Positioning: How to Get the Right Clients

Positioning can affect almost all aspects of your business, but most particularly the rates you are able to charge. Your positioning decision is what establishes your competitors and influences the clients you will get when you are first starting your business.

Positioning is about client perceptions. If clients see you as a top service provider, you can charge the highest rates for your services. If your positioning has put you up with the moonlighters, part-timers and other less established professionals, your rates will reflect it.

Positioning influences the kind of client you can get as well as the following elements: the size of the client; the clients’ budgets; the type of work contracted; the kind and length of service contracts.

Positioning and Business Type

If your positioning is attracting micro businesses, you will be getting clients with a smaller revenue base, IT budget, fewer number of PCs and other items that will translate to less money for you in the long-run. You have to get away from moonlighters and low-cost providers by charging higher rates and making your reputation match.

Positioning Yourself as a Professional

You need to use positioning to make yourself appear as a discriminating professional and an excellent provider so you can attract the sweet spot clients you need to get to further your business. The better the clients, the better their ability to pay you. Sweet spot clients will have larger IT budgets and much more detailed needs.

Positioning helps connect the clients you want to attract to your business. You have to make an effort to put yourself in the elite group so you can charge the best rates and build your reputation to justify this charge.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101

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[TIPS] Ancient ice shelf snaps off

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-12-29-ice-shelf_x.htm?csp=34

The sad part about this is that the issue of global warming has become a political one, with one side even refusing to watch the video. Yet, stories like the one above are becoming more and more frequent. We're in the business of education, not censorship. Teachers can request a free copy of "An Inconvenient Truth" and I hope you do. I also hope that you'll make a lesson out of it. If you believe it's not true, what a great opportunity it will be to show both sides of the issue. If you're worried that it might be true, then all the more reason to show it. If you think it IS true, but don't want to get involved in a political discussion, consider posing the question to your students and having them dig for the "other truth."

I'm going to paste an email that I received from John Branson (cciu):
- - - -
FYI. The producers of "An Inconvenient Truth" are offering free copies of the DVD to the first 50,000 educators who request it. An "Inconvenient Truth" is the documentary made by Al Gore regarding Global Warming. The web site for requesting the DVD is:
www.participate.net

A story about the free offer and the National Science Teachers Association's refusal to distribute the video appeared in the online edition of Education Week (link below). The NSTA said that it was because they have a "policy against endorsing or distributing products
from outside groups or individuals." Some charged that it might be because the group accepts contributions from oil interests. The NSTA does provide a link to the site for teachers to request a free copy and has invited Al Gore to speak at their annual meeting in March.

Teachers wishing a free copy will need to provide their school district's federal ID number.

http://edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/12/21/18nsta_web.h26.html

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Posted in: globalwarming,science,writing

IT Audits: What’s the Difference Between Features and Benefits?

IT audits are hard to sell because there can be a lot of resistance from small business clients. In order to sell IT audits, you have to present an array of features and benefits to answer questions about why IT audits are a necessity.

When you present benefits of IT audits, use them in marketing and advertising activities. A features and benefits list can help enhance fliers, postcards, emails and other items for your business.

Features of IT Audits

1. A review of an existing network;

2. An assessment of PC configurations;

3. An examination of telco circuits;

4. An analysis of policies regarding IT for the business;

5. Data security analysis and data protection techniques;

6. A list of common data loss risks.

While identifying features helps a small business, these features don’t tell a client why he/she should have IT audits. Benefits are what answer the question of “why?”

Benefits of IT Audits

1. An understanding of what the client already owns;

2. Knowledge of the limitations of what the client owns;

3. An awareness of the weaknesses that are part of the client’s systems;

4. The real potential that could be used more efficiently;

5. The ability to get better benefits from existing IT functions;

6. The ability to take steps to stop disruptions and emergency downtime;

7. Better control and safety in regards to intellectual property of a company;

8. Awareness of potential exposure to hacking, viruses or anything else that would compromise a network.

Benefits are the value added items that are part of IT audits and what you should stress when selling them to clients.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

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Yikes! I've been "tagged"

Tag? I'm it? I just read thefischbowl and was pleasantly surprised to discover that I'd been "tagged." Yikes! Now I'm supposed to tell five things about myself that others may not know and then tag five others. The hardest part comes in knowing five other bloggers who haven't already been tagged. When I wondered aloud to my wife why the heck *I* was tagged she reminded me that I was reading blogs on Christmas morning, for pete's sake. Oh... ok... maybe. :-)


I didn't trace this back as Karl had done, but he did mention that somewhere along the way this may have been for the purpose of identifying others as resources, but has evolved (devolved?) into this. So here are my five things:


1. I began my career as a music teacher where I served almost 8 years. To this day I believe that there is a special place in Heaven for middle school General Music teachers. :-)

2. My second career started five years later in 1983 as a high school computer teacher because at that point I had taken about 21 credits in computer programming (on key punch machines) and found it fascinating. I taught BASIC programming, of course, and MS-DOS 1.0!! No hard drives back then, y' know. Things changed slowly at first until around 1990 when we installed a Mac lab, and I fell in love. I credit the Macs for the fact that I've thus far managed to avoid a mid life crisis. Who knows, had we not gotten them I might have bought a convertible and some driving gloves and started cruising college campuses. :-)

3. I started a Mac user group (CAMELOT) where I began this tip thing, but back then the tips were mostly about Clarisworks/Appleworks. So, I guess I've been sending out daily computer tips for about a dozen years. As a result of those tips I began writing a column for Child Guide Magazine, a small publication located in West Virginia. My column won both a National Gold (2004) and a National Bronze (2005) award from Parenting Publications of America. Blew me away!

4. My wife and I are very fortunate to own a beautiful log home on 30 acres of wooded ground near Raystown Lake in south central PA. With thoughts of retirement in the not-too-distant future I just may be writing my tips from there.

5. I work as an Instructional Technology Trainer for the Capital Area Intermediate Unit just across the beautiful Susquehanna river from Harrisburg, PA. I get to do all sorts of workshops and trainings which are now mostly about trying to get more of our teachers using blogs and wikis (my wife refers to them as 'drippies' - she sorta listens when I talk) and Moodle, etc. In retirement I hope to be able to do more workshops and continue the work of trying to get people past the idea of thinking a blog is a "four letter word."

So there you have it. Geez... too many "I's." But, that's the nature of this sort of thing, isn't it?

OK... Kurt, Steve, Tim, and ...? - tag! You're it. (I don't know 5 bloggers well enough to tag them. Maybe I should tag Anne Smith. As it is I'm going to have to email Steve and Tim to tell them that I have tagged them. :-) )

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Posted in: meme,personal

The Vyew

There are a lot of new start-up companies on the web that are bring us Web 2.0 functionality at little or no cost. With more training opportunities being available on the web companies are trying to carve out space on the web for content and desktop sharing. One interesting software application that runs within a browser can be found at Vyew. Vyew is a service that will allow you to share your files, pictures, maps, as well as your desktop using any standard browser. Individuals who are hosting a session can set up their presentation ahead of time and then invite users to share their Vyewbooks with the information. The Vyew service offers users the capability to annotate on the screen as well as the ability to chat once guests are logged into the Vyew room. Hosts can upload Powerpoint, Word, and PDF documents to their Vyewbook so that viewers can have access them during a web conference. I found the environment very easy to navigate and while Vyew is a application that is constantly being upgraded it has proven to work well. Vyew also offer free conference call numbers for those who need to talk one another. Vyew also offers desktop sharing so that you can demonstrate applications on your computer. While not as full featured as dedicated sharing applications Vyew will allow you to demonstrate any application that you have on your computer screen. I am amazed that applications like this reside on the web at no cost to the user. Considering the features and the functionality I think that you will find Vyew
one site you will want to visit. Let me know what you think once you have had a chance to use Vyew.

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Posted in: collaboration,vyew,Web 2.0,web conferencing

ashes and snow

It's Christmas Eve, but I just had to share this.

http://www.ashesandsnow.org/

 

Here's another one of those sites that just may take your breath away. Enter the enhanced site. Explore the entire site. You'll be drawn in, I'm sure.

 

Now I want you to consider this site the next time you're thinking of your next writing prompt for your students.

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Posted in: writing

Should Phone Support Cost Less?

Phone support is no less valuable as the time you spend on-site; still, many computer consultants charge differently for phone support, viewing it as less expensive to clients than on-site attention.

Charging Less for Phone Support is a Mistake

Computer consultants often charge less for phone support because they think about the fact that there is no travel time, gas, mileage, tolls or parking costs involved. They also think phone support is more convenient for them, so it should not be as expensive for clients.

This rationale is a mistake and leads to losing money. The types of issues most people will call about through phone support are typically things that should be dealt with on-site. Walking people through fixes over the phone is not always a good idea.

The service you offer through phone support is best completed by you remotely or at the customer’s place of business. If you start offering services through phone support and charging less for them, you create an incentive for clients to use phone support more often than other types of support. Maintain control by doing the work yourself.

Phone Support: A Complicated Billing Process

Using different charging policies for phone support creates a very confusing billing situation. You don’t want to offer a second rate of billing for a client because this will make proposals, accounting and invoicing more difficult for you and your clients.

Value phone support as you would any other type of service you offer. Just because phone support offers reduced overhead does not mean it is worth less; phone support gives you a bonus that you don’t need to pass onto clients.

Added By: Computer Consulting Kit

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[TIPS] audio books at Cumberland Co libraries, too

http://www.ccpa.net/cumberland/cwp/view.asp?a=1294&q=526816

Thanks to Tim B for pointing out that Dauphin County library isn't the only one locally with audio books available for download. The above link is for Cumberland County. These are mp3 files so you can put them on any mp3 player. Books to go. Now would be a perfect time to get your kids started listening to books on your long trips.

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[TIPS] John Henry Faulk's 'Christmas Story', gizmoz and traditions

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1115979

You thought I was going to forget, didn't you? Every year for... gosh... ten years or more, now, I've been sending this url out to the folks on my list. I listen to it every year, too. Still one of my all time favorites. Do yourself a favor and have your children listen to it, too. DO use the Listen button at the top of the article instead of reading it.

 

- - - Bonus 1

http://www.gizmoz.com/ - What fun this site is. Saw a review of it here: http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/12/21/crazy-3d-avatars-from-gizmoz/ and had to try it out. TO hear one I made visit my actual blog site and see the post just below this one to hear me ...er.. I mean Santa...wish you a Merry Christmas. http://tipline.blogspotcom/ There are LOTS of different talking heads available, too.

 

- - - Bonus 3

Christmas traditions around the world. Lots of them. http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm

 

- -

This may be the last tip of the year. Maybe. There's so much going on, and the race doesn't stop just because we're not in session. But, if you don't hear from me until after the New Year, I do wish you a VERY Merry Christmas. (Happy Holidays, too) ;-)

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Census Data Reveals American Trends

Last week, the US Census Bureau released its 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States, a cornucopia of statistical and demographic data that attempts to paint a picture of America. Among the more interesting (if not always surprising) trends noted in the Abstract are:

• Americans, as a nation, are the heaviest people in the world, but also taller than ever.
• We consume more media -- TV, radio, movies and Internet -- than ever before.
• Consumption of bottled water has increased ten-fold since 1980.
• The size of the average new single-family home has grown to 2,227 square feet in 2005 from 1,905 square feet in 1990.
• Manufacturing jobs decreased by 18% between 2000 and 2005.
• The number of female doctors more than doubled between 1980 and 2004. Women earning professional degrees increased from 2,000 in 1970 to 41,000 in 2004.
• More than half of US households owned some form of stock of mutual fund in 2005.

Althe Census Bureau doesn't attempt to interpret the implications of these trends, noted sociologist Robert Putnam says of them:

The large master trend here is that over the last hundred years, technology has privatized our leisure time... The distinctive effect of technology has been to enable us to get entertainment and information while remaining entirely alone. That is from many points of view very efficient. I also think it’s fundamentally bad because the lack of social contact, the social isolation means that we don’t share information and values and outlook that we should.

Source: New York Times

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Wishing you a Merry Christmas

Gizmoz / From Gates

Talking Headz by Gizmoz.Com

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[TIPS] Connectivism Online Conference

http://www.umanitoba.ca/academic_support/ltc/connectivisim/

Will Richardson mentioned this event in his post yesterday. It's another no-cost online conference, this time on the topic of connectivism delivered in real time using Elluminate and Moodle. Some of the featured guests/presenters include Will Richardson, Stephen Downes, Terry Anderson, and Bill Kerr. (What? No Karl Fisch?) But, it should be time well spent.

 

Dates: Feb 2-9, 2007

- - snip - -

The evolution of teaching and learning is accelerated with technology. After several decades of duplicating classroom functionality with technology, new opportunities now exist to alter the spaces and structures of knowledge to align with both needs of learners today, and affordances of new tools and processes.

Yet our understanding of the impact on teaching and learning trails behind rapidly forming trends. What are critical trends? How does technology influence learning? Is learning fundamentally different today than when most prominent views of learning were first formulated (under the broad umbrellas of cognitivism, behaviourism, and constructivsm)? Have the last 15 years of web, technology, and social trends altered the act of learning? How is knowledge itself, in a digital era, related to learning?

Connectivism Online Conference is an open online forum exploring how learning has been impacted by ongoing changes. The conference will run from February 2 - 9, 2007.

Key themes will include: trends in K-12 sector, trends in higher education, research and net pedagogy, technological and societal trends, and connective knowledge and connectivism.

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"Smart Soles" Adjust for Running, Walking

Think you're "gellin'" now? A California company called Outland Research is developing a "smart" shoe sole that can adjust to different activities, such as walking, running or playing sports. This will allow the shoe to offer optimal foot support under a variety of conditions.

The sole operates by filling bladders with an electrically-activated liquid within milliseconds when extra cushioning or support is needed. The liquid can also firm up when necessary.

Such a shoe could be controlled manually or even through a wireless device. Or, the shoe could be self-adjusting, sensing different movements and wear conditions. Currently, the project is in the patent stage, with no word on when a product will reach the market.

Sources: NewScientist, twenty1f

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A Dangerous Idea

This site: http://www.edge.org/q2006/q06_index.html asks the question, "What's your dangerous idea?"

- - snip - -
The history of science is replete with discoveries that were considered socially, morally, or emotionally dangerous in their time; the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions are the most obvious. What is your dangerous idea? An idea you think about (not necessarily one you originated) that is dangerous not because it is assumed to be false, but because it might be true?

- - -
Sounds to me like one of those ideas that college freshmen stay up "solving." But, it also sounds like an interesting blog assignment. I'd have them read a few of the responses that are already there, first. THEN, I'd have them blog their own idea. How's that for a writing prompt?

Oh, and check out some of the previous year's questions, as well.

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Posted in: writing

[TIPS] games for the little ones and more audio books

These two sites come from a parent who says they're good games for
children. Why? They're monitored. Ask anything in the "room" that is
personal in nature and you're booted out. (Thanks to Dave for this tip)

http://www.clubpenguin.com/

http://www.runescape.com/

- - - more audio books - - -
Remember the tip about the audio books? Well, the Dauphin County Library
System also has audio books available to download from their website.
Over 1700 titles, even. (Thanks to Carol for sharing this information)
Here's how:

To access the service, go to http://www.dcls.org/eaudiobooks.htm from
your home computer. Instructions direct you how to sign up for an
account. Select the public library you use most frequently, then enter
your library card number. After your registration is complete, click on
the eAudiobook icon for access to the full collection of titles, over
1700 with more added monthly.

Don't have a library card? Well chop chop. Now is the perfect time to
take your kids in there to get their own cards to become life-long
readers.

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Approaching a New Paradigm

John Petersen of the futurist Arlington Institute believes that the world will undergo such upheavel over the next few years that we will emerge into a new paradigm that will challenge our most basic assumptions about technology, the economy, politics, the environment, and even spirituality:

The new world, as in all paradigm shifts, would not make much sense from our present perspective. Never having seen group larger than a clan, a hunter-gatherer contemplating the future would have been hard-pressed to envision a world that included people living in towns and villages. Similarly, the future that may arrive with 2012 would necessarily seem strange in the context of most of our upbringing.

Petersen believes that powerful forces are gathering to bring about explosive change within the next five years -- change that will be the most profound and disruptive since the arrival of homo sapiens on the planet:

Perhaps we are about to experience another punctuation in the equilibrium of human evolution. Patterns from the past suggest that the time is right for another one. The question is, are we ready? If the change that seems to be forming on the horizon is anything like it appears it might be, then all humans will need to move into a new mode of living and thinking in order to survive the transition.

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[TIPS] NASA & Google?

Once again Karl Fisch points to a very interesting article in this post:

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/12/maybe-google-shuttle.html. He then links to this article: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/dec/HQ_06371_Ames_Google.html which describes the partnership between Google and NASA!!

 

Should be interesting. Remember that NASA has the its own terra server and its own version of Google Earth. Microsoft has its version, too. Plus this one. How this shakes out in a couple of years will surely be impressive, don't you think?

 

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[TIPS] Scrybe- the next killer ap?

http://iscrybe.com/main/index.php

You've got to see this one. Check out the video demo (and notice the accent? HE'S in the race.) Want more demo movies? Try: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=scrybe&search=Search when you get home.

 

What is it? A very impressive "Office" application with powers and features you won't believe. VERY cool tools. You can even work offline and sync the next time you're back online. Too much to explain in this one short article. You might try this article though: http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/10/21/scrybe-could-set-a-new-standard-in-office-apps/

 

Now I doubt if this one will be free for long. I also would bet that it will get bought up quickly by the one with the deepest pockets. Google? Yahoo? This again shows the web as a platform - Web 2.0.

 

 

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Pricing Strategy: Which One Should You Use and Why?

Because you will probably base your pricing strategy at least partially on what other people in your industry are doing, you might need some help navigating through your many options. Usually a pricing strategy is based on charging an hourly rate, a fixed price rate, a per PC or server rate or some of those combined.

Before analyzing the pricing strategy of a competitor, make sure you have clearly defined the competitors you have so you don’t copy the pricing strategy of someone that is not actually competing. There are a lot of semi-competitors that will not have appropriate pricing strategies.

Pricing Strategies: The Test for a True Competitor

Does the company see you as a direct competitor? The answer to this question will clarify. You may think, for example that Dell is a direct competitor, but you may come to realize that Dell would not even consider you to exist. Therefore, copying Dell’s pricing strategy would be absurd as a small business owner.

Pricing Strategies: IT Business Knowledge

As the following questions to determine which competitors’ pricing strategies you can follow:

1. Does the competitor know what he/she is doing with IT?

2. Does the competitor have a good track record for running a business?

3. Does the competitor have a viable and lasting business?

4. Does the company have a scalable business?

Pricing Strategy: The Basic Idea

Before you set a pricing strategy, check on what competitors are doing. Make sure you’re analyzing the pricing strategies of people that are truly in competition and are worth it if you want to put yourself with these companies at the top.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

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One-Room Schoolhouses Fading into History

Among many examples of Americana that are falling victim to progress and social change is the iconic one-room schoolhouse. Particularly in the rural western US, small schools that have a single teacher have closed at a rapid rate over the past few decades. Of the 24,000 one-room schools that existed in 1959, only 300 remain today.

High per-student costs, district consolidations, desegregation efforts and a general population decline in rural areas have all conspired to take their toll on one-room schools. Despite local efforts to preserve them, the one-room schoolhouse appears to be a species on the verge of extinction. One must wonder, however, how these rural residents could employ teleconferencing and mobile technology such as that used by telecommuters to educate their children effectively at a reasonable cost. For instance, scarce teachers could be "wired" into outlying schools via teleconference with the need for them to travel long distances.

Source: CNN.com

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[TIPS] The Fischbowl: This Is Not Education As Usual

This one couldn't wait another day.

 

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/12/this-is-not-education-as-usual.html

You've read/heard me reference Karl Fisch's TheFischBowl before. He just posted another entry (above) that I think you should see. Here he links to a couple teacher blogs (teacher blogs!! - can you imagine?) and directs your attention to the comments left by the students. I.E. this sample from Brian G: "One huge change I saw in my learning this semester in my education was the ability to direct my own learning. " Or this one from Ty: "This class has been the hardest of any of my classes so far, but it is also the best one." Do yourself a professional favor and check them out.

 

There is great stuff going on in that school. Which student do YOU think is better prepared to successfully "face the race" we're in? Brian or one from your school?

 

And I would again like to remind you, as Thomas Friedman said, "China and India aren't racing us to the bottom." Remember, too, that in order for our students to compete, we MUST aggressively seek out professional development opportunities in order to even know what the race is all about.

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Your Life in a Box

Imagine having every moment of your life recorded and available for instant playback anytime, anywhere. Appealing or not, it's theoretically possible within the next 20 years, according to computer scientists:

Prof Nigel Shadbolt, president of the British Computer Society and professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Southampton, said: "In 20 years' time it will be possible to record high quality digital video of an entire lifetime of human memories. It's not a question of whether it will happen; it's already happening."

Scientists say that such a device could be as small as a sugar cube.

Naturally, such a powerful device begs a number of questions. Who, for instance, will have access to this information? What exactly would one want to do with it? Could we even process this level of data?

Source: Telegraph

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10 Tech Concepts for 2007

Popular Mechanics has selected the top 10 technologies that we'll be talking about in the coming year. Among them: bendable concrete, body area network (allowing your cell phone to control and secure all your personal devices), smart pills (that contain transmitters), data clouds and video on the net (VoN).

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[TIPS] Congratulations! Person of the year!! Wow!

Let me be among the first to congratulate you for becoming this year's Person of the Year for Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570743,00.html Yes, it's you who controls the Information Age, after all. It's you who contributes to the content on the web with your blogs and wikis. It's you who has changed the way we store and gather information with your use of tags and RSS. Indeed, you are no longer just a consumer of information but a provider, as well. My hearty congratulations to you. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569526,00.html

 

(Thanks to Sue S for alerting me to your award.)

- - -

The social nature of the web has changed everything, hasn't it? Are we training our students for this world?

 

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Three IT Consulting Factors to Help You Decide What to Offer

IT consulting services come in many shapes and sizes even within the virtual IT industry. When you start your own business, you need to figure out what IT consulting services you should offer.

Three Factors for Choosing IT Consulting Services

Your IT consulting services should be determined by answering the following three questions:

1. What do your prospects want?

2. What is currently in the rest of the marketplace?

3. What are your competitors doing?

IT Consulting Services: What Do Prospects Want?

The people that use your IT consulting services will know what they want. Start talking to people you see as potential target sweet spot clients and ask them questions about their computer needs. For what purpose do they use their computers? What is working well with their computers? What is not working with their computers? What help do they need with computers?

IT Consulting Services: What’s in the Marketplace?

You can find out what types of products and IT consulting services you should offer by reading the following two trade publications for small business consultants: Computer Reseller News (CRN); VAR Business. These will help you stay up-to-speed with what you need to know about the latest products and services. These two publications can be filters because they focus on IT business and not just the latest hot trends in technology. They can help you find value-added IT consulting services that can give your business great potential.

IT Consulting Services: What are Competitors Offering?

This is the final way to determine what products and IT consulting services to offer is to look at your competitors. To spy on the local competition, visit websites, look at Chamber of Commerce websites, visit links to similar services, or do a Google search for IT consulting services in your city, county, province, state, zip code, postal code, etc. When you know what others are offering in your industry, you can get a better idea of which IT consulting services you want to offer, don’t want to offer and how you can improve upon what you’re currently offering.

Use these three factors of IT consulting to help make the process of deciding what to offer as part of your business as easy as possible. Of course, the most important is to ask prospects directly what they want so you know there will be a demand for your services.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101

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Cell Phone Predictions for 2007

Roman Polz of Agere Systems lists his predictions for the mobile phone market for the coming year. Among the most interesting:

• CD-Quality Music Will Be The Killer Cell Phone Application
• The Earliest and Most Frequent Users of Mobile TV Will be People Riding Trains To and From Work
• India Will be the Fastest Growing Cell Phone Market for the Next Several Years
• Simultaneous Cell Phone Applications Will Be Crucial; Those Who Don't Offer Them Will Lose Out to Those Who Do
• 3G Cell Phones Will Not Be All About Merely Enabling the Connected Lifestyle, but Rather Perfecting the Connected Lifestyle

Source: Converge!

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[TIPS] Rock Phish busy phishing

http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/12/12/HNrockphish_1.html

I've never heard of this name before, but I HAVE heard of phishing attacks. That's when an unsolicited email (spam) tries to trick you into clicking on a link in the email to repair your damaged eBay or PayPal or Amazon account. If you DO click the link in the email the site may look very official, but when you type in your credit card number ... well, they've just landed a big phish - a sucker. :-)

 

With all of the internet shopping going on this time of the year it's wise to be aware of these scams. Here's a link to help. You can report phishing emails here, too. Both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 have some built-in anti-phishing protection, but they're not foolproof.

 

How profitable is this? According to THIS article the amount is nearly $3 BILLION last year (period ending Aug '06).

 

Let's be careful out there.

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[TIPS] audio books online

Thanks to Cheryl C for sharing this one.

http://librivox.org/librivox-catalogue/

Want to listen to books online!!! Free online audio books by author and title.  Available for all ages. 

Students who need to hear and read can benefit from this site.  Check it out!  It is a good one!

Books are also in other languages.  There are lists of SS content as well under non fiction.  The Getttysburg Address, The Stamp Act.. Etc.  All recordings are in the Public Domain. You can even volunteer to record one of your own!

- - - snip - - -

LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net. Our goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio books. We are a totally volunteer, open source, free content, public domain project.

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Skype 3.0 for Windows

Skype just released version 3.0 for Windows which adds some really nice features. While the Skype interface has remained the same they have made it easier to access many of the audio and sound features without having to go into the pull down menus. One of the new features which is really cool is the ability to share a whiteboard with the person that you are connected to. From a drop down menu you can select Do More and see a host of new extentions that you have access to. The whiteboard is a really nice feature and each person's pen color is different so that you know who is writing what. The first time you select one of the add-ons it downloads it to your computer and then once you use it it invites your guest to open it up. There is also the capability of recording your audio session as well as an add-on for sharing documents. Try it out you will be glad you did. The new Skype architecture is sure to get developers thinking about other applications that can be integrated into the Skype. If you haven't done so go to Skype and download the latest version you will be glad you did. Skype continues to break new ground for educators as figure out how to use this application in the work that we do. Skype makes it possible to do global projects with minimal costs. I would be interested in finding out how you are using Skype in the classroom.

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[TIPS] TIME: The Best Photos of 2006 (and bonuses)

http://www.time.com/time/yip/2006/

Each year Time releases its choices for Best Photos of the year. Looking for something for a writing prompt? Look no further. Got a Moodle class? Consider having your students write about a photo in their journal. Better yet, do you students have blogs?

 

- - Bonus 1 - -

Send this link to your band director: http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2006/12/08/tuba/ A tuba solo that they and their star tuba players won't believe.

 

- - Bonus 2 - -

Thanks to Sue S for sharing this one: http://www.infinitethinking.org/ 

"The Infinite Thinking Machine (ITM) is designed to help teachers and students thrive in the 21st century. Through an active blog, an Internet TV show, and other media resources, the ITM shares a "bazillion practical ideas" for turning the infinite universe of information into knowledge. We showcase examples of innovative instructional methods, talk with leading experts, and share real stories from the classroom to improve how we think, learn, teach, and live. And we try to have a little fun along the way."

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Posted in: writing

"Porta-People": The Newest Tool in Remote Conferencing

With all the talk of the mobile and global workforce, those who work outside the office often remain at a disadvantage when it comes to meetings and other forms of real-time collaboration. Conference calls only convey so much information, and those on the call -- as opposed to those physically in the room -- are often forgotten about in the course of the conversation. Plus, callers can only hear the discussion, missing out slides, whiteboard drawings, and other visual nuances.

To help solve those problems, Sun Microsystems has developed a "porta-person" device that allows a remote worker to more actively participate in meetings. The device includes a video screen through which the participant can show their face or display other information, stereo speakers, stereo microphones, and a camera that provides the participant with a panoramic view of the room. The device also pivots, allowing the participant to point it toward a speaker. "It's definitely a much more present' feeling," says Sun researcher Jonathan Kaplan. "Being able to move the box lets you grab people's attention, which is very hard to do when you are just on the phone."

No word on when the "porta-person" device could appear on the market. But with 14,000 of its 38,000 employees telecommuting on any given day, Sun might be its own best customer.

Source: MIT Technology Review

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[TIPS] some fun flickr toys

Once again my apologies for not referencing the site where I learned about this site, but it's a good one. That is, it's a good one if you've got a flickr account. http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/ THis site has a whole list of fun mashups that work with your flickr photos. Some will work with regular digital images that you upload, as well.

For example, check out this "magazine cover" that I made in less than a minute (as you can tell by my lack of creativity in the text portions) using a picture I had in flickr. http://home.comcast.net/~jgates808/magcover.jpg Tell me that wouldn't be fun to make one of these with your Star Student's picture, or a group picture of your students. Or, using one of your images, make a motivational poster, or a collage, or a number of different types of images. A fun site, to be sure.

- - - bonus- - -

Oh, and as an FYI, did you know that Jimmy Wales is GIVING AWAY the wiki software along with FREE HOSTING? His vision is to help the world find an easy way to create content on the web. (Remember the race?) Read about it here: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/software/2006-12-12-wiki-free-tools_x.htm?csp=34

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[TIPS] Math and Physics animations

Another three-fer today. All sites courtesy of del.icio.us' Math tag.

First, two more interesting math sites. The first, http://www.qbyte.org/puzzles/puzzle01.html is a collection of 160 math puzzles. They're not easy, so this will be for your higher level math students.

The second, http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/AnimatedGIFs.html, is a repeat from a couple of years ago, I believe. But, it's worth mentioning again. Lots of animated gifs representing math concepts. Note the links on the left, as well.

Finally, some vector and wave applets here: http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/GeneralInterest/Harrison/Flash/#vectors

- - -

Bonus: A recent post to the Long Tail blog of Chris Anderson had this little piece of trivia regarding Pixar's Toy Story and their recent movie, Cars. It took two hours to render an average frame of Toy Story back in 1995. (Can you believe it was that long ago?) Guess how long it took to render a frame of their recent movie, Cars. Go ahead. Guess. Find the answer here: http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2006/12/pixar_quiz.html There is some white space below the pictures. Highlight the invisible text there to see the answer. Amazing, is it not?

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Product Ideas: How Do You Know What to Provide?

It’s not easy to decide what product ideas or other items your business will provide. When starting a computer business, many don’t totally think about product ideas, but planning this element of a business is extremely important.

How do you decide on a product idea or service? Some think you first need to assess your technology skills. When you know your strengths, you will more easily arrive at a product idea and service that fits you, right?

Wrong. Many new business owners forget to think about the most important thing when figuring out product ideas: customers’ needs.

Two Ways to Look at Product Ideas and Services

First Approach

1. Find a platform with which you like to work that is also a product idea or service everyone wants and needs.

2. Go and read all the books you can on the topic you choose for your product idea.

3. Go to every workshop and conference about the product idea or service.

4. Get ready for and then write a certification exam that will help with your credentials once you decide to offer this service or product idea.

Second Approach

1. Talk to business owners and managers that might need your IT services on a regular basis.

2. Ask them what types of services or product ideas they might be interested in within the next year.

Approach one will mean you have to sell clients on product ideas and services, whereas with approach number 2 the product ideas and services will sell themselves because they are based very directly on the needs of clients.

The bottom line is, your product ideas and services have to come from your clients’ needs. If they don’t, you will have a hard time selling what you are offering.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

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Product Development, Web 2.0 Style

First they transformed media. Now, blogs, YouTube-style video sites and other Web 2.0 technologies are poised to change the way products are designed and manufactured.

CrowdSpirit is a website that attempts to harness the "wisdom of crowds" to develop new consumer products. Through "crowdsourcing," site members can vote on concepts to develop, decide on specifications, and even select funding options. Members can also participate in testing, marketing and product support.

Currently, CrowdSpirit is focusing on consumer electronics in a price range below $200. The concept is in its infancy, with key strategies such as how to compensate members for their efforts still to be decided.

Source: Springwise

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NASA Plans Permanent Moon Base

Last week, NASA announced plans to develop a permanent manned base on the moon, both for scientific purposes and to serve as a launch point for possible manned missions to Mars. Construction will likely begin in 2020, the date that President Bush has targeted for a return of humans to the moon.

The lunar base will be most likely built at one of the moon's poles to take advantage of relatively stable temperatures and steady sunlight for solar power. The project will be funded with money budgeted for the space shuttle after the shuttle program is phased out in 2010, and may be an international effort (particularly since the European Space Agency is considering unmanned lunar landers).

Last August, NASA awarded Lockheed Martin the contract for developing the rocket and lander system that will take astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972. Further details, including a base design and a precise timetable, have yet to be developed.

But beyond serving as a way station for a Mars mission, what scientific or financial benefit is there to a permanent moon base? Good question, writes Gregg Easterbrook of Slate.

Source: BBC

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US Government Releases Nanotechnology Report

The National Materials Advisory Board has released a congressionally-mandated report on the the National Nanotechnology Initiative, covering the current state and future potential of nanotechnology. Among other things, the report examines the possibility of nanoscale machinery to create materials at the molecular level.

Groups such as the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology are hopeful that this report will accelerate federal funding for nanotech initiatives. However, the CRN warns of drastic unintended consequences of developing such powerful technology too quickly or with too little understanding: "[W]ithout adequate understanding and preparation, exponential atom-by-atom construction of advanced products could have catastrophic results. Conclusions published in this report should create a new level of urgency in preparing for molecular manufacturing."

Source: KurzweilAI.net

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NYC Trans Fat Ban May Start a Trend

The recently passed ban on the use of trans fats in restaurant food in New York City may be precedent setting, as national restaurant chains comply by changing their recipes. Additionally, other US cities may follow New York City's lead in adopting such bans, as they did with bans on smoking in restaurants and other public places.

Under the ban, restaurants will need to eliminate trans fats in their foods by July 2007; bakeries will have until July 2008.

Trans fats increase the risk of heart attack and stroke by raising the level of "bad" cholesterol (LDL). Says New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden, "We know that trans fats increase the chance of heart attack, stroke and death, and they don't have to be there... People are no longer dying of typhoid fever. They are dying of heart disease."

The National Restaurant Association opposes the ban and is threatening to sue to block it. Meanwhile, fast-food chains Wendy's and McDonald's, as well as Dunkin Donuts, have pledged to voluntarily reduce the amounts of trans fats in their foods. With these industry pacesetters taking the lead, trans fat reduction may become a national trend, with or without legislation.

Source: tvnz.co.nz

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[TIPS] ThatQuiz

Thanks to Cheryl C for sharing this one.

 

http://www.thatquiz.com/

 

- - - snip - - - 

The most complete math test resource on the web today with over 400,000 graded exams to date and over 50,000 participating students.  What we believe in: Clean, quality, easily accessible, educational software for every school and child regardless of geographic location or economic class.  What we don't believe in: Games, advertising, fees, spam or gimmicks. ThatQuiz is free for educational use.

- - -

 

Imagine this one to cut back on paper and data collection for math students.  Try it, it's totally free and simple to use!!

 

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Learn How To Track Marketing and Promotion Expenses

Marketing and promotion expenses will be a pricey part of your business. You need to plan them and put aside money to go towards these marketing and promotion expenses on a regular basis from the start of your business. They should be an investment rather than an expense.

When planning marketing and promotion expenses, think about tracking each dollar you invest. Your marketing and promotion campaigns will have varying degrees of success, but you still need to track it in order to manage your marketing and promotion expense.

Tracking Marketing and Promotion Expenses

The tracking of marketing and promotion expenses is probably the most important aspect of the process, because there is not one strategy that works all the time. The only way to guarantee anything is to get a regular job, but barring that, marketing and promotion will involve trying many different things. And to keep track of these many different things, you will need a good system.

Marketing and Promotion Expenses and Multi-Tasking

Your marketing and promotion plan needs to involve having a lot of different campaigns running at once. You should be using multiple marketing strategies simultaneously so that you have a better chance of success. Out of the four or five things you do, one might be a great success, one might be a failure and the others might just be somewhere in the middle.

If you multi-task, you have a much better chance of making a good investment with marketing and promotion expenses. Not all your marketing strategies will work, but also extremely unlikely is that all of them will completely fail. Diversify for the best results.

Your marketing and promotion expenses will be large. You need to think about how you are going to use your money. The main idea is to track what you spend, where you spend it and how this will work out in the long run.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

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[TIPS] The power of blogging

I have to share this. The other day I pointed you to a blog by Mrs Anne Smith's 9th grade AP English class at Arapahoe High School. Remember? http://tipline.blogspot.com/2006/12/tips-smiths-9th-honors-class-blog.html About the same time that I did that I commented on her class blog post about what a great project idea I thought that was and how much I enjoyed hearing them.

 

Today I received two comments to my tips blog post from students in that class in which they thanked me for the mention and the kind words. (Had I known they would have seen this I would have said more about how impressed I was with the assignment and their reports.) In any case, revisit that post by clicking the above link and read the comments. Take special note to this line, "These papers really made me want to do well so that I could let people all around the country and possibly the world know what I believe and what I have learned in life so far."

 

I'm hearing a lot about schools wanting to install blog servers but they want to make them visible only inside their buildings or possibly on the larger Wide Area Network. Fear can be crippling. But I would argue that using a blog tool but limiting its visibility to the school may indeed be blogging, but only in the same sense that driving a NASCAR stockcar around the school's parking lot can be called racing. ;-)

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Posted in: writing

[TIPS] Wordie

Thanks to Candy S for sharing this one. "Christmas Time Is Here"..... :-)

Wordie (http://wordie.org/) says it's "Like Flickr, but with without the photos" Great - if you know Flickr (and you SHOULD!) It further adds, "Wordie lets you make lists of words -- practical lists, words you love, words you hate, whatever. You can then see who else has listed the same words, and talk about it. It's more fun than it sounds."

It's not entirely obvious what it's about, so CS also pointed us to a link at Teacher's First that talks about the site and the classroom uses for it. Very nice. It's here: http://www.teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=7287

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Restaurants Embracing Self-Service Technology

Two out of three US restaurant operators are implementing or testing self-service technology that would allow customers to place orders through kiosks or online. A recent survey by Channel Media and Market Research has also found that many of the respondents plan to install self-service solutions in 2007.

Restaurants are embracing self-service because of speed, customer satisfaction, accuracy and customer data capture capabilities. The biggest reported challenges involve cost and integration with existing systems.

Source: Kioskmarketplace.com

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Zune No Threat to iPod... For Now

Zune, Microsoft's answer to Apple's iPod MP3 player, made waves when it debuted last month. However, sales have been slow, and critics have panned some of its advanced features. For now at least, the Zune is hardly a category killer, and the iPod's position as the MP3 player of record is safe.

The $250, 30GB player, for instance, allows owners to wirelessly swap songs. But this feature restricts swapped songs to being played three times in three days before expiring. Reports have also surfaced that the Zune isn't compatible with Windows Vista. However, the Zune has earned good marks for magnetic headphones, clear display and (perhaps most important) good sound.

Microsoft hopes to sell 1 million Zunes by the middle of 2007. However, this would hardly put a dent in the iPod's market, as Apple sold 39 million iPods this past year. Meanwhile, electronics websites show the popularity of the Zune far beneath that of other MP3 players. However, Microsoft appears optimistic and committed to the Zune. Bryan Lee, corporate vice president for Microsoft's entertainment group, calls the projected sales, modest as they may seem alongside iPod figures, "pretty awesome."

RELATED: Michael Kanellos of ZDNet comments on why he thinks the recently announced Apple phone is a bad move.

Source: CNN.com

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[TIPS] mabryonline blog post to hear

Hear? A blog post? Yes. This particular blog post (September 5, 2006) includes three audio/video files, and I'm suggesting that you take time from your busy schedule today (or very soon) to listen to at LEAST the middle one. The first is his version of the now-infamous " Did You Know " slideshow by Karl Fisch (TheFischBowl). The second, however, is the one I want you to listen to. It's an audio of a parent night meeting.

 

Two things impressed me here. First, he's using all sorts of technology during this presentation, starting with the "clicker" response system to poll the parents during that meeting. Very effective way to hold their attention, as I'm sure you'll agree. Second, he recorded the session to be able to post the audio file here for those who couldn't make the meeting. Third, he mentions that his staff ALL blog! And I love how he says that they don't do that in order to make more work for themselves; they do it to make more work for the PARENTS. He then goes on to talk about some of the serious issues they are dealing with in the NCLB requirements, and... well... you'll hear for yourself. An excellent presentation, IMHO. (In My Humble Opinion)

 

http://mabryonline.org/blogs/tyson/ - It's currently the third post on the page

 

Ask yourself, "What might MY school be like if we had a system like this, and even our principal blogged to parents?" It's easily done. Call for information on how it can be done for YOU. (Does that sound like an ad? I didn't intend for it to be.)  :-)

 

 

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Virtual Presentation

Karen Janowski did an awesome presentation on how to engage students in the writing process using various features in Microsoft Word. Karen's tips and tricks were really appreciated by my Graduate students who are studying for their Master of Arts Degree. Karen who is a Assistive Technology Specialist from Boston was able to talk with my class via Skype and was able to share her desktop with the class using GatherPlace. GatherPlace is a very easy to use cross-platform tool for hosting Internet sessions so that you can share your applications and desktop. There is no software to install and it allows Windows XP as well as with Mac OSX users to host sessions. There is a free 14 day trial which you should take a look at. The presentation went very smoothly and the students were able to ask Karen questions and interact with her as if she was in the room. I will be exploring some other tools for collaboration which afford a whole host of options and features.

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Posted in: collaboration,GatherPlace,karen janowski,presentation,Skype,video conferencing

Big Pictures from Little Gadgets

Users of mobile devices who want to display their pictures and videos to others -- or who at least want to see them on a bigger screen -- may soon have their wish. A Redmond, WA company called Microvision has developed a "microprojector" that will allow cell phones and iPods to project images on a wall or screen. The project uses mirrors and compact lasers that have only recently become commercially available.

Such technology comes at a time when cell phone manufacturers are actively looking at ways to integrate projectors into their products. And, as with many technologies with social implications, microprojectors have the potential to (once again) change the way people communicate, increasing the sharing of videos and photos, and potentially encouraging more image-based communications in business.

Microvision doesn't expect to have a commercial product available until 2008. And then, microprojectors will have to be economical and energy-efficient enough to be practical for the mass market.

Source: MIT Technology Review

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One in Seven Mexican Workers Now Work in US

Rather than being a short-term political or border-control issue, immigration from Mexico to the US appears to be a significant migration trend, one that isn't likely to change anytime soon. A recent report has found that the US currently has 7 million workers from Mexico, an increase of 2 million from six years ago... meaning that one in 7 Mexican workers now works in the United States.

Ironically, one cause of the increase may be better border enforcement, effectively trapping Mexicans in the US who might otherwise cross the border back to Mexico.

In 2005, 9.4% of native Mexicans were living in the US, and 14% of working Mexicans had jobs in the US (as opposed to 2.5% of working Canadians). This year, Mexicans accounted for nearly 5% of the total US civilian workforce.

Source: Reuters (via Yahoo)

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Next Generation of Cruise Ships to be "Floating Towns"

The growing popularity of Caribbean and Mediterranean cruise-ship vacations is prompting cruise lines to build ever larger ships. The next generation of cruise ships on the drawing board -- due for launch in 2009 -- will be as long as four football fields (twice as long as the Titanic) and will carry up to 6,000 passengers.

The ships will be virtually self-sustaining, containing their own shopping malls, wave pools for surfing, entire "theatre districts," and even their own sewage treatment plants. These "superjumbo" ships reflect the cruise lines' strategy to market their ships not as forms of transportation, but as destinations in of themselves, competing with resorts such as Disney World and Las Vegas.

In 2005, bookings on cruise liners rose by 7.5% over the previous year. Bookings are expected to rise an additional 30% between now and 2009.

Source: AFP (via Yahoo)

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[TIPS] vgsbooks - Visual Geography Series

Thanks to Sue S for sharing this one.

 

http://vgsbooks.com/

 

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...an extension of Lerner Publishing Group's Visual Geography Series® (VGS) and your one stop resource for links to additional country-specific information, up-to-date statistics, photographs and maps you can download into your report, and much more.

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Looks like a good one. A one-stop-shop.

 

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[TIPS] Smith's 9th Honors Class Blog: Period 2 This I Believe...

Here's a reality check for those who struggle with getting freshman kids to write anything meaningful. Perhaps you're asking them the wrong questions. Take this example: http://annesmith9h.blogspot.com/2006/11/period-2-this-i-believe.html Oh... sorry.. it's a blog. You probably can't read it at school. But if you could you'd hear this 9th grade class speaking their, "This I Believe" papers. Can someone please tell me what's wrong with an assignment like this? There must be something wrong or our schools wouldn't be stopping it.

 

From the site: "What is so intriguing to me about this assignment is that these kids wanted to not just complete it, but to share the things they believed in with the world. They wanted to be in-charge of letting others hear what is important to them, what mattered to them."

 

When you can, give this a listen. Make sure you listen to Shauna M's podcast. What a wonderful perspective from a 14 yr old. Oh, you may remember Karl Fisch, the "Did You Know" guy. This teacher is in his school district. Progressive district, is it not? THEY'RE in the race. Are YOUR students?

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Scientist Says Climate Change Could Wipe Out Nine Tenths of Humanity

James Lovelock, the controversial climate scientist who developed the gaia theory of a living planet in the 1960s, believes that global warming is much more dangerous than even his most pessimistic colleagues believe. Figuring that the Earth's average temperature could rise by 6 degrees C by the end of the century, Lovelock believes that a warmer planet could only support 500 million people -- a tenth of the Earth's current population.

Lovelock also acknowledges that simply cutting back on emissions is not as simple a solution as it might seem. Forcing developing countries such as China to curtail their industrial development, he says, could lead to a massive economic collapse and even widespread starvation.

Source: Reuters

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GM Announces New, Improved Hybrids

General Motors has announced an initiative to develop a line of hybrid vehicles that use less gas and more electricity. In part to catch up to hybrid leaders Toyota and Honda, and in part to build its image as a "green" company, GM says it will develop "plug-in" hybrid technology over the next several years. As the name suggests, plug-in hybrids plug into a regular electrical outlet to charge, and have more powerful batteries than regular hybrids. However, economical batteries are still under development, and GM might not have a marketable plug-in hybrid vehicle until the end of the decade.

Source: Washington Post

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Business Growth: You Need to Control Your Rate to Succeed!

Every business owner wants to see excellent business growth. But during startup, your business growth rate has to be relative to your ability to keep up with launch-related tasks. You can’t afford to get swamped in a way that causes you to cut corners or you will suffer in the future.

Taking control of your rate of business growth is challenging, and even more challenging when you are moonlighting. With moonlighting you will have a lot going on because you will have work issues and business issues.

ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING IS THE KEY TO BUSINESS GROWTH

You need to micro-manage during startup to plan major projects. For example, if you sell a 10-node network, you will probably quote it based on the number of hours for server installation, cabling infrastructure, taking care of the ISP and phone company and then the desktop. Controlling business growth means taking this calculation one step further and making an hourly spreadsheet to account for weekly hours.

STEPS FOR ORGANIZATION TO CONTROL BUSINESS GROWTH

1. Put your total hours and tasks into a spreadsheet.

2. Break down each of the tasks week by week.

3. Make an estimate of how many hours you need per item during the week.

4. Add extra time for unanticipated challenges.

5. Add administrative task time, work and family responsibilities and leisure time requirements into the spreadsheet.

Structured planning exercises help you control business growth because you will clearly see when you are going too far with your time. When you are overextended you are stressed and therefore will be less effective as a business manager or service provider.

Controlling business growth means taking control of all your work. If you look at projects in smaller pieces and fit projects in with other responsibilities, you will do better with your business.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101

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[TIPS] podcasting resources and more

A three-fer today.

 

1) Tim Wilson, in his Savvy Technologist blog, lists several good links for those interested in podcasting. Check it out here: http://technosavvy.org/?p=451

 

2) Some of you commented to me about that audio file From Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach on her experience growing up as a homeless child. Powerful listening, indeed. She also has a wiki here: http://naehcy.wikispaces.com/ where not only are all four podcasts listed for easier access, but it's a place where you can add resources for information on the homeless issue. Do check it out.

 

3) You know that I've commented (as have many others, of course) about "the race is on" in terms of the global race we're in. Remember I mentioned the $100 laptops and the free online courses? Well, check out this article: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-11-30-gates-net-grants_x.htm?csp=34

 

Bill Gates (still no relation) is going to help provide Internet access in Eastern Europe and Botswana.

 

Do YOUR students know that they're in the race?

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Sales Pipeline: Where Are Your Contacts?

The sales pipeline is a very important part of business marketing. As part of your business, you will always have different people at different stages of the buying process, which is your sales pipeline. How will you market to these people? It varies depending on the person, but you can better plan your techniques when you know how many people are in your sales pipeline and who they are.

Two Sales Pipeline Categories

1. The guaranteed sales pipeline: Your guaranteed sales pipeline tracks the signed, guaranteed work you have for the month. The sale is already complete, meaning you have a deposit check, a signed contract and only have the work left to do.

2. The anticipated sales pipeline: Your anticipated sales pipeline is comprised of the people you think are about 75% of the way there on closing within the month. You don’t have a guarantee in the form of a signed agreement or a deposit check, but you are close.

Track The People in Your Sales Pipelines

You need to start tracking who is where in the sales process and use that information to figure out a business strategy.

Your sales pipelines will show you how well your business is doing and what you need. Do you have enough capacity? Do you need contractors, temporary or full-time staff or anything else?

When you look at the numbers in your sales pipelines you will be able to tell whether you need to take more aggressive action to get more people in your funnel. Do you need to do additional follow-up, networking, referral marketing, seminars or direct mail?

The Truth About Sales Pipelines

Your sales pipelines help you take a proactive stance on business decisions. If you know how much guaranteed and anticipated work you have in your sales pipelines you will be better equipped to make decisions that will help you grow. Organize your sales pipelines and stay ahead of the game.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

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[TIPS] - a set of podcasts you ought to hear

http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/2006/11/k12_years_revea.html

Note: I put in the direct link to this particular podcast, as I have listened to it several times and I think it's one that every teacher should hear.

This woman is an active blogger for and about education. She's now a doctoral student and was one of the people behind the k12onlineconference.org project. When you get here, scroll down and listen to the podcasts she has posted there from her keynote speech at a recent convention about homelessness. It will make you rethink your opinions on the issue for sure.

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[TIPS] makezine.com: MAKE: Technology on Your Time

http://www.makezine.com/

 

This is a neat site that includes "Weekend Projects" that are very interesting. Video lead students through the process. Looks like fun.

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What Follow-Up Can I Use for My Computer Services Business?

Follow-up is necessary to your marketing and contact management strategies, and it needs to be conscientious and persistent without being overly aggressive. Your follow-up techniques should exercise your creativity and be personalized to each lead or prospect. Follow-up is a way to appeal to people, not overwhelm them or drive them away from you.

Follow-Up Tips for Your Computer Services Business

1. Send a follow-up invitation letter about an event at which you’re speaking.

2. Tell prospects you’re going to be presenting at a trade show and give them a free pass to the show.

3. Ask for a referral through a follow-up call, e-mail, letter, etc.

4. Send a follow-up letter offering support after a natural disaster.

5. If you get word of a promotion the prospect had, an award he/she won, a new business obtained or positive media coverage, make a follow-up congratulatory call.

6. Discuss a joint venture opportunity like a trade show, seminar, or some other event, if appropriate.

7. Send a card to prospects on major holidays as a very personal follow-up device.

Follow-up gives a reason to stay in touch with prospects and can vary depending on the personality and business of the prospect. Keep your name in prospects’ minds without turning them off to the possibility of working with you.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101

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[TIPS] How the History of the US has Changed

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6517854

I heard this story on the way to work one morning and I thought, "This sounds like something that our History teachers would like." Play this for your students now so that when they're 50 yrs old and reading about this History of our current conflicts that they can see if History is kinder or harsher on us with the passing of time.

See the related articles below this one, as well.

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Google Alerts

Google has so many services these days that it is hard to keep up with them all. However, one of their new services is called Google Alerts which allows you to create a customized search on a particular topic of your choice. Just go to www.google.com/alerts and register for the service. After you register you can create an alert and Google will then deliver to your email address a list of URL's that have your search keyword in it. You can determine how often you would like Google to deliver these alerts. This service is helpful if you are tracking companies, products or services on the web. Give it a try and let me know what you think about the service. I for one find it to be helpful to track different technologies and applications.

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Posted in: alerts,Google,tracking

Do You Need to Have a Salesperson During Start-Up?

In computer consulting, you’d be better off not having a salesperson early in the life of your business. Your focus should be on figuring out the identity of your business and communicating it. If you have a salesperson, you can draw focus away from your main business in favor of human resource issues and business development.

Instead of figuring out account ownership and controlling accounts, you will be monitoring someone else, motivating someone else and training someone else as a salesperson when you should be training your prospects, clients and yourself instead.

The computer services industry is about you being your business, and an outside salesperson will not be able to fully capture your talents and abilities. Your clients are buying you rather than your products and services, and you need to get your uniqueness across.

Account Ownership and the Salesperson

The other problem with having a salesperson is account ownership. Even if you have all sorts of non-disclosure agreements, non-competes and others a salesperson could technically claim legal entitlement to your accounts, and a long battle could kill your business. If an outside salesperson recruits 90% of your client base the first year, this is a lot of ownership to give someone that is not you.

Hiring a Salesperson

You will have a lot of time to hire a salesperson as your business evolves. During the first three to six months, a salesperson can actually be a liability. Besides the time and energy spent on the salesperson, legal issues could crop up and stall or halt your business. Keep your initial roster of sweet spot clients to yourself and enjoy a more stable business in the long-run.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

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Visual Thesaurus 3

In my effort to find tools that are both fun and engaging to use, one that stands out is Visual Thesaurus. Visual Thesaurus is like no other thesaurus you have ever used. Just type a word into the text box and watch as an animated web is drawn with your word in the center with related words connected to it. Different colored links depict synonyms or antonyms and students can click on any word to see another whole set of related words. Just hover your mouse over the word and the definition appears. It is easy to drag the definition to Microsoft Word if you need to capture it for a written assignment. Students can try out Visual Thesaurus at ThinkMap. Give it a try on the web and let me know what you think!

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Posted in: language,thesaurus,visual,writing

[TIPS] eschool news videos

Once again Karl Fisch in his The Fischbowl blog pointed us to a great video, and by extension to some other excellent videos. The first is another in the line of "Flat World" videos in which the speaker makes a VERY interesting statement about SAT tests. I'm not going to quote it here; I'd rather you go out and listen for yourself.

This site is: http://www.eschoolnews.com/video/. One video starts when the page loads. Some interesting news bits in there. There are a couple other good videos on that page, but notice the tabs just above the videos? Click the Tech Conferences tab and check out some of the other speakers there. Very interesting. The Best Practices tab has some others you'll enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

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[TIPS] - Daily math word problems and writing prompts

How would you like to have a set of math questions - about 180 sets in all - for your 3rd graders? You print them out, one for each day as their daily math review. Word problems! Every day. Hmmm... I wonder if that would raise their math scores. Sound like a good idea? How about another set for your 4th graders or 5th?? Even your first and second graders?

http://elementarypgms.brevard.k12.fl.us/Math.htm

I think I picked this little gem up from the math tag at del.icio.us. These are from the Broward County Public Schools. On this same page are writing prompts, too. Looks like one per day. Gee... I wonder where they could write? Their blogs, you say? Great idea! I like the way you think. :-)

Cheers to the Broward County schools for posting these in the interest of better education for the children everywhere.

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Mindjet MindManager 6

I have been using Mindjet MindManager 6 for the last 6 months and find it to be an indespensible tool for teaching and preparing my classes. Having information in a visual mind map is a great way to get an overview of what is being presented. Mindjet MindManager 6 seamlessley integrates with Microsoft Office and is wonderful tool as a repository of links, documents, spreadsheets, RSS feeds, Outlook task, and Outlook appointments. With so much going on it is nice to know that I can open one document and get a snapshot of all the material in one location. Mindjet MindManager 6 is a very powerful tool that you will find easy to use and is great as a presentation tool as well. If you are interested in taking mind maps to the next level then look no further than Mindjet MindManager 6.

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Posted in: mind mapping,MindManager,presentation,visual

What Type of Computer Business Software Should You Be Purchasing?

Deciding on the right computer business software can overwhelm even the most savvy network consultants. There are a lot of good products, and deciding which ones you want to spend time and money on can be a real challenge.

The main point with computer business software is that you want to expand capabilities without spending too much time or money on products, particularly before you know there is a market for them. Computer business software is a real investment, so you need to exercise care when selecting the right programs and packages for your clients.

Attract the Sweet Spot Clients

You want to think about whether the business computer software you purchase will be attractive to sweet spot clients. If you invest time learning this and a few hundred dollars on training, you want to know you will make this money back.

Recommended Computer Business Software Products

Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) and Novell’s Small Business Suite are two highly recommended computer business software products that can add value to a business.

Why?

1. Both computer business software products are inexpensive to purchase.

2. You will not need to spend a great deal of money to get a not-for-resale copy or a demo model of these computer business software products to help you learn.

3. Both these products give you most of what you need for just a few hundred dollars.

4. Both types of computer business software will only take about eight to ten hours of installing, breaking and reinstalling in order to learn.

How to Choose Computer Business Software

Just pick one of these two products rather than trying to support both in the beginning. Unless you are really strong with Windows and Netware, you won’t want to attempt to support both right away. Whatever you choose, you can use the computer business software to run your own business until you feel comfortable enough to do start installing for clients.

Computer business software is an investment, so you need to know, whatever type you choose, that you will be able to recover and make a return on the time and money spent learning and implementing.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101

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[TIPS] Pauls Online Math Notes and ThatQuiz

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/cheat_table.aspx

Thanks to Sue S for sharing this one. Wow - a BUNCH of math cheet sheets in pdf format.

 

And, math test activities for students and teachers of all grade levels here: http://www.thatquiz.com/ Free for educational use.

 

(Does anyone know what you'd even DO with this math stuff in real life?)

 

;-)

 

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IT Services Outsourcing: It's What You Need Most When You Don't Know It All

IT services outsourcing is what you will have to be prepared to do when prospects ask for products and services you can't provide. New business owners often try to do and know everything; but one of the benefits of being part of the computer industry is having access to a large pool of people to use for IT outsourcing.

When you first start your own company, you need to focus on getting business and spend significant time on networking and relationship marketing, which means you can't offer everything to everyone.

Rely on IT Services Outsourcing

IT services outsourcing will give you time to do marketing and networking activities essential to the future growth of your business. You don't have enough time to learn everything you may be asked to offer, but you don't want to lose relationships either.

So what do you do?

Two Choices With IT Services Outsourcing:

1. Referral relationships with other niche technology providers in your area;

2. Partnerships and subcontractor relationships.

The fastest way to set up your IT services outsourcing is to set up one of these two choices as part of your business. As you start to get a lot of requests for the same types of IT services you should probably think about learning the skills so you can offer them in-house. When there is a large enough demand, the time and financial investment will be worth it. Until then, use IT outsourcing to manage your time and get business done efficiently.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

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[TIPS] Math cheat sheets and more

Looking for a nice, printable cheat sheet for your algebra or Calculus class? Here are a couple worth a look.

 

The first is a table of derivatives for your Calc class. Interestingly enough, it's a wikipedia entry. Uh-ohhhhh... better check it for accuracy, right? While you're there, though, check out the related links on the right side of the page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_derivatives

 

The second is an Algebra formula cheat sheet. This pdf file is displayed much nicer than the above, but it was written for this format to begin with, and not as an article. Looks good. http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/pdf/Algebra_Cheat_Sheet_Reduced.pdf

 

And this one from edHelper.com. http://www.edhelper.com/middle_school_math.htm A nice collection of Middle School printables for Math and Pre-algebra, both in ready-made and build-your-own formats.

 

And for fun.. math isn't just about numbers, y' know. (It's not??) No, it's not, as this page will show. http://www.bugman123.com/Math/Math.html What a fun collection of colorful tessellations, fractals, hyperboloids, pseudospheres (as if I know what the heck I'm talking about here), and much more. Show this to your favorite physics teacher, too.

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