This week I attended Drakes Supa IGA in Ashmore for some grocery shopping. What great customer service! I have been there on several occasions in times past, though it is not my nearest supermarket. My experiences at Drakes Supa IGA Ashmore have been consistently good. They do things differently from Coles & Woolworths, the big [...]
I apologize for the duplicated Twitter daily digest posts. They have appeared because I am using a plugin to automate collating my daily tweets into a digest and there appears to a bug. The plugin (Twitter Tools) has an experimental section; which is where I have set up the daily digest post, so a bug [...]
Today I came across this fantastic video about 9 words which will enrich your life and boost your business. Think about how you can apply the principles to your own life, business and relationships. 9 Words That Will Enrich Your Life and Boost Your Business View more webinars from Content Crooner. Download the 9 Words [...]
Today I added Google Adsense to my blog and website . I have somewhat mixed feelings; on the one hand I like the look without ads, on the other, Google Adsense: Provides an income. Gives visitors more variety and interest. I know some Internet marketing ‘purists’ might say never to do things which may draw [...]
Choosing the right office equipment can be an important part of productivity management. Take staplers for example. In recent times we have had two staplers, both of which were what we thought was a decent brand. I won’t mention the name here but I will tell you about how I solved the problem. The staplers [...]
Slacking off, goofing off by employees is a huge cost to business and government. That said, a limited amount of slacking on the job can improve output, productivity and quality of work performed. Some cyber slacking can even be helpful. The essence of/reason for slacking is usually a lack of deep, intense interest in what [...]
Ok, I will keep this simple. Read it all though as it might save you money, time, stress and hassle. Just what you REALLY need to know about Content Management Systems (CMS) for Web Design, Web Developers and Websites. A Content Management System can be a fancy name for a website (or blog). Content Managed [...]
WordPress 3.0 “Thelonious” has been released. It looks fantastic. Personally, I will wait a week or so (or more) before I upgrade. Here are some of my reasons: Allowing time to pass so that I can be sure there are no major hassles or issues with the new release. Allowing the plugin developers to update [...]
In many places these days, both off-line and online, the sense of good service has been lost in a misinformed rush to pseudo efficiency. The phrase “have a nice day” is both ubiquitous and perfunctory – and usually meaningless. I am sure that you will recall many visits to brick and mortar stores with their [...]
Brainstorming about a new domain name for a client… Currently I am developing a new website for a client. We are brainstorming about the choice of domain name. This process has been going on for a couple of days. Here is just one snippet that I emailed to my client: Key thought…wear your customer’s head. [...]
The single most important graphic element on your Web site or blog is, without a doubt, your header graphic. If your site lacks an eye-catching, targeted and topic-specific header graphic, it runs the risk of being ignored by untold numbers of potential clients and readers. But an attention-grabbing, well-designed header graphic does three things that [...]
These days we often hear people complaining about junk mail in their letterbox and Google ads. In fact, the lack of ads is listed as a benefit for some types of online services when you take up the paid version. To me, the removal of the ads is actually a negative! My ideal is to [...]
Earlier this year I read the following article about Gen Y and landline phones: Gen Y drop landlines: survey Personally I am a bit of a ‘Geek’, or ‘Nerd’ and tend to operate out on the ‘frontier’ of new developments. This does not mean that I grab the latest gadget, or follow fads though. For [...]
Earlier this year I was a little overrun with administrative and other reorganisation/planning, which included a business development efficiency drive. My efficiency audits included researching and evaluating invoicing and accounting methods; which are an important part of running any business. Hopefully my research and experiences will help some of you. Up until earlier this year, [...]
Secretaries, Receptionists, Switchboard Operators, Personal Assistants (PA) and others are all important roles/characters within an organization. Some of these people are what is known as ‘gatekeepers‘ – the people who decide IF you will get to speak with, or meet, the person you would like to interact with. Often, these ‘gatekeepers’ are regarded with contempt [...]
Packaging, positioning and marketing sells. If you are running a business, trying to get a job, hoping to get a great date or otherwise trying to sell yourself, your ideas or services; then this Washington Post article about one of the world’s great violinists, Joshua Bell, playing six of the greatest violin masterpieces, in a [...]
Website builder software blues now have an antidote! (Also works for the blues you can get when dealing with some web designers). First of all, let’s get all the boring, nasty, horrid, stressful, blood pressure increasing, confusing, complicated, and expensive web design stuff out of the way first because with this antidote you won’t have [...]
We have all heard of Flickr and similar photo sharing services. Some of us may have tried some of the more professional applications. Last year I needed to find a top class way of sharing my photos. I looked at many options, including applications which I could host on my own server, special software and [...]
Recently I had cause to contact my website builder software developer for support. For some reason I was getting unusual additional stuff listed at the top of the search results page on my Personal Development Magic website. Here is a post I wrote about it on the forum. Someone on the forum suggested that I [...]
Way back in 1999 – 2000 I built my first websites. I used Microsoft FrontPage which in fairness, was very good for its time, making the whole process much easier. One of my early websites was Find-A-Person. Here is a link to some archived copies of the site, categorized by date. (Tip: The Internet Archive [...]
Note: This is an older post from another blog which I have retained because of its usefulness to people experiencing a similar issue. Originally published August 23rd 2009. Yesterday I was on a roll. Posting to my blog, which runs the latest edition of WordPress. Uploading photos for my posts. Since then I have changed [...]
Note: this article was formerly published at an earlier date on an old blog (same blog software theme). Images reflect old information. Useful content has been retained. While I was waiting for some help on how to adjust my blog code to fix an inactive RSS button, I decided to try a workaround fix myself. [...]
When running a business it is very important to get the financial aspects correct. In fact, if you do not manage the financial parts of your business correctly, then the finances will manage you and you are highly likely to go out of business. Unless you are some kind of financial ‘whiz kid’, you are [...]
Bob Parsons, CEO of Go Daddy, is a world class businessman. This morning I watched another of his video blog posts. Bob Parsons packs so much critical advice into so little time. I got a lot out of this video: #29: The 5 MOST IMPORTANT things I know about building a WINNER. Why they will [...]
Today I am enjoying using XSitePro, my website builder software, to continue developing my Black Shaman website. XSitePro makes stuff so easy and over the years while using the program I have often found myself thinking that it is just like WordPress. Easy to use, slick and full of key functionality. Another thing I like [...]
In my article about possible mandatory Australian government Internet filtering, I mentioned sending a fax message to my local politician. You can view the article concerned here. In my fax I used the following link to a collection of blog posts which are hosted on my blog: http://click-here-now-for.info/InternetCensor The link is an easy way of [...]
Note: the website mentioned in this post has now been incorporated into another site. Recently I have reorganized my blogging and in the process decided on a single blog complete with a new look which matched my new letterhead and business card designs. Today, I translated the new look onto the Personal Development Magic website: [...]
My new mouse mats have arrived. Regular readers of my blog may recall this article I wrote earlier this year: Why a mouse mat is a good business promotion tool – if you get the right one. In my view, Flipmats are the best mousemat around (try finding any better). Besides being technologically advanced and [...]
I am very impressed with this Twitter related resource from various standpoints, which include: An Academic A Life Coach A Sales Trainer A Businessman An Internet Marketer A Business Consultant Twenty-Two Interesting Ways* to use Twitter in the Classroom * and Tips. The document, which is hosted on Google Docs, can be viewed online in [...]
“no pesky regulations” This is a comment in an article about online advertising. Here is the context: Dr Mike Minehan, managing director of the Ideas Channel, said the shifting trend from television to the internet had been evident for a while, but was only now beginning to show what it can achieve. “The internet is [...]
During the business planning process, establishing goals is of course fundamental so as to provide a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Setting one or more goals appears to be a straightforward process. You establish a specific goal, one that’s measurable and has a defined time frame for completion. You implement your action [...]
Here is a handy tool for estimating the value of a website. It may assist you in your business development efforts. http://www.stimator.com This website value estimator is useful for people interested in, or active in, search engine optimization. As the check runs you can see how various factors are increasing the value. At the end, [...]
If you want to see where the future is headed then check out this story about a London bakery using Twitter to tell its customers when batches of products are ready. They sell out real quick too! People and businesses who do not stay on the leading edge of technological developments will miss out on [...]
This post is primarily intended for webmasters, Internet marketers and anyone interested in a simple way to set up link redirects / link cloaking. People with knowledge of setting up a link redirect will be aware of how fiddly and time consuming they can be. Time is so precious and I am constantly on the [...]
Want to speak to a person when you phone an organization? Those computerized phone systems can at times be very counter productive indeed and on occasion I have experienced greater difficulties because of them. Here is a good list of shortcuts to a real human for my North American readers. Gethuman database for better customer [...]
I have just recently published a new website on behalf of one of my clients – Vision Centre Gold Coast. This website, which as of February 2009, is not yet fully completed, has been created for one of the Gold Coast’s premier eye care facilities, which includes a day surgery. Dr Roger Welch, the founder [...]
Do you have long URLs (web addresses) to share with people? Do you have to click on long URLs; or even worse, have to copy and paste them for some reason? If so, then you will know of some of the frustrations associated with long URLs. People involved with Internet marketing (IM) will be acutely [...]
One aspect of business development can be the use of promotional products. Clearly, a promotional product which is attractive, useful, helpful, well made and which works well is ideal. Very often though, promotional products fitting such criteria can be expensive. We have all seen the promotional pens – in fact I know someone who collects [...]
Do you know much about domain names? Did you know how easy it is to buy and register a domain name? Did you know that you can buy a domain name from a top class domain registrar for a really good price and get loads of great free extras? Even a free email account and [...]
Yesterday I wrote a post about being gracious and commented on the poor attitude of the computer games salesperson. Today I will be telling you about a very poor recent experience with a sales assistant who was actually an educated professional – in this case a Pharmacist (Chemist). I will also provide some health insights [...]
Do you want to make your printer ink cartridges, or toner, last longer and save money on printing? Eco-minded people are mostly well aware of the impact of printing and copying on the world’s tree supply. What is less widely thought of though, is the ink and toner that’s usually consumed. Big users of ink [...]
NetRegistry, who are in my opinion (**) the best Australian Domain Registrar, have provided a key article about the impact of Generation Z on business and I quote from the end of it: You may not be web savvy, but within five years, your business will need to be as savvy as the kids are [...]
If like me you are a freelance self employed person then it is important to be able to keep accurate time tracking and billing records. Over the years I tried various methods and software applications however it was not until late 2007 that I came across Fanurio. I recall that it was not a Google [...]
Within the last week I have written two other posts with a graphics theme. One was about a great source of ClipArt and the other about a free image resizing program. Good quality images can make all the difference to a website. I always ensure that I put a lot of effort into picking the [...]
I like smart people. I can learn so much from them. It makes my life easier – cruisier. Too many people like to try and pull others down a peg or two. Here in Australia we have what is called the “tall poppy syndrome“. It is a shame, and very counter productive. It can even [...]
Following on from my blog post two days ago on Clipart: Great source of Clipart Here are some details about a very nifty free photo resizing program which will help you to easily create web and e-mail friendly versions of your images with reduced file sizes. I have been using this program – PIXresizer – [...]
I love using images in my websites and blogs. Besides being a very logical person, I have a really strong creative side, however my drawing age is stuck at around age 6 and a half. Ghastly! And no, I have none for sale! I am a very visual person and appreciate subtle variations and atmosphere. [...]
The mobile web. What is it? Many people are still getting to grips with the internet and all it has to offer. The mobile web is part of that, but one which a lot of people are unaware of. Simply speaking the mobile web refers to accessing the internet using cell phones, mobile phones and [...]
Many people from all walks of business life are panicking, stressing or being depressed about the current worldwide economic situation. In times like these it helps to get advice from world class business leaders. Today I viewed the latest video blog post from Bob Parsons, president of Go Daddy. Bob Parsons is someone I admire [...]
Maybe you have been to a 5 star hotel? Or perhaps you have just heard about them. You may have heard stories about how some 5 (and 6) star hotels have gone to great lengths in making their guests feel special, and the stays comfortable, convenient and luxurious. Things like keeping records of what a [...]
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