Why You Don’t Need Chrome OS

Not everything that Google touches turns to gold, far from it it would seem. In certain opinions, the web behemoth appears to be hard at work devising solutions to problems that people don’t really have. While the company is known, quite rightly so, for being cutting edge and innovative, some of the concepts and ideas just seem to leave you scratching your head. I’m sure we will get to terms with Wave when it finally hits our shoreline….

Google’s Chrome browser seems destined to be another flop, with its market share, so much as it is, steadily declining and users decrying its inability to integrate with much-needed apps and add-ons. While Google has always had its eye on Microsoft in the battle of the geeks, its boldest posture is surely Chrome OS. This is Google’s interpretation of how the operating system of tomorrow will integrate with the latest hardware and how it will change us all. We think it is an idea ahead of its time or worse, based on poor objectivity.

With Chrome OS, Google is trying to convert the desktop machine into a glorified web browser. Isn’t the existing version of Chrome supposed to be just such a browser? Google seems to think that desktop apps will very swiftly become a thing of the past and that everyone will jump onto the idea of cloud computing. Like we said, too far ahead of its time. We all surf the web more often than we allocate time to any other task on our computers, but there are still numerous processes and programs, accounting software versions, entertainment applications and so on that we use quite readily at our stations.

It looks like Google is firing a shot across the bows of Microsoft, but this effort is hardly likely to make a dent in the armor, let alone sink the ship. Microsoft operating systems represent an institution that will be very difficult to crack. Windows Vista may have been rightly denigrated, but 7, the latest effort, appears to be much more palatable and people are more likely to jump from XP to 7 than get into bed with Google. Any laptops, notebooks or other machinery that comes bundled with a Chrome OS is likely to lead to raised eyebrows, if not be returned to the merchant upon discovery and we think that Google has got a considerable hill to climb. Look at Apple’s intense marketing effort, currently trying to persuade us to change from Windows to Mac as an example.

Let’s face it, Google is not known for its quality of support. Indeed, when they rolled out Checkout, support was simply not available, much to the chagrin and amazement of potential vendors. Such a lack of consideration could be catastrophic for the company if it materialized during the release of an operating system.

Despite its undoubted stature and might within the technological world, Google seems to be relying too much on its name and its “hip-ness” when it comes to the very philosophy of a Chrome OS-reliant computer. The company has already said that it will only allow the operating system to run on referenced hardware, further restricting its overall appeal.

Do you think that Google’s turn has come?

Adam Toren

Use Affiliate Marketing To Attract Customers Who Would Not Otherwise Find You

Affiliate marketing has been one of the growth areas of the Web in recent years. Sellers of goods and services understand the power of third party endorsement and know that a concerted affiliate marketing campaign could reach many more potential clients than a simple in-house initiative ever could. Anyone involved in e-commerce should consider an affiliate program. If there’s a market for what you’re selling and you have a great USP then you simply need to switch on a family of clones, just like yourself, to help you out!

You can increase your sales potential exponentially by starting your own affiliate marketing program. Work out how much you’re willing to invest and understand that affiliate marketing compares very favorably to the costs of conventional advertising and marketing. Be prepared to “reward” your affiliates very well as they drive business to you.

Many promoters find it best to develop a multi-tiered approach. They will have a fundamental package or service at the front-end, which they are willing to use as something of a loss leader. This product or service will naturally lead to a more expensive product or service and on upward, in tiers. This will require a quite sophisticated sales content or pitch and there should be a natural progression to entice the purchaser of the leading product to buy the bigger package. Using this approach, you can offer a very significant commission to the affiliate to sell your lead-in product, maybe even 75% commission. This should definitely motivate the affiliate and if you have structured your sales funnel correctly you should be able to use the loss leader as an investment towards larger returns.

There are a number of affiliate marketing networks, some specialize in particular niches and others may specialize in upscale. A process of research will uncover the best according to your particular product or service. You will then have to register with the network and may likely have to lodge a certain amount of money representing a potential commission payment due from a sale. The advantage of these networks is that they have a whole host of affiliates lined up and ready to promote your service. Make your pitch enticing to the affiliates and use the power of their own networks to drive sales back through.

Remember that you will have to create sales copy, banner ads and e-mail content for your affiliates to use. The easier you make it for them to promote your site and services the more success you will attain. Remember also that you do not want your message to be doctored by affiliates who do not have the correct amount of information, so you should be sure that your collateral is on target before you sign up with the network.

Have you used Affiliate Marketing to attract customers?

Adam Toren

9 Predictions for 2010

Where were you when we welcomed the new millennium? It seems quite quaint to look back at that moment and remember our fears. Computerized technology would fail everywhere as it would not be able to adapt and recognize the arrival of the new century. Fast forward ten years and our online lives have changed beyond all recognition. We may not be worrying about the millennium bug when the clocks tick over shortly (although some of us may now be anticipating 2012) but we do anticipate an even more exciting new era as web and technological development gathers even more pace.

What will the new year bring? Here are some peeks into the blogtrepreneur crystal ball:

Location tools proliferate within social networks.
Although privacy concerns continue to be heard in the background, an increasing number of applications will prompt us to reveal our exact location to our friends and followers. These apps have been somewhat slow to catch on so far but as instantaneous, real-time social communications becomes more refined, GPS location tracking through our smartphones is close behind.

Social media will birth business media.
There will be a delineation between widespread office or business use of social networking and a dedicated, similar set of initiatives specifically for the business environment. As Twitter continues to fail to define its true potential and as businesses demand more focused options, commerce will provide social media type platforms for its exclusive use.

Apps will finally make sense of Twitter
If Twitter is to survive as a tool of any value, it must make more sense and present a more usable platform from a commercial perspective. How much longer the network can survive without displaying a meaningful business model is questionable. Application developers have been the savior already. In 2010 they will truly come to the rescue and re-position Twitter in the nick of time.

Microsoft Wave will arrive, but it won’t be a tsunami.
It’s been in beta mode endlessly, but it should break out and splash on the beach anytime soon. In 2010 Google’s new toy will further integrate multiple forms of communication. How long will it be before we only have one real social network, which incorporates all our other playthings. How much longer will we put up with having to automatically update Facebook with our Twitter status, show our Twitter feed on our blog and tag back and forth ad infinitum.

Facebook falls over itself one too many times and stunts its meteoric growth.
Facebook fails to listen to its users time and again and in 2010 this level of dismissal will combine with some game changing missteps. The novelty of it all will start to wear off as Facebook is seen as more of a mainstream activity and the platform will finally find its natural level.

Mobile net will flourish
As we now have some great hardware, good packaging, balanced operating systems and an accepting public we can expect mobile Internet to take hold. Dot mobi sites will enable us to interact with our phones without a constant flurry of pinching and scrolling. Mobile e-commerce may not be too far behind.

Outsourcing and virtual assistance will boom
Efficiency has been a byword of 2009 and it will be embedded in the psyche for 2010. Organizations must be super efficient in everything they do and there will likely be a considerable shift toward outsourcing and the adoption of virtual assistant services. “Just in time” delivery without added overhead will be expected.

Black hat continues to die and great content drives a thirst for education
Internet marketing will finally transition from “smoke and mirrors” and black or gray hat activities, as the thirst for web-based knowledge knows no bounds. Increasingly smart search engine algorithms accelerate the demise of junk websites and pages, as good content is at a premium.

Design technology and SEO catch up with each other.
Traditional methods of search engine optimization tend to favor the static approach. Flash-based websites will soon be able to deliver a great user experience and be viewed as meaningful, searchable, deep, indexable and rich.

Your predictions?

Adam Toren

Bill Gates Is Making a Difference

Microsoft founder and uber-billionaire Bill Gates may not be everyone’s idea of a role model. In an era where success and achievement are typically glamorized by Hollywood interpretation and where all stories need to have a a happy ending, Gates’ journey through our lives has not always been viewed through rose-colored glasses. For many years, Gates was ridiculed by the bloggers and critics of his company’s position of dominance, but since he stepped away from that Seattle Empire to focus on his work in the Gates Foundation, he has traveled the world and is in the process of making a significant difference through his philanthropy.

Much of his work is devoted to healthcare and to improving the lot of that significant portion of the world’s population that cannot necessarily look forward to longevity or to the pure joy of living that good health brings. His significant resources allow him to channel funds toward the provision of medicine and equipment to stop the spread of today’s most vile diseases such as AIDS and malaria. His involvement inevitably provides a significant spotlight, which in itself is a major achievement toward those goals and this exposure also provides education within the developed world about these modern-day scourges.

The Gates Foundation provides funding to significant scientific endeavors, worldwide. As the boundary pushing entrepreneur he was used to making investments in the future and has since then carried through this philosophy to his support of science and exploration. Gates is very hands-on and fully wants to understand what the scientists are working on before he commits his funds and that of his foundation. He knows that not all of his funding will net a “result,” but is certain that all of it will make an ultimate difference in the future.

As part of his well-rounded approach to problem-solving, Bill Gates understands that while his resources are substantial, they are a relatively small investment in what needs to be done. He reasons that education is probably equally or more powerful and that he should devote much of his resources to encouraging others, both individual and corporate, to also get involved. Interestingly, he sees much growth in online educational initiatives and would like to see more virtual university tuition available. He sees the Internet as a way of breaking down some of those financial and capacity barriers standing in front of would be graduates.

For someone with a complete understanding of marketing, technology and communications, Gates is keen to devote much of his time to developing these platforms as part of his quest to help others. He believes that we need to encourage philanthropy through these channels, both within the more established countries and traditional charitable sources such as the US and within the emerging, new worlds of India and China.

Gates certainly does what he preaches. He tells people that they must engage with something they are passionate about and that this is the only way to find success. He achieved this goal at Microsoft and is well on his way to making a huge difference in the world of philanthropy and in the care of his fellow man.

Do you think Bill Gates is making a difference?

Matthew Toren

Use Your Website To Get Purchasers to Your Physical Store

As we transition more toward a virtual world, it is quite amazing to see that more than 50% of “bricks and mortar” businesses do not yet have a web presence. As potential consumers use Internet search engines to do their research before they go out into the real world, those companies without a website risk being left out. For the off-line retailer, however, it is not good enough to just throw up a portal and expect to earn riches, as the entrepreneur must pay attention to the site composition to ensure that visitors make the connection between the online site and the off-line location.

On-site optimization is often focused merely on helping the website achieve a great position in search engine rankings, so that the would be consumer can find the site in the first place. This is of course very important, but if you are mostly relying on actual visitors to your bricks and mortar store then you have to do a lot more.

One of the biggest mistakes that many retailers make when considering a website is to assume that the website should be divorced from the actual physical location for some reason. They assume that a website is only good for e-commerce and they may or may not be geared up, or wish, to sell any of their products online. They are missing the bigger point here – the website is primarily a source of information and they should do everything they can to ensure that the visitor is “converted” in one way or the other.

If the website is not to be used for e-commerce, then the page must be designed to lead visitors easily to information showing your physical location. This will require a clear link in a prominent position on every page, using appropriate texts such as “find our locations,” or “how to contact us.” Some webmasters make the mistake of including contact details within a vaguely termed “about us” section. Don’t make the visitor think twice about anything, make it obvious.

These days it is fairly easy to incorporate a Google maps widget showing in clear detail exactly where your location is and remember to include your opening hours and customer service phone lines in prominent positions. Additional phone lines are very cost effective and should be used to help you track your clients. For example, use a different customer service phone number on your “contact us” page and another phone number on each of your product pages. Remember to keep track of client paths by asking the appropriate questions at the point-of-sale.

Any marketing initiatives that you engage in should be tracked and tested. This may require a process of education amongst your staff. They should get into the habit of asking appropriate questions to determine whether visitors found your location through your website or not. Always try and get your visitors to give you their e-mail addresses, so that you can send questionnaires for more feedback.

Is your website connected to your physical store?

Adam Toren

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