Bloggingกs Future: Up, Up and Away?

Bloggingกs Future: Up, Up and Away?

by: Dr V P Kochikar

Beyond a doubt, blogging has a bright future. Itกs tempting to get carried away by all the exuberance being generated.

Bill Gates says blogging กwill fundamentally change how we document our livesก. Technoratiกs CEO David Sifry says that there are 11 blog posts being made every second!

While this may well be true, we must resist the temptation to get carried away. Letกs analyze bloggingกs prospects as a กpersonal technologyก, or a technology that individuals use to improve their effectiveness or productivity, or simply to have fun.

All successful personal technologies that gain widespread use (be it the humble pen, the telephone or the iPod), bear certain hallmarks: they are easy to use, fulfil a basic need, and provide a new way to express an existing behavior or habit. Technologies that make the cut on these three respects tend to ‘takeoffก, with their use surging steeply*.

Blogging certainly fulfils a basic need, the need for selfexpression and social interaction. It is also more powerful in many respects than other technologies that meet similar needs the telephone, email or online chatting in that it is more กpermanentก, and allows visibility to anyone who can access the Web. It also provides a new way to exercise our natural propensity to form groups with likeminded folks, by allowing us to form กvirtual communitiesก on the Web. It also allows people to กdiscoverก others with similar tastes, wherever they may be in the world.

Well, that leaves ease of use. I am afraid blogging is somewhat less stellar in this respect while it is simpler than creating personal Web pages, it still lags far behind the telephone and email in ease of use. So, ease of use is the first thing that needs to improve about blogs (I hope the blog toolmakers are listening).

If one is tempted to argue that blogging is already very successful, one only needs to pause to consider the numbers: by most estimates there are around 80 million blogs in the world as of today, while the number of telephones worldwide (fixedline and mobile) is around 2 billion. This is not to take anything away from the success of blogging, but only to establish (an admittedly somewhat crude) benchmark!

However, weกve looked at only half the picture so far becoming successful. Success brings its own problems, and sure enough, blogging too will need to overcome a couple of challenges that success brings with it:

Better ways to manage กblog clutterก.

Even with the current number of blogs out there, it is becoming difficult for people to navigate the blogosphere. Telephones or email don’t need to solve this problem as they are กpushก technologies, which means that you *want* to restrict who can contact you using these technologies. However, if blogs are to truly live up to their promise of allowing the กdiscoveryก of likeminded folks, then blog search engines should (and will) get smarter.

Search is of course not the only way to manage clutter for example, Business Weekกs Heather Green talks about creating กinfluential bloggerก lists.

Blogging needs to find ways to enable diverse communication needs

Blogging tools already do a halfdecent job of allowing the sharing of digital content. However, as camera phones proliferate, sharing pictures and movies will increasingly become mainstream. Also blogging from heterogenous devices (phones and home appliances come to mind) is likely to need support.

Of course, this piece only addresses blogging as a กpersonal technologyก. Analysis of its prospects in business which are fledgling at the moment is the subject of a different discussion altogether!

_______________

*This is driven by Metcalfeกs Law, which holds that the usefulness of something increases exponentially as the number of users goes up.

About The Author

Dr. V P Kochikar’s (read his blog at www.webquarters.com) current areas of interest are in Strategic Foresight, the Impact of Technology on Business and Society, Knowledge Management and Technology Risk Management. He has published widely and serves on the editorial advisory boards and review panels for several international journals and conferences. He has also lectured in a guest capacity at business schools and industry fora in India, the US and the UK. Dr Kochikar has been profiled by Knowledge Management Review magazine, and interviewed by, among others, BBC, Business Today magazine, and the Economic Times. He holds a PhD from IIT Madras, a Bachelor’s in Technology from IIT Bombay and a Master’s in Technology from IISc, Bangalore. Dr. Kochikar is a member of the IEEE Computer Society and the Information Resources Management Association (IRMA).

This article was posted on August 26

by Dr V P Kochikar

Are You Communicating Without Polycom?

Are You Communicating Without Polycom?

by: Jill Meluson

Are all of your business associates, partners and clients always in the same room at the same time? Probably not. For this reason, it is not unheard of to use telephone meetings as a way of communicating. Ordinary handset speakerphones used to be the best way to do this, until now. Enter Polycom.

Polycom, a worldกs leader in providing communication solutions, has introduced some of the best technology in audio video conferencing. As most speakerphones allow you to speak to others in different locations, Polycom offers a way to communicate verbally and visually.

While other products on the market seem to be able to deliver a similar convenience, Polycom offers a variety of telecommunications products to allow for ‘realก interaction. The Polycom SoundStation VTX 1000 is the first wideband conference phone with breakthrough technology.

Polycomกs patented Acoustic Clarity Technology makes the VTX 1000 the first conference phone that adapts to each meeting environment. All participants can feel free to speak from any area in the conference room and they can be heard as clear as when speaking right into the microphone.

When coupled with the Polycom VSX 7400, participants can actually see each other as they communicate verbally. Since the VSX 7400 is a visual component, all parties must have this capability to be able to interact visually.

Most businesses rely on meetings and conferences for day to day activity. With Polycom, you can be in many places at once without ever leaving your office. Although convenience makes the day easier, quality makes it worth while.

About The Author

Jill Meluson is the Marketing Director at TelephoneIsland.com. For more information on Polycom, please visit http://www.telephoneisland.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 14

by Jill Meluson

Basic Technology History

Basic Technology History

by: Tyler D Falls

Online Technology Source

Computers:

First Computer Invented:

Most people when they think of first computer invented they think Bill Gates. This, however, is not true, for the computer was invented long before Bill Gates was around. Bill Gates only revolutionized the computer, buy creating a more compact and useful form of the computer and making it available to everyone with a job.

There are many people out there who would say that the first กcomputerก was the abacus, invented in Asia about 5000 years ago. I however, wouldn’t.

The first of the กmodernก computers was invented during World War II, in 1941 by a German engineer named Konrad Zuse. Its name was the Z3 and it was used to help design German airplanes and missileกs. Then in 1943, the Allied forces developed a computer called Colossus. It helped decode German messages.

The Mark I, designed by Howard H. Aiken, an engineer working with Harvard and IBM. The Mark I was positively huge, taking up half of a football field. It was useful though and it helped to create ballistic charts for the US Navy during the war.

Shortly after this, came the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), developed by John Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly, working with the government and the University of Pennsylvania. ENIAC was about 1000 times faster than The Mark I but no smarter.

The Use of transistors, ment computers that could store memory and even run programs. Soon after computer languages were invented so that people could change the programs run by the computer. Finally computer research brought us smaller, more useful computers, and eventually the kinds of computers that we have today.

First Laptops Invented:

Although it is a little hard to determine what the first portable or laptop computer was, and when it was invented, we can however say that there is more than one claim to laptop fame. There was even signs of laptops dating back as early as 1979. Designed by a Briton, William Moggridge, for use by NASA in early 1980กs. IT was one fifth the weight of any model equivalent in performance and was a 340K byte bubble memory laptop computer with diecast magnesium case and folding electroluminescent graphics display screen.

Since then notebook PCกs released in 1981 lay clam to being the first. It was the Epson HX20, a battery powered portable computer, with a 20character by 4 line LCD display and a builtin printer that started the new widespread desire for these laptop computers.

In January of 1982, Microsoftกs Kazuhiko Nishi and Bill Gates begin discussions on designing a portable computer, based on using a new liquid crystal display or LCD screen. LCD technology in 1982? Yeah thatกs right! Believe it or not we had the technology to make the LCD tvs and monitors that youกve seen only recently over 22 years ago. But thatกs another story in itself.

First PDAs Invented:

First of all PDA stands for personal digital assistants in case you didn’t already know. In 1993, Apple Computer Inc. released the very first PDA(personal digital assistants) ‘the Newton®ก. For the next three years, PDA sales dwindled, and were almost off the charts. Then, in March 1996, Palm™, Inc. delivered the industryกs first truly compelling handheld computer, the PalmPilot. Today there are to many PDA companies and products to even bother mentioning.

Some Things You Can Do On A PDA:

Get a Wireless Connection

Surf the Web

Play Music and Video Files

Watch movies Using PocketTV

Play a Game

Use Your Pocket PC as a backup device

Update Office Documents

Download and read Ebooks

Listen to Audio Books

Connect to Windows servers using Terminal Services

Use Messenger Tools

Change the theme of your Pocket PC

Project the Pocket PC screen onto your desktop

Study

Do Your Taxes

Some PDA Software:

Medical/Drug Resources PDA Software

Medical Calculators PDA Software

Learning Tools PDA Software

Patient Tracking PDA Software

Document Readers PDA Software

Medical Equipment PDA Software

Databases PDA Software

Printing PDA Software

News and Information PDA Services

Street Finders and Maps PDA Software

Bible Study PDA Software

Voice Command PDA Software

Language Translator PDA Software

Tax PDA Software

Home Entertainment Technology:

Home Entertainment really is just a collaboration of all our entertainment technologies into a package that surely will not disappoint us. Home entertainment systems have many different parts that together give us the feeling of being at the movies.

Plasma TV

LCD Panel TV

DLP Rear Projection TV

Video Projectors

Surround Sound Audio Systems

Speakers

DVD / CD / VCR Players

Accessories and Furniture

Satellite Television

Media Center HTPCs

First Television Invented:

The first signs of a tele date back to the 1862 when Abbe Giovanna Caselli invents his กpantelegraphก and becomes the first person to transmit a still image over wires. In 1900, at the Worldกs Fair in Paris, the 1st International Congress of Electricity was held, where Russian, Constantin Perskyi made the first known use of the word ‘television.ก In 1930 Charles Jenkins broadcasts the first TV commercial. The BBC begins regular TV transmissions.

Then throughout the years the inventions came one after another. In 1950 the FCC approves the first color television standard which is replaced by a second in 1953. Vladimir Zworykin developed a better camera tube the Vidicon. In 1956 Robert Adler invents the first practical remote control. In 1973 giant screen projection TVs are first marketed. Followed by Sonys release of the first home video cassette recorder in 1976.By time 1996 came around there was a billion TV sets worldwide.

First DVD/Player Invented:

We can only assume the transition over from cdกs and cd players over to dvds and dvd players wasn’t that hard. The technology was already there for them. So the dvd player was surely invented before or right after the dvd was invented. DVDs are the work of many companies and many people. The DVD evolved from CD and related technologies. Companies such as Sony, Philips, Toshiba, Matsushita, Time Warner, and others announced the new กhigh densityก dvd in September of 1995.

For more TechTalk visit http://www.onlinetechnologysource.info

About The Author

Tyler D Falls Technology wiz and website owner http://www.onlinetechnologysource.info.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 31

by Tyler D Falls

The Pitfalls Of Using Technology For Technology’s

The Pitfalls Of Using Technology For Technology’s Sake

by: Diane Hughes

Being a longtime Internet entrepreneur, I have made certain observations over time. Most people who start an online business seem to go through certain กphases.ก They make the same mistakes, and they react the same to different circumstances. All the while, they never realize that much of this behavior sends a glaring red signal that they are undoubtedly newbies.

There is nothing wrong with being a newbie (after all, I wasn’t born this brilliant grin). But ask any novice and they will tell you that they don’t want to appear to be a beginner. That’s why I recently felt the need to bring attention to a typical newbie mistake that you’ll want to avoid. That mistake is using every single piece of new Web technology you can find JUST because it is available.

I understand the appeal of new technology. However, before loading up yet another animated graphic or phasing Web page, ask yourself a few questions.

1. Will this technology add value to my site? By value I mean something that will enhance (and not clutter) your Web visitor’s experience. Other than being cool, will the technology help in some way?

2. Will the technology cause an inconvenience to my visitors? Will an all Flash home page force visitors (even repeat visitors) to sit and watch a twominute long movie each and every time they come to your site? Will tons of animated or rotating graphics files make your home page load extremely slow? Web surfers are very impatient people, you know. I can tell you from experience, they won’t wait.

3. Does the technology require that my site visitor do anything? Will your visitors have to download any special software or plugins to see your site with this new technology? If so, skip it! It isn’t worth the chance of visitors clicking away.

4. Is the technology stable? Is the chat program you’ve installed reliable? Does that new java script work the way it should? Does that streaming video feed skip and crash? If your new technology doesn’t perform up to speed 99% of the time, it isn’t worth causing aggravation to your visitors.

Before making any technological enhancements to your site, think about your visitors. Yes, the new technology may be cool, but if it doesn’t offer some true value to your customers, you would most likely be better off and more professional looking without it.

Copyright 2004 Diane Hughes

About The Author

Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com

FREE Report: Amazingly Simple (Yet Super Powerful) Ways To Skyrocket Your Sales And Build Your Business Into A Tower of Profits! ==>> http://madmarketer.com/diane

This article was posted on September 21, 2004

by Diane Hughes

Growing Your Company In Todayกs Chaotic Market!

Growing Your Company In Todayกs Chaotic Market!

by: Lee Traupel

I think weกve all heard enough bad news to last us few months to last us several lifetimes! Our mantra for clients is กget over itก cut your losses when where you can and focus on the basic building blocks to grow your business. Here are some fundamentals we recommend to any company that wants to survive and grow in this chaotic market:

1. Practice maniacal focus! Who is your customer, how do you reach them with your advertising, partners, channels and/or OEMs? If you can’t readily identify these benchmarks, then you may need to take a hard look at look at your business structure, personnel, costs of good/services, etc. and rework your model.

2. Outsource and build virtuosity into your company. We tell clients to minimize fixed costs like the feudal barons of old they kept a core group of fighters to man the garrison walls and hired (outsourced!) conscripts when the baron from the next door came calling at the castle gates with a legion of longbows behind him to exact tribute. Marketing, finance, HR, IT infrastructure, even product development or manufacturing can be easily outsourced to specialists who have levels of proficiency that you might not be able to afford if you tried to hire them full time.

3. Flex and tier your pricing creatively to minimize barriers to entry. If chaos is the order of the day (and we think it is) then make sure your pricing is tiered or structured so your clients can afford to try out your products and services and be flexible in your negotiations and look for creative ways to bring new customers aboard.

4. Make your suppliers real business partners! Fed Ex and UPS are setting up shop in their customerกs shipping docks to save valuable time and money and become active business partners. You may not have the clout of a Fortune 1K company/behemoth to leverage Fed Ex but you can ask your suppliers to extend terms, work with you on just in time delivery schedules or get creative with pricing, joint promotions, etc.

5. Ensure your marketing fundamentals are up to snuff! We see so many sloppy web sites that do not address the basic fundamentals of good site design, menus, UI, etc., brochures that are out of date, power point presentations that are barely legible, etc. basic marketing principals should be addressed; i.e. integrate your color scheme and logo across all marcom materials (digital and traditional), reinforce your branding and positioning with clearly worded value propositions (กwe save you X by doing Yก) and ensure your logo and tagline look professional and are used properly.

6. Create and deploy credible PR that isn’t full of fluff; i.e. กmarket or cost leadership, best of breed technology, leading provider of …, highperformance, etc.; don’t use terms any editor sees hundreds of times a day! Create PR that is original and truthful you will stand out from the crowd much better.

7. Itกs truly a Global Market! Position your company so you can work with customers all over the world if you don’t have the resources or personnel (see two above) then partner with a local reseller, dealer or distributor who has an established presence in a country or market which you can’t serve via your corp/home office.

8. Don’t waste time chasing venture capital fund your company creatively! Venture capitalists are busy today trying to save their existing portfolio of ก.bombsก so don’t waste a lot of your time contacting them! Be creative, talk to friends and family about investing or look to your suppliers to give you extended terms in exchange for a longterm contract, discounted parts, etc.

9. Leverage technology to help you grow your business. A good web site should answer questions for your customers, not leave them frustrated and confused make sure you address fundamentals with an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), or even setup instant messaging via any number of chat technology providers so people can anonymously ask your sales or c/support personnel questions while they are on your web site.

10. Ignore marketing hype and concentrate on technology that really works. Tried surfing the web via your cell phone and finding a hot bistro in a new neighborhood recently? I hate to pick on this technology du jour, but it rates high on my กhypeometerก at this moment in time. There is a reason why optin email advertising is the one of the best ways to reach a target market its virtually instantaneous, is 24/7 in most cases, very targeted, provides global reach, and drum roll … it really works!

About The Author

Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com, a resultsdriven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies. [email protected]

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 25, 2002

by Lee Traupel