Sometimes the design and navigation of a microsite differs from its parent site. “Unlike consumers, florists shop by variety and color, so the site is set up to help florists find what they need quickly,” says Prolman, 46, who projects 2006 sales of up to $5 million for his San Rafael, California, company.
So why didn’t Prolman just launch a separate section on his existing website to focus on wholesalers? Simple: to prevent consumers or future competitors from having easy access to the customized pricing available to wholesale customers. “The pricing is tailor-made for each customer based on volume,” says Prolman. “Once approved as a wholesale account, they will be given access to the site.”
More at:http://www.organicbouquetwholesale.com/
A microsite lets you focus on a specific purpose, such as selling clearance or discounted items, selling products to businesses vs. consumers, promoting new merchandise, or trying out a new product line. Sometimes the design and navigation of a microsite differs from its parent site. “Unlike consumers, florists shop by variety and color, so the site is set up to help florists find what they need quickly,” says Prolman, 46, who projects 2006 sales of up to $5 million for his San Rafael, California, company.
So why didn’t Prolman just launch a separate section on his existing website to focus on wholesalers? Simple: to prevent consumers or future competitors from having easy access to the customized pricing available to wholesale customers. “The pricing is tailor-made for each customer based on volume,” says Prolman. “Once approved as a wholesale account, they will be given access to the site.”
More at:http://www.organicbouquetwholesale.com/
Find And Test Your Million Dollor Idea
This group will help you create and prove a business idea that leads to your life vision, won’t break the bank, and is based on your values, strengths, and passions!
“Once I get my million dollar idea, THEN I’ll start my business.”
We’ve all heard this excuse! It may be the most common one in the book and is based on the false premise that great business ideas just hit us on the head while we’re doing something else. The reality of most successful business ideas arise as a result of continued brainstorming and testing! This group will help you do just that.
Group Features
Unlimited support with 24-hr response from group leader
Daily step-by-step instructions that walk you through specific actions you need to take in order to come up with a viable business idea
Four one-hour conference calls to hold you accountable to completing the actions and to receive multiple perspectives on the challenges you're facing from other members
Help finding a like-minded, daily accountability partner
Topics Covered
Creating, testing, researching, prototyping, pitching, protecting, and planning a profitable business idea that helps you achieve your life vision and is based around your passions, values, and strengths.
This Group Is For You If…
You have a million ideas and don’t know which to choose!
You have no idea what business you want to start, but you know you want to start one.
You have one idea that you’d like to test the feasibility of once and for all!
Expectations
Attend all of the conference calls
Post on the discussion board when asked to by the group moderator
Spend at least 15 minutes every weekday taking action steps toward coming up with and proving your business idea
Find an accountability partner (we can help)
Honor the privacy of other members
Conference Call Dates
Join us on August 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2007 at 8:00-9:00pm EST!
More at:http://www.journeypage.com/groups/entrepreneurship_0707/
“Once I get my million dollar idea, THEN I’ll start my business.”
We’ve all heard this excuse! It may be the most common one in the book and is based on the false premise that great business ideas just hit us on the head while we’re doing something else. The reality of most successful business ideas arise as a result of continued brainstorming and testing! This group will help you do just that.
Group Features
Unlimited support with 24-hr response from group leader
Daily step-by-step instructions that walk you through specific actions you need to take in order to come up with a viable business idea
Four one-hour conference calls to hold you accountable to completing the actions and to receive multiple perspectives on the challenges you're facing from other members
Help finding a like-minded, daily accountability partner
Topics Covered
Creating, testing, researching, prototyping, pitching, protecting, and planning a profitable business idea that helps you achieve your life vision and is based around your passions, values, and strengths.
This Group Is For You If…
You have a million ideas and don’t know which to choose!
You have no idea what business you want to start, but you know you want to start one.
You have one idea that you’d like to test the feasibility of once and for all!
Expectations
Attend all of the conference calls
Post on the discussion board when asked to by the group moderator
Spend at least 15 minutes every weekday taking action steps toward coming up with and proving your business idea
Find an accountability partner (we can help)
Honor the privacy of other members
Conference Call Dates
Join us on August 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2007 at 8:00-9:00pm EST!
More at:http://www.journeypage.com/groups/entrepreneurship_0707/
Brightkite
Brightkite is a new notification service for the purpose of providing options to users as to what kind of notifications they’d like to receive. The service is currently under pretty tight wraps, and the public beta is set to launch soon.
With the options of receiving updates via email, instant messenger or SMS text messages, Brightkite will give website publishers the ability to extend these options to the end user. Instead of having to constantly check our email inbox, people will be able to choose which type of notification they’d like. This could be for signing up for the alert to check out the public beta (as brightkite has done) or finding out when your friends have uploaded new images to their blog.
Brightkite’s future plan is to enable users to send notifications to their community from a mobile device, sort of a reverse option for its initial service offering. This future plan is probably a more important development for the company, as it empowers the end user directly, instead of as a result of another client utilizing Brightkite’s service. That way, users choose where the messages are sent, and who sees these notifications, building on Brightkite’s own platform and creating smaller communities in the process. Otherwise, much of what Brightkite offers is already built in to many of the applications we already use: access to email and instant messengers on your cell phone, SMS notifications for your Facebook newsfeeds, and so on.
more at:http://brightkite.com/
With the options of receiving updates via email, instant messenger or SMS text messages, Brightkite will give website publishers the ability to extend these options to the end user. Instead of having to constantly check our email inbox, people will be able to choose which type of notification they’d like. This could be for signing up for the alert to check out the public beta (as brightkite has done) or finding out when your friends have uploaded new images to their blog.
Brightkite’s future plan is to enable users to send notifications to their community from a mobile device, sort of a reverse option for its initial service offering. This future plan is probably a more important development for the company, as it empowers the end user directly, instead of as a result of another client utilizing Brightkite’s service. That way, users choose where the messages are sent, and who sees these notifications, building on Brightkite’s own platform and creating smaller communities in the process. Otherwise, much of what Brightkite offers is already built in to many of the applications we already use: access to email and instant messengers on your cell phone, SMS notifications for your Facebook newsfeeds, and so on.
more at:http://brightkite.com/
Foodio54 is a new restaurant review site
Foodio54 is a new restaurant review site that has recently launched.
The main purpose of Foodio54 is to find new restaurants on a local level, and review the ones you’ve already been to. Foodio54 has already included a large directory of restaurants nationwide, so you’re likely to find what you’re looking for. If you come across a restaurant you’ve already been to, you can leave a review and a rating. For restaurants you may be interested in, you can set a reminder for Foodio54 to get back to you about it later. This directory can also be edited by the community, so if you find a restaurant that should be deleted because it went out of business, you can submit a deletion request. If a restaurant is not included in Foodio54’s directory, you can be the first to add it.
While you can befriend other users, you cannot subscribe to their reviews. One of Foodio54’s features is the tracking of all the places you’ve reviewed first, which allows users to build some authority and credibility within the site, making it more important to be able to bookmark or subscribe to other users. I’d also like to see the ability to include photos with a review, as well as create a permanent list of places I’d like to check out, such as Menuism has done. Relying less on friends’ reviews and incorporating a personal recommendation system, as Group Recipes has done, would be great as well.
More at:http://foodio54.com/
Via-Mas
The main purpose of Foodio54 is to find new restaurants on a local level, and review the ones you’ve already been to. Foodio54 has already included a large directory of restaurants nationwide, so you’re likely to find what you’re looking for. If you come across a restaurant you’ve already been to, you can leave a review and a rating. For restaurants you may be interested in, you can set a reminder for Foodio54 to get back to you about it later. This directory can also be edited by the community, so if you find a restaurant that should be deleted because it went out of business, you can submit a deletion request. If a restaurant is not included in Foodio54’s directory, you can be the first to add it.
While you can befriend other users, you cannot subscribe to their reviews. One of Foodio54’s features is the tracking of all the places you’ve reviewed first, which allows users to build some authority and credibility within the site, making it more important to be able to bookmark or subscribe to other users. I’d also like to see the ability to include photos with a review, as well as create a permanent list of places I’d like to check out, such as Menuism has done. Relying less on friends’ reviews and incorporating a personal recommendation system, as Group Recipes has done, would be great as well.
More at:http://foodio54.com/
Via-Mas
Semapedia
Tagging in the real, meatspace world is an urban, semi-artistic endeavor which entails scrawling your handle all over public surfaces. Tagging in the wired universe is, of course, a folksonomy, a means of categorizing and organizing ideas, terms, things and themes. Semapedia brings the two together again, so to speak. Here’s how it works: you choose a wiki article with a real world connection. Copy the article’s URL and paste it into the Semapedia form (on the site’s homepage). Semapedia will churn out custom made tags available as a printable PDF. Print out the tags and attach them according to the content they link to (in some cases, it’d be wise to ask for permission, or simply do your deed at under the cover of nightfall). Cell phone users will be able access the wiki info by simply pointing their screens at the tag (provided they first download a 2D Barcode Reader for their phone). It’s tagging 2.0 style.
More at:http://www.semapedia.org/
More at:http://www.semapedia.org/
Fundable.com lets groups of people pool funds to make purchases or raise money
Fundable.com lets groups of people pool funds to make purchases or raise money. Similar to online auctions, Fundable's pages are created by people who use this site. Each project has a description of how much money needs to be collected and what it will do. Once enough pledges (not payments) have been collected, Fundable turns them into real payments and sends the total to the project's organizer. No one takes a risk when making a pledge: if a collection expires before reaching its total in pledges, Fundable deletes all pledges and never charges money. This lets you participate in a group purchase or fundraiser without worrying about what other people will do. No one pays until and unless everyone else makes a pledge.”
Fundable.org is a great idea, and your imagination is the limit of what you might raise money for. It is a fast and secure way to raise money or even make group purchases in a very simple way. Also, you have the security that your credit card or paypal account will not be charged unless the goal is met, so you know you are not throwing the money away here: either you are sure that the money goes to the group leader when you pledge for a fund raise (a good cause, most probably); or you are being charged when you are sure the group purchase is going on.
More at:http://fundable.org/
Fundable.org is a great idea, and your imagination is the limit of what you might raise money for. It is a fast and secure way to raise money or even make group purchases in a very simple way. Also, you have the security that your credit card or paypal account will not be charged unless the goal is met, so you know you are not throwing the money away here: either you are sure that the money goes to the group leader when you pledge for a fund raise (a good cause, most probably); or you are being charged when you are sure the group purchase is going on.
More at:http://fundable.org/
Sunday, July 15, 2007
TrailGuide
Optimized Mobile Application With TrailGuide, the Basecamp experience has been adapted for efficiency on the phone so you can see more of the most important things on screen quickly and easily. Switching between projects takes seconds with just a few button presses and the whole application takes advantage of touch screens, scroll wheels, 5-way controls, back buttons and keyboards for navigation and data entry. View and Edit When you need to see what's fresh, check your projects to see if there's new activity. TrailGuide will post any pending changes you have made on the phone and show you if any projects have been updated. Just select the project to download the latest activity and begin working with it immediately. Stored Locally Having your project information stored locally on your phone does more than just give you access when you're offline. It provides instant visibility to Messages, Comments, Milestones and To-Do lists. Using TrailGuide, there's no waiting for pages to load in a mobile browser or scrolling through layouts that are designed for the desktop. Safe and Secure TrailGuide uses industry standard SSL to connect to Basecamp (the same level of security that online banks use), so your passwords and data are safe when downloaded to your phone. And even though TrailBlazer uses a server to communicate efficiently between your phone and your Basecamp data, nothing is stored permanently on the server.
More at:http://carrytheday.com/
More at:http://carrytheday.com/
Find New Customers in minutes "The New Google" Or Other Google"!
Find New Customers in minutes. Megaglobe Ads is the most cost-effective way for online advertisers to find new customers.
With millions of Internet users online, Megaglobe Ads provides an avenue for you to reach your target audience and drive traffic to your website.
Megaglobe Ads utilizes the Pay Per Valid Click (patent pending) technology to identify fraudulent and invalid clicks. Such clicks are not charged to our advertisers accounts.
Your Megaglobe Ads campaign is easy to create and allows you to advertise worldwide in minutes!
Are you ready to take your website to the next level? With Megaglobe Ads your new customers are just a click away.
More at:http://www.megaglobe.com/
With millions of Internet users online, Megaglobe Ads provides an avenue for you to reach your target audience and drive traffic to your website.
Megaglobe Ads utilizes the Pay Per Valid Click (patent pending) technology to identify fraudulent and invalid clicks. Such clicks are not charged to our advertisers accounts.
Your Megaglobe Ads campaign is easy to create and allows you to advertise worldwide in minutes!
Are you ready to take your website to the next level? With Megaglobe Ads your new customers are just a click away.
More at:http://www.megaglobe.com/
A New Online Social Networking Site Aimed For Professionals
www.highflya.com is a new online social networking site aimed for professionals all over the world highflya offers some unique features which are new to social network sites such as Vidmail its a form of videomessaging a professional individual ,its very good for getting consultations , industry advice and just communicating with other professionals on a more personal note .
HighFlya has an event listing board which can be sorted by date and country, there are also groups, forums and a job recruitment page on which prospective employees can post their CV’s. The site is free to join, however you can upgrade your account for a fee. Silver members pay 2 pounds a month and are allowed better listings on search/browse as well as 5 VidMails per month. Gold members must dole out 5 pounds in order to get even better listings on search/browse and 20 VidMails per month. Platinum members get the best listings and unlimited mails for a mere 10 quid a month.
more at:http://www.highflya.com/
HighFlya has an event listing board which can be sorted by date and country, there are also groups, forums and a job recruitment page on which prospective employees can post their CV’s. The site is free to join, however you can upgrade your account for a fee. Silver members pay 2 pounds a month and are allowed better listings on search/browse as well as 5 VidMails per month. Gold members must dole out 5 pounds in order to get even better listings on search/browse and 20 VidMails per month. Platinum members get the best listings and unlimited mails for a mere 10 quid a month.
more at:http://www.highflya.com/
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