So much of building an Internet business is simple. You don't need to know HTML any more. You don't need to mess around with ftp uploaders or hire designers. These days you can buy a ready-made template, plug in the ad systems and just paste in the content you need. And that's where things start to get tricky. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Chris Harper) I realized that I needed to write about this piece of software when I recommended it to someone for the third time in recent memory. What struck me was that each thing that I recommended it for was different. One person needed to convert some files from a proprietary AVC-HD codec that her editing software couldn't read, another was looking to pull some material from a DVD, and the... Continue Reading

I've spent the last few days in Manhattan for the annual Book Expo America (BEA). My publisher, John Wiley & Sons, invited me to do a book signing at their booth today. Twitter Power has become the world's best-selling book on Twitter, even translated into Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Portuguese. I have revised and updated this book, and it is now available in paperback with the title Twitter Power 2.0. Here are some photos of... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D) I love buying things online! What I am not fond of is the service, or should I say the lack of service, I often receive after the sale. The great speaker and human development expert Earl Nightingale once noted, "Our rewards will always be in exact proportion to our service." However, with the world markets injured by those who focused more on profiting themselves than serving the... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Andrew Albritton) No, it doesn't have anything to do with armed agents kicking down doors. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and doing a SWOT analysis on your business is an essential step in the process of branding and marketing your product or service. It also helps you come up with business strategies. SWOT analyses help you to identify and capitalize on your strengths, and they can help... Continue Reading

Where Are You Now? Location-based services like Foursquare, Gowalla, and BlockChalk are all the rage these days, possibly because they're still so new, but probably also because they offer users the ability to turn their mobile phone addictions into something that can have very tangible real-world benefits in terms of building and maintaining relationships. And while a lot of the attention has been on how these services can facilitate impromptu run-ins with your friends, there... Continue Reading

Get your idea noticed by using this clean design principle. Advances in media have created the most ad-resistant breed of consumer to date. Recent studies have found that consumers are, on average, exposed to 3,000 commercial messages per day in one form or another, from the boring copy-laden radio commercials to the flashing skyscraper ads on my favorite websites, from the cluttered newspaper coupons to illegible billboards on the side of the bus and... Continue Reading

I don't go to the movies much. I enjoy movies, I just don't enjoy the theater experience. Why pay top dollar to sit in a crowded cinema with chatty teens and people noisily crunching popcorn and nachos when I can buy or rent the DVD for less and enjoy the peacefulness and comfort of my home theatre. I choose to go to the Metrolux today in order to get a glimpse of An American Carol... Continue Reading

Admit it. You are passionate. Oh, I don't know what you are passionate about. But I guarantee that you are passionate about SOMETHING! You may be crazy about parakeets. Or perhaps you know more about bonzai trees than anyone on the block. Maybe you are one of the world's leading experts on Mt. Everest. Or it could be that you make the best french silk pie in the hemisphere! The point is that everyone is... Continue Reading

I'm at Will Rogers airport in Oklahoma City, getting ready to make the trek home to Colorado after a week of visiting with family and friends. I've had some time to reflect on the year and would like to take a stroll down memory lane. The year started with a crazy idea. I knew that others had dabbled with the idea of doing an Internet reality show, but no one had really taken the concept... Continue Reading

If you've created some new AdSense code recently, you've probably noticed that you now have an extra decision to make. Once you've picked your format and chosen your color schemes, you have to decide how you want the corners of your units: square, slightly rounded or very rounded? For most of us, the answer to that question is going to be "Who cares?" Continue Reading

Google has been doing a bit of spring cleaning lately. First it redesigned its ad units. Now it's changed the look of the AdSense home page. What effect have all these changes had on your revenues? Almost none, I would think. The new ad units are slight more attractive than the old ones. But I doubt if the new look is worth more than a click or two each month. Continue Reading

You already know that ad units placed above the fold tend to get the most clicks. But did you also know that Google automatically places the highest-earning ads in the first ad unit on the page? That's very helpful. Before you've done any optimization, you're already getting the most valuable ads in the best spot on your page. The problem comes when you start optimizing. Continue Reading

Deck the Halls with boughs of holly... Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way... Frosty the Snowman, was a jolly happy soul... You'd better not pout, you'd better not cry... You get the idea! Christmas is coming! And you can spice up your AdSense blocks with a little holiday cheer using their "themed ads". Want to know how? Continue Reading