Jun 29 2009

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-29

posted in Twitter Updates

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Jun 23 2009

How to Generate More Business In A Struggling Economy

posted in Business Ideas, Entrepreneurship

BarterAlright, well that title will probably generate tons of hits from search engines due its excessive use of “hot topic” keywords, but I digress…

I’ve been wanting an iPod Touch for awhile (and during that while, I’ve been calling it an iTouch; no one told me otherwise for the longest time…). My girlfriend just purchased one, and I’ve been messing with it for some time. Though I couldn’t tell you how to turn the thing on or off, I could tell you the best casino Blackjack and Texas Hold ‘Em poker games available for it.

Anyway, I don’t have the money to buy one, and I don’t have the business to make the money to buy one. I decided I could either work to drum up more business, or I could cut out the “middleman” and just barter for an iPod.

Bartering has come along way in society, from farmers and tradesman bartering for goods in a village to the modern version: bartering on Craigslist, or using a site such as BarterQuest.com to find and exchange goods of value. Here’s how it panned out:

  1. Craigslist proved to have many iPods available within the past few days in my area, and I took to spamming them all with a simple email: “Hello, my name is Nick. I don’t have any money, but I make websites…” along with a few examples and a link to my portfolio. The responses were decent (I sent out about 60 emails–Craigslist prevents more than about 20 emails from one email address in a 24-hour period, so I used three email accounts!), but most people either weren’t interested or had already sold. A few people responded with a less-than-satisfying, “I’ll think about it.”
  2. BarterQuest turned out to be fruitful. You simply make an account and list a “Have;” something that you can offer others–either a good or service, and one or more “Wants”–what you want in return. Clicking the “Match” button matches you up with someone who has something you want, and preferablly vice-versa. I posted “Web Design” as a “Have” and an “iPod Touch” as a “Want,” and within 24 hours someone contacted me interested in a very simple site design. I look forward to our relationship, and I think it’ll be a fruitful experience for both of us. Best of all–BarterQuest doesn’t seem to require a percentage payment–at least the listings are all free. There may be some premium listing option that I’m not aware of.

The great thing about bartering is that people do not associate dollar figures to a good or service under this system. If someone (like me) is desperate for an iPod, I value that object more than other things that may actually have a higher dollar amount associated with them. Likewise, it’s easier for me to handle accounting and bookkeeping for my business when there’s no money exchanged.

I recommend checking out bartering and if you can offer something people want. This is a great way to build your business, and while you may not be generating direct revenue, you’ll be generating a strong, satisfied customer base that will hopefully point you to new clients and repeat business!

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Jun 22 2009

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-22

posted in Twitter Updates

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Jun 19 2009

Blogging Killed the Newspaper Store

posted in Business Blogging, Business Ideas, Business News, Intelligent Thought, Online Business

newspaper

OK, that was a terrible attempt at a “punny” title (get it?), but there’s been so much talk lately about whether or not the newsprint industry will be able to survive the next 5-10 years. The Internet coupled with a changing user base, plus a dated business model, may just be enough to overthrow the reign of the well-loved newspaper. But what will come next? And will newspapers become a second-thought novelty item or remain strong as an “intellectualy” alternative to the racy, incredulous “blogosphere” content?

First of all, it’s pretty well understood that the business model is highly flawed. People aren’t willing to pay for the “convenience” of having a paper delivered to their front door anymore, because it’s now more convenient to stay in their pajamas and read the same news headlines on their computer. RSS syndicates of their chosen news source show up at the click of a button whenever there’s an update, and further opinions and expansions can be found as primary, secondary, or bullshit sources via personal blogs.

Overhead for printers cannot currently keep up with the shrinking amount of money rolling in for subscriptions, and payroll for specialized reporters and photojournalists is escalating. Market equilibrium has been reached a number of years ago, and now the supply and demand curves are showing that if newspapers are to succeed, competition must be eliminated.

But is there something else?

What about the fact that newspapers haven’t ever tried to reach people on their own terms? Churches, private institutions, and other organizations that are often associated with the “elitist” mentality are guilty of this as well. The large papers have always been able to run what stories they (or Rupert Murdoch) want, and have not had to suffer the consequences when people turned up their noses at the medium through which it was delivered. If you wanted the news, you could 1. turn on the TV and wait for a story that interestes you, or 2. read the paper.

The publishing industry is also suffering from a similar crisis (revelation?), though not as pandemic. Would-be authors are showing up in hoards to online publishing houses where their crappy poetry can turn them into the next “author unknown.” Likewise, would-be journalists are creating free “newspapers” at places like WordPress.com, Blogger.com, and TypePad, where their egocentric need for outside acknowledgement of their existence can be satisfied.

I believe for every blog that’s read, hundreds of millions more sink into oblivion.

Why is this fact key to the problem at hand?

Newspapers exist(ed) because people needed to read.

Blogs exist because people need to write.

The status quo hasn’t just shifted, it’s turned itself completely upside down.

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Jun 16 2009

Useful Reading…

posted in Business Blogging, Intelligent Thought, Internet Marketing

I’m busy working on a website for my church, so I’ll keep the post short tonight–here’s a catch-up on some useful reading material in different business-related categories:

Feedback: Just Say It! by Brandon Marker.

Safeguarding Your Mac by AppStorm.

Textbook Rant by Seth Godin.

5 Ways to Systemize Your Blogging by ME! I guest posted on ProBlogger.net–thanks Darren!

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