It was released in mid-September, but it’s the first update to iBegin Share since earlier this year. If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know that I’ve spoken out about content sharing tools in the past, so I figured it was worth mentioning.
I hate using the word “solution” when it comes to software: it implies that it solves problems. Software never solves problems, quite the opposite in a lot of cases. At best it can only augment stuff you already do in other ways; at worst it can make tasks more difficult. Here’s a real world example. On a recent PSL discussion thread, Jason Meinzer from CityRyde asked for suggestions for task management systems.
Got some questions from a PSL member via email the other day. They are pretty common questions for anyone starting their first ecommerce website, so I thought I’d share the questions and my responses. Any recommendations on a cheap payment processing solution to use with Zen Cart since considering order volume may be quite low and sparse to start.
I’ve learned that “cheap” and “payment processing solution” never go together, and you should run the other way if they do.
I was quoted in another IT World article last week discussing how mentoring occurs in open source communities. Below is the full text I sent to the author, in case anyone wanted more background on my comments.
In my experience, mentoring in open source projects occurs between the project leaders (i.e. artisans) and their most active community members (i.e. journeymen). In other words, rarely does the complete newbie directly benefit from the knowledge of team.
Vindication! I gave up on the keywords meta tag long ago, but plenty of “SEO gurus” say you should still fill it with a moderate amount of garbage loosely relating to your site. Like I said the other day, anyone can do a decent job at SEO by utilizing some common sense and elbow grease. This video was posted yesterday to the Google Webmaster Help Channel on YouTube. Matt Cutts has spoken, that is all.
Are you planning to attend a trade show or expo to showcase your product or service? Costs surrounding these events tend to run into the ridiculous category, even for established companies. If you’re a startup, it’s quite the juggling act. We recently had a very lively discussion on the matter on the Philly Startup Leaders mailing list, chock full of hints, tips, and suggestions from those who have been there/done that.
I’ll admit it, I was real lazy getting on the SEO train. It took starting my own company for me to finally start paying attention. SEO for my previous major site work was handled for me. ClassicWines had other staff dedicated to the issue, and Destination ImagiNation had such a huge network of affiliate sites that the SEO literally handled itself. Even this blog went unattended in the SEO category. I had posts tagged, I submitted the site to the search engines and Technorati, I installed Platinum SEO Pack, I figured that was good enough.
A recent computer repair delivery left me with a huge box full of packing peanuts. This turned out to be a pretty fun toy for my cat Fox this afternoon, despite his reluctance…
When I was a Comcast customer, the cable quality itself was decent but everything around it sucked. Everything cost way too much. FYI, all the prices you see them advertise — you know, the ones that actually sound reasonable? — are introductory rates, and skyrocket after 6-12 months (though I hear you can keep them indefinitely if you call when the rates expire and threaten to cancel). Getting support meant a huge telephone system to navigate, long wait times, and typically routed you to India.
