Owner: The SOHO Quest URL:http://soho-quest.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:09:57 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Business trends related to Small Office & Home Office, Technology, Telecommunications, Product Reviews & Resources for The SOHO Online Professional. Site statistics:Click here
Not able to get DSL or Cable Internet Service? Why not try Satellite Internet Service? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Several factors, including geography and population density, account for the 71 percent of American households that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) details barriers to high-speed Internet
adoption.Twenty-eight percent of American households subscribed to broadband service in 2005, about 30 million homes. Of the remaining 71 percent of households, 30 percent subscribe to dial-up Internet service, and 41 percent have no home access. Among broadband subscribers, distribution between cable modemand DSL was almost evenly split. DSL is less likely to serve rural residents; service is only available within a three-mile radius of a central office.Certain household factors make residents more or less likely to subscribe to broadband services. Households with high incomes are 39 percent more likely to subscribe to broadband than lower-income households. College-educated heads of households are 12 percent more likely to adopt broadband than households headed by someone without a c Read more:Cable
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The Many Uses of Phone Cards 1970-01-01 00:59:59 One of the best ways to keep in touch with your family, kids and employees without having to pay for a sky rocketing phone bill when the month ends is to have a phone card. Most people who have been using phone cards found out that using it for long distance calling really make sense. Phone cards have various practical uses such as:For your kids or Employees to Stay in Touch with YouIf you're the type of person that gives phone cards so that your kids or your employees can keep in touch with you, be very sure that the cards have been purchased from a trusted company. You'll find some phone cards undesirable due to their busy signals. This means that, when you call in, you will hear a recording that says the circuits are all busy at the moment and you should try to call up again later. This kind of phone cards can't do any good especially if the call is very important or urgent and you are unable to contact someone.You want to know how your child is doing from time to time, but you a Read more:Cards
, Phone Cards
VoIP - Here for the Long Haul or Short Lived Fad? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Is VoIP an emerging industry that's here to stay or is it likely that it's just another popular short-lived fad that will soon be erased from our vocabularies? Evaluating VoIP is important to helping you determine whether this is a career opportunity that you should consider.When looking at any new technology, it's important to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages. After all, these are the factors that will determine whether the new technologies will be short-lived fads that disappear after a brief time on the market or become part of our everyday lives. VoIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol - is a fairly recent addition to the ever-changing world of communication technology. The VoIP systems have some real advantages, but it's not yet all positive news when it comes to VoIP.One of the biggest advantages of VoIP is cost. This provides users with a cost-effective way of voice communication within a particular network. Here's why some companies and individuals are moving to VoIP Read more:Short
A Portable Office Set Up 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The office that follows you everywhere and is always there when you need it, and not there when you don't. But how does this wonderful portable office come about? Is it some weird set up with strict rules? Hardly! I'm going to show you how to set up a portable office using computing accessories you probably already have. Laptop. Yes, I said laptop, not PDA. PDA's have their uses, but sometimes you need an easy to use input system (that would be the keyboard), long life, plenty of space and extendibility. Ah yes, the laptop. The lower strength version of your desktop computer. Anything above 700MHz-1GHz should be plenty. After all, if it's just for some simple data entry, research and the like, you don't need anything more than that. You could probably get by on half of that too. Make sure to password protect the BIOS (if you're not sure how, get a knowledgeable friend to do this) and have strong passwords on your operating system log in. Just in case of theft.USB “Flash” Driv Read more:Portable
Cheap Home Office Feng Shui Storage & Organization 1970-01-01 00:59:59 by Bei NingIf you're like many of us, you may have set a New Year's resolution to better organize some area of your life. It's not easy though, creating a successful organizational system can be difficult when so many great organizing tools cost so to purchase. The good news is that you can gain control over household clutter and keep your spending to a minimum. Take a moment to look around your house. There is a good chance you already have some incredibly useful storage and organization tools. By checking what you already own for potential organizers, you streamline your organizational shopping trips and save money. Wait! Before you embark on an epic shopping trip, first assess your organizational storage requirements. For example, let's say your office is incredibly disorganized and the work-related clutter is beginning to spill over into the rest of your life. Start with the basics. A small investment in a filing cabinet or even portable file boxes can be the beginning of a w Read more:Cheap
, Organization
How To Find The Right International Cell Phone For You 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Having an international cell phone with you while traveling abroad can make things much easier ? you can be instantly contactable, either with the folks back home, or to deal with your trip plans and reservations as you travel.However, if you research on the Internet it can be a little overwhelming with the different options available.In truth you really only have 3 main options with international cell phones, and the major factor that will affect your decision is whether you want the easiest and most convenient option, or the option that has the cheapest call rates, because you can only have one or the other.1. Check if you can use your own cell phoneIf you have the right type of cell phone, you may be able to use it when you travel abroad. If you are unsure then your carrier should be able to tell you. The advantage of taking your own cell phone is that you will keep your own number so it will be easy for friends to call you. However, using your own cell phone can be more expensive Read more:Cell Phone
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Residential VoIP: Things to Consider Before Switching 1970-01-01 00:59:59 by Michael TalbertWhile Voice over IP Telephony has proven to be a viable and cost saving alternative to the traditional telcos for the small business community, there are some drawbacks that the residential consumer should consider before making the switch. Power Outages Because your VoIP service utilizes a broadband connection and the hardware plugs into the wall, if a power outage should occur, you would have no telephone service. If you are using a cable modem and your ISP experiences an outage, you would also have no phone service. However, many VoIP providers offer call forwarding at no extra charge, thus allowing the call to be automatically forwarded to your cell phone. In the case of extreme disaster situations, i.e. a hurricane or tsunami, even cell phone service could be disrupted, but so probably would traditional landline telephone service. Emergency Services Most networks, including your broadband Internet service provider, employ the DHCP protocol, dispersing dynamic IP Read more:Switching
Using Creativity In Your Home Based Business 1970-01-01 00:59:59 (Archived in: Related Miscellany Social Design)Attempting to create and maintain a successful internet business requires a firm grasp on specific marketing techniques. Many of these are unique to the marketing on the internet versus a traditional brick and mortar business. However, one constant that prevails for both is in the area of promoting, advertising and marketing your business. In fact an essential key to being successful is promoting your business is a continuous and constant requirement. The "opportunities" are never ending and must be frequently updated and reworked. Below are a few of the basic areas you will need to carefully consider when promoting your business and activities to ensure success in your promotions. For each promotion activity you have underway, make sure that each one has a specific purpose and "goal". To randomly create and put into place promotions that are unrelated to your products or ones that do not contribute in some meaningful way are a waste of re Read more:Based Business
, Business
, Creativity
Are You "Pinging" While You Are "Blogging"? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 (Archived in: Online Usability Weblogs and Business)Whether you are blogging as a pastime or blogging related to marketing a business, it is important to remember to "ping" your blog updates on a regular basis. Not all blogging platforms have automated pinging services.This is a good way to build traffic in an organic way, and also is a good way to get and stay popular with your network and the various search engines. In effect, it's like a note, a telephone call, or just a friendly reminder saying, "here I am...and this is an update on what I have been doing lately".You also want to make sure that you are on topic, and writing posts relevant to your particular blog topic. As an example, pings and blogs are relevant to this particular blog, since it deals with blogging as a marketing tool for the "SOHO" market. These are people interested in "small office" or "home office" ideas.The way you build and maintain the information resources on your blog are also important to your efforts a Read more:Blogging
, Pinging
Important Blogging Changes for Three of The Digital Nomad's Blogs 1970-01-01 00:59:59 (Archived in: Related Miscellany Weblogs and Business)The "Famous Technomads" link has been moved to the "DigitalNomad
s" blog. There is a redesign in progress of three blogs so that they are more market specific, more valuable, and more on topic for readers.This blog previously was entitled "Technical Nomads" and has been renamed "The SOHO Quest" (Small Office-Home Office = SOHO), and will deal with reviews and resources mainly for people wanting to telecommute, or work-from-home in a virtual office environment.The "Digital Nomads" blog will now deal with reviews and resources specific to those needing a more Portable Office that they want to take with them on the road, or when they travel.A new blog named "The Sovereign Journey" is being implemented as a resource for individuals investigating or looking to relocate to another country, and will deal more with the issues of personal freedom, and living and working as an expatriate.All three blogs will still be concerned with emerging t Read more:Blogging
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Work In The 21st Century - The View From The Board... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 by UnwiredUnwired & Samsung recently surveyed 250 board-level delegates from the worlds of IT, real-estate, facilities and general management, and from companies such as BBC, RBS, PwC, Cisco, Deutsche Bank, Norwich Union & Barclays. The survey investigated how those in senior positions in blue-chip organisations see technology impacting their business, culture, people & buildings. So what was the view from the board? Managers Holding On: Two out of three Senior Managers believe management still relies on attendance in an office. Flexible working, home working & work 'on the pause' have their limitations. Technology & Property: The Missing Link: Technology is changing how we use our office buildings, but three out of five large businesses are failing to connect the very separate worlds of technology & real-estate. We've Seen The Future: & It's Mobile: Far from confused, UK managers can grasp technology & expect WiFi, Voice over IP & Ultra-Mobile PCs t Read more:Board
, Century
The SOHO as an Online Business Model for the Small Business Entrepreneur of the Future 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Sometimes to understand the future we have to have some historical perspective.We often forget that before the 19th century, and prior to the industrial revolution, nearly all offices were small offices and/or home offices, with very few exceptions. Now that small business and the self-employed represent the backbone of the current economy, it seems that history does indeed repeat itself.The US economy no longer is dominated by giant corporations. The US SmallBusiness
Administration (SBA) reports that fully 99% of all independent enterprises employ fewer than 500 people. This accounts for 52% of the US workforce according to the SBA.Additionally by the end of 1999, the service sector had grown to 104.3 million jobs, representing 81% of non-farm employment, and the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing, construction, and mining represented 25.2 million jobs, or only 19% of non-farm employment.I do not know how many farm related jobs there are, but I do know that 81% Read more:Entrepreneur
, Future
Working From Home: Scam Or Dream Come True 1970-01-01 00:59:59 by Scott Lindsay"Home-based business." The name itself either leaves you with a squeamish feeling that has its roots in words like shyster, huckster and con or it has you thinking you may have found the answer to financial difficulties you may be facing. Many home-based job opportunities are simple investment opportunities. The primary difference is a job isn't really a job unless you are paid. Most home-based 'jobs' require an investment on your part to participate. This doesn't mean the opportunity isn't worth looking into, but it's incorrect to refer to it as a job in the traditional sense of the word. "Me a skeptic? I hope you have proof" - Author Unknown It is understandable that many individuals are hopeful that there is a simple answer waiting for them. They will search for information on home-based businesses and cling to the hope of something life-altering when they stumble across 'opportunities' that offer hundreds of dollars per hour from home. There are a multitude Read more:Dream
Digital Nomad's Review of the ProfitLance Online Business Training System 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Don't Let the Price of ProfitLance
fool you. I have been searching for an interactive website marketing course and it took me a long time to find it.Part of this is that it is so hard to sort through the clutter on the Internet. Everything looks so much alike with photos of fancy sports cars, luxury boats, fabulous houses, and piles of cash.Another factor is that the price point for this service is so reasonable that it actually was a stumbling block for me in making a decision to purchase the course. It simply looked too good to be true.The ProfitLance system is a credit to its creator, Mike Andrews. ProfitLance is an online tutorial course and guide with interactive tools that take you step-by-step through the process of being successful in any online business.These are not black hat SEO tips and tricks to try and fool search engines. ProfitLane is about building solid life long Internet marketing skills. The course provides an overall understanding of current Internet marketing s Read more:Business
, Digital
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Nothing Scary About Boo-Box Yet? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 (Archived in: Online Usability Weblogs and Business)Here is a nifty looking tool to monetize your blogs, if you are looking for new gadgets and add-ons to enhance the usability for Amazon or eBay affiliate gigs.Boo-Box has been getting some mixed interest as it is still free, but also it is in beta and has not yet been officially launched. It has been reviewed on many blog sites like Problogger and does have some buzz on Digg, Technorati, as well as other bookmark and social networking services. It still is unclear how Boo-box will be making their money, as the utility is an interface for affiliate programs and does not interact directly with the e-tailer. It does not take readers away from your blog. That's good, except for the issue of possible phishing.The utility is manged by image and text tags, which will take your reader to a lightbox that displays items automatically related to what you are writing about. So, if you are writing product reviews there probably will be some cont Read more:Nothing
, Scary
Check Your Link Popularity Tool 2007-02-20 01:05:00 (Archived in: Online Usability Technology in Plain English)Here is a nice and "Free" tool I found with an explanation below from 1stsearchenginerankings.com I am going to book mark the blog to revisit as it seems to have some great content and other resource info.- The Digital Nomad"This link popularity tool is pretty simple but gives some useful data including your current PageRank, Alexa Rank, Yahoo! backlinks, MSN backlinks and Google Backlinks. But wait the Google Backlinks data is different than a links:mydomain.com brings up. Thats right! This is not the traditional Google Backlinks checker. This tool gives you the real number of Backlinks or at least as close as it gets. This number may not be totaly accurate as Google is always updating different data centers and we could be back a little but this is one of the most accurate tools to date unless someone can show me another."Free Popularity
.htm">Link Popularity
Tool
Read more:Check
What's in a Name - The Importance of Your Domain Name 2007-03-03 16:43:00 (Archived in: Online Usability Weblogs and Business)Don't be flip about choosing a domain name for your SOHO business, website, or blog. First impressions are still lasting impressions and, in particular, since the vast majority of people search via "keywords" and "key phrases", take the time to research and claim a proper domain name to register.If you are testing the Internet waters with a popular blogging platform like "Blogger" or "Wordpress", you probably also will want to secure the same name as your blog, or a similar name as a website url that you will own. For some good strategies and techniques for choosing domain names visit this site Web Marketing Today.This post is not a tutorial on domain name strategies, just a general observation on what you don't want to do. I came across an article at "Dummies Guide to Blogger", a blog written by Peter Chen. Chen posted a reference to a funny article titled: "The top 10 unintentionally worst company urls" from www.independentsource
Increase Traffic with Foreign Blog Directories 2007-03-04 18:59:00 (Archived in: Online Usability Weblogs and Business)I have been doing lots of reading on optimization and techniques to increase traffic. John Chow of "John Chow Dot Com" has a good series of articles going, which are pretty informative (check it out and return to this page).I will be following some of Chow's ideas and tactics, along with those of others and I will report any updates. I also am doing a little experiment with Canadian blog directories. I figured why not...those guys to the Great White North all use our blog directories and forums to pump up their traffic, including John Chow who happens to live in Vancouver.This is a short post, and I don't want to write too much on this at the present, but as an experiment I registered some blogs last night at "Canadian Blogosphere". I do not know if this will result in an increase of traffic from Canada, but thought I would try this as a test. It' s easy to sign up and easy to track your rankings. This was my idea, so I will claim Read more:Directories
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Foreign Blog Directory Submission Update - Number 1 2007-03-05 21:57:00 (Archived in: Online Usability Weblogs and Business)The test on the Canadian blog directory submission shows some promise. All three blogs that I submitted to the "Canadian Blogosphere" have climbed in ranking from the "150s" to the "80-115" or so mark. It has only been 2 days since I submitted to to this directory, and all three blogs have moved from the middle of the pack to the top third in rankings.I also have had a small bump in traffic. I suspect that this is because there are fewer blogs listed on this directory - hundreds, and not thousands. It could also be because these blogs are new additions.On another note, I wanted to report that it has not been easy to find "foreign blog directories" that allow submissions from the US. I tried to submit to some directories in the UK and India, but one of the requirements was that you had to be a resident or a citizen blogging from these countries.I am going to try to submit to "Blogdup-China", which appears to accept blogs from outside o Read more:Directory
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Blogosphere Creates Need to Coin New Words 2007-03-08 18:59:00 (Archived in: Online Usability Weblogs and Business)I frequently find the need to look up the meaning of unfamiliar words and terms as I read blogs, or articles related to "blogging" and the "blogosphere". I know I should be posting more on something business related, but today I am in a state of "blogathy" .I recently did a search on blogging terms and found many links and glossaries, including the standard Wikipedia, and several others as resources of deciphering blog terms. I was amazed at not only the number of new words and terms that have been coined, but also some of the meanings. This is my favorite for definition of blogging terms.Much of the information from site to site is redundant, but I like samizdata.com because it's fun to look at plus it give you extra information, like who in the blogosphere is credited with coining the word or phrase. It even gives you the origin of the name "samizdata". Some of this I am sure is just for amusement. For instance, do you know what Read more:Blogosphere
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Link Love and Weblog Prostitution - the View from Paula Mooney 2007-03-10 20:14:00 (Archived in: Weblogs and Business Social Design)As a result of blogging, I am constantly reading and researching to find magic bullets. If you have followed most of the optimization techniques available, no doubt you know that a big part of the game for getting traffic is to be patient. Put a plan into action and keep building, one step at a time.Certainly you have to be on topic, stay on topic, and be writing posts of interest. My goal has always been to grow my blogs organically, since I want to have highly targeted traffic. Aside from all the tricks and tips I run across, I find that there is a need to build on the social aspects of the blogosphere. My goal is still to mimic proven virtual business models and to have a truly "portable business" that I can operate from anywhere.This is the "modus operandi" behind my current blogs The SOHO Quest, Digital Nomads, and The Sovereign Journey, all targeted to different segments of "working online" and utilizing "emerging technology", do Read more:Mooney
, Paula
Internet Scammers Beware-ProfitLance Is for Real 2007-03-11 18:51:00 (Archived in: Ecommerce SOHO Online Usability)I felt like I needed to make an update with regard to my experience using the ProfitLance
online marketing system as a tool to learn online marketing (see original review).I have been online now for a few months and am starting to get queries as to my experience using the system. If you have read my "Eight myths post" at Sovereign Journey Blog, you know that I believe anything you do in life requires self determination, and that education is only achievable when you are ready and excited to learn (Myth Number Two).If you are having trouble understanding the concept of an online business and what Internet
marketing is, then you have shared many of the frustrations I also have experienced. The first point I want to make is that it is very difficult to know what is "real" and what is "hype" when you are on the Internet.This requires a tremendous amount of research visiting forums, posting questions, and generally just doing your own due dilige Read more:Beware
Yop! One Day, One Word, One Post 2007-03-12 16:50:00 (Archived in: Weblogs and Business Social Design)What would happen if on one day 30,000 bloggers in unison made a one word post? That's the blogosphere challenge initiated by Rick, Brian and Carol.This was the concept as presented to me by Carol as she joined my community space on MyBlogLog. Just a short compelling message asking if I would join the list and participate. The idea intrigued me and piqued my viral curiosity, since I had to link to one of her blogs, "My View of It", to see what it was all about. I since have added the information as a side bar to my 3 blogs.A subsequent comment I made to one of Carol's posts, resulted in what she calls a "Shout Out" (thanks again Carol).To save you the time of searching to find out what this is about, here is how it works: Send an email to brian@bravehumans.com with the subject: Yop!In the body of the email list the name of your weblog, and the URL.Your weblog will be added to the list below.Tell your friends who blog about it, and Read more:One Day
, One Post
, One Word
Link and Blog Challenge Could Be Challenging You Right Now 2007-03-14 15:41:00 (Archived in: Online Usability Weblogs and Business)Here is a ground floor opportunity for those wishing to create links organically and in a search engine friendly way. I was told about the "Link and Blog Exchange" by Jimi Morrison at MYBlogLog, and in fact L&BE is kind of like MyBlogLog, but with a more purposeful and direct way of creating link strategies.This is not about leaving the usual "Checked out your blog", or "Thanks for stopping by" obligatory and mostly boring comments in the hope that you will have people joining your community. The idea is to create "one-on-one" and "group challenges" using the Challenge
Tips to make thoughtful and useful links within a community of blogs.This appears to be a nice idea and should have legs. This site was only launched in February of this year, and is predicted to climb in page ranking fairly quickly. I had a few problems at first with navigating the sign-up process, but was delightfully guided through the process with owner and webmaste Read more:Right
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