Posts from — January 2010

If you’ve ever tried online dating you probably know that finding a person of interest can take time, energy and effort.  And in all honesty, you’d probably prefer to spend these things on your date, not on finding your date.  The new Apple iPad, however, can make it possible for you to look for a suitable partner from nearly anywhere.  While some versions of the iPad only have WiFi accessibility and will require being near a hotspot, the ones with 3G capability will allow singles to have internet access anywhere, which means that they needn’t wait to get home from work in order to fire up their search.

The biggest negative about the iPad is that it doesn’t have a camera of USB port, so it may be difficult to upload profile pictures or create a complete profile if you haven’t had one before.  Still, if you already have an account at an online dating site you will be able to access it from anywhere and browse the profiles at your convenience.

I predict that in the coming months as the iPad becomes more available and popular we’ll see an increase of singles looking for love on the train, bus or in the park during their lunch break.  If I may be so sly to suggest it, why not peek over to the screen of the iPad next to you – who knows, if that person is also looking for love, you can strike up a conversation, and you may not even need an online dating site!

It’s bound to happen that you’ll need to get gifts for someone…whether it’s a coworker, a relative, a partner or even a holiday gift for yourmailman.  And, while you will always be safe with flowers, gifts that are a bit more personal always make a much nicer statement.  The question is, how can you get gifts for someone you don’t know well?  Equally importantly, how can you get a truly great gift for an acquaintance?

Here are 5 ways to make a thoughtful gift selection for anyone, for any occasion.  Want to share your gift-giving secrets?  We’d love to hear (and share) them!

1. Choose something popular. You don’t need to get an iPhone for everyone that you owe a gift to, but getting something that is popular in the moment is always a safe bet.  Ask your mailman if he has a Wii or Xbox, and consider getting him the latest game.  Or, if he has a Kindle, a new download would be a considerate gesture.  A Snuggie may also be a good bet this winter.  Look around, see what’s popular (and in your price range), and don’t be afraid to get something trendy.
2. Go classic. A gift certificate is always a safe bet when looking to get great gifts for anyone.  Who doesn’t love a free dinner, or even a few free cups of coffee at the local gourmet café?  Just make sure that the amount of the gift certificate is enough to get a good dinner, without the recipient having to add for things like a drink or dessert.
3. Do your research. There’s nothing worse than receiving a gift that is thoughtful but not well researched…an online movie subscription, for example, that doesn’t deliver to the recipient’s area, or an mp3 player that won’t last for more than a month.  Take a few minutes to read reviews about the item you’re buying so that you know it will be enjoyed for a long time.
4. Give a gift receipt. Unfortunately, even the best intentions aren’t always perfect, and even things that you think are great gifts may not be appreciated entirely by the recipient.  Gifts that can be returned or exchanged are always appreciated (and, as an added bonus, they prove that you purchased the gift expressly for the recipient, and were not regifting something that you rejected).
5. Purchase off a registry. If you’re looking for great gift ideas for weddings or births, ask the recipient if he or she has registered anywhere.  A gift registry can save you a lot of time and stress as you know that your gift selection will be well-received.

If you’re at all familiar with the rules of how to get tax deductions for charitable donations, you know that in general, you must make your donation before December 31st in order for it to apply to the taxes that you file by the following April. But, at times, this regulation can be changed in order to encourage additional charitable donations. Taxes being filed now for the 2009 fiscal year can include donations made to help Haiti until the end of February 2010, thanks to an emergency bill passed by Congress. Those who have already filed their 2009 taxes either online or in person can apply for this charitable tax donation credit on the 2010 return. However, those who prefer to get the credit towards their 2009 taxes cannot resubmit this donation on their 2010 tax return.

As with all charitable tax donations, there are several guidelines which must be followed in order to receive the deduction. Firstly, the donation must be made to an American organization such as the Red Cross. Charitable donations to Hatian or other foreign organizations are commendable, but ineligible for tax deductions. Additionally, it is important to make sure that you save the receipt of your charitable tax donation and submit it with your tax filing. If you make the donation via cell phone text message, make sure to keep your phone records as proof of the donation. And, of course, if you receive a receipt for your donation, file it away safely until the time comes to file your taxes.

You may never have thought about Haiti before the horrific earthquake of January 12, 2010. But now that you’re aware of the devastation, there’s never been a better time to help Haiti rebuild and to take part in this movement towards global altruism. Perhaps receiving a tax deduction in exchange for your contribution shouldn’t be the only reason that you donate, but it can be an added benefit for your kindness and generosity.

If you have a home computer that you use for email, research and the occasional Facebooking, you’ve probably never seriously considered investing in a home computer backup system.  Even if you use your computer for light typing, Excel spreadsheets or storing your children’s homework assignments backing up this information with a home computer backup may not be your first priority.  But if it isn’t, perhaps it should be.

It only takes a few moments for a fire to sweep through a house, destroying everything in its path.  Likewise, a virus can spread through your computer in minutes, destroying your files, deleting your data or corrupting your computer beyond repair.  And, while nobody enjoys thinking that these things may happen, the reality is that they do happen- and they happen with alarming frequency.

While it may be impossible to protect all of your belongings from a fire or other natural disaster, it is entirely possible to protect your data from being obliterated by a tragedy or virus infiltration.  Home data backup can be done entirely electronically, so that even if your physical computer or home is damaged, your data will remain entirely intact.

The great news about online data backup is that some home computer backup can be done for free.  iDrive, for example, offers up to 2GB of free storage, which means that if you don’t have too many files, you may be able to store all of your important information for free.  But, even if you are like most people and also want to backup your photos and music downloads, you can still enjoy home computer backup for an extremely reasonable price.  With few exceptions, storage packages for home data backup can be selected to match your usage, so that you needn’t pay for excessive GBs of storage that you’ll never use.  Interestingly, even unlimited home computer backup services can be affordable.  Carbonite, for example, offers unlimited storage for around $5/month, which is an extremely reasonable price considering the peace of mind that this home data backup provides.

If you think of home computer backup as insurance, you’ll see that it is a truly important addition to every home computer.  Just as you wouldn’t choose to live without homeowner’s (or renter’s) insurance to protect your physical property, you should never live without online data backup to protect your intellectual property.  Because even if a computer can be easily replaced, the data stored on it is likely irreplaceable.

Web applications make our lives easier – they can be accessed from almost anywhere, they are usually cheap or free and they are mostly very easy to use.

Using good web apps can really help you save time, money and effort. If you are a small business owner, web apps can turn things around for you, and enable you access to very sophisticated management tools and other aids.

2009 presented us with some marvelous web applications. We picked 10 of them for you to take a look and enjoy.

10 Great Web Applications – 2009

1. PhotoSnack - PhotoSnack offers a great and easy way to create slideshows. This web app lets you create photo slideshows and online photo galleries for free, and also offers you multiple ways of sharing and publishing your photo slideshows.
2. Adobe BrowserLab - This useful tool from Adobe is designed to make the life of web developers much easier – with it, you can preview and test your webpages on leading browsers and operating systems – on demand. You get full screenshots and can customize your test settings.
3. Office Live - This Microsoft web service enables you to store up to 5GB, share with anyone, and collaborate on a single document. You can view Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from your Web browser.
4. DimDim - A free web conferencing service,  that lets everyone everywhere to communicate using rich media in real time. Dimdim is easy to use and completely free, so web meetings are made available to everyone.
5. Color Scheme Designer - A wonderful tool for designers and web developers. This web app has increased precision and color space conversions, better preview, enhanced scheme creation system, unique scheme IDs and permanent URL of the scheme.
6. PDF to Excel - A very useful conversion tool. Use PDF to Excel to quickly and easily create highly-editable XLS files, making it a cinch to re-use tables and spreadsheets from PDF files in Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice, Google Docs, and WordPerfect Office.
7. Creatly - A tool for creating online diagrams. Create fast, professional looking diagrams with Creately‘s large library of objects and easy start templates. Now you can draw anything easily.
8. 247Webmonitoring - Even if you have the best hosting service, you need to keep an eye on your site’s up-time. This web app will monitor your website 24X7 from their servers and notify you whenever your site goes down, so that you can quickly address the issue and keep your customers happy.
9. Preezo - If you can’t afford PowerPoint, this is the solution for you. Preezo enables you to create professional quality presentations using an ultra-fast Ajax user interface.
10. Live Mesh - With Live Mesh, you can synchronize files with all of your devices, so you always have the latest versions handy. Access your files from any device or from the web, easily share them with others, and get notified whenever someone changes a file. Very useful for people who are always on the go.

Blackbox Republic launched a brand new private dating site for people of all orientations and lifestyles. The site combines features of social networks with the personal elements of a standard dating site and creates a place where people can share their unedited personal life and later meet up in person.

Blackbox Republic is a totally private, invitation only network. Anyone can join, but you must be vouched for by an existing member to gain wider access to the community. Content can be published to all members, or sent only to specific groups of friends. You can also post more public content to existing social networks like Twitter and Facebook from within the application.

To start you up, you need to use the sliders at the homepage, and tell the system what kind of partner are you looking for, what’s your status and what vibe are you in. The site is well designed and fun to navigate through.

“People are used to sharing their lives online but have a problem knowing where to put the more private and personal things they want to share,” said Sam Lawrence, CEO and co-founder. “The only choices before now were advertising-focused public spotlights like Facebook, or online personals sites built around chemistry tests and splintered by race, sexual orientation or religion. We are aiming for something radically different.”

Few would argue that the primary goals of a virtual PBX are to provide a small business owner with a professional telephone answering service and to reduce the costs associated with other useful telephone services. But in developing and marketing today’s virtual office services, many companies have masked these fundamental goals by offering a laundry list of ‘fantastic’ features that may detract consumers from determining which services they really need. As savvy consumers and business owners, however, it is our obligation to see through these marketing ploys, so that we don’t overpay for services we really won’t use.

Still, while many virtual PBX features may seem extraneous, there are some ‘extras’ that can be surprisingly useful. Here are 5 virtual office features that can contribute greatly to the professionalism and efficiency of any small business.

1. Call recording. Even if you think that you’ll never need to record a call, you may be amazed at how useful this feature can be when making verbal agreements- and making sure that they are implemented properly.
2. Calling cards. You may not be traveling a lot (or at all) for business right now, but even for the once a year that you go on vacation, having the ability to use your virtual PBX service from anywhere can really be useful, and can save you money on your travel phone bills.
3. Call logs. While you may not be concerned about using your call logs to keep track of your minute usage, call logs can be useful for looking up lost or misplaced phone number of people that have called in- or that you’ve called and need to contact again.
4. Call handling rules. Sure, it’s nice to forget about work when you’re away from your desk. Unfortunately, small business owners often don’t have that luxury, as a missed call can mean lost business. When set up properly on your virtual PBX, call handling rules enable you to reroute your business calls to your cell phone, your home phone, or any other phone that you desire, so that you are always available when your clients need you.
5. Email and SMS voicemail delivery. It may be easy to press the play button on your answering machine, but that requires standing near the machine. With email voicemail delivery, you can receive messages from your virtual office service wherever you have internet access, which is incredibly convenient for small business owners who don’t spend much time sitting at their desk.

We’re not so superficial as to say that looks is everything, but we are human. Thus, we know that when looking at profiles on dating sites, people scope out the pictures first. Beauty and attraction are a matter of taste, but you can still upgrade your online dating profile by choosing the best picture of yourself to attach to it.

Online Dating Profile Picture Tips

1. Choose a photo that YOU like: you should feel comfortable and happy with the photos that represent you on dating sites. Don’t choose a picture just because you think others might like it.
2. Clear and focused: this might sound obvious, but for some reason, too many people choose blurry, dark images, in which you can hardly recognize any details. Unfocused pictures aren’t artistic – they are just poor quality.
3. Take a picture of yourself doing one of your favorite activities: If you have a hobby, get someone to take your picture while you are engaged in it. It will almost always present you in a positive light, because you tend to look happy and active while doing something you love.
4. Just you: most of the pictures in dating sites profiles should be of you – and just you. Especially avoid pictures with your Ex or any other member of the opposite sex. Pictures with other people deleted or blackened to hide them aren’t very impressive either.
5. Color it: color images are better than black and white. We have the technology, so use it!
6. Don’t take it yourself: if possible, ask a friend to take your picture for you. Self-taken pictures look exactly like that – with odd angles that rarely flatter you.
7. No nudity: some people think it’s attractive to post nude or semi-nude pictures in online dating sites. First of all, most sites will ban you or delete the image. Second, it doesn’t make a good impression. Put decent pictures, and take your clothes off when the right time comes.

In what seems mostly like a flamebait publicity stunt, dating site BeautifulPeople.com has removed 5,000 users from the site, because they put on extra weight and could no longer be deemed “Beautiful”.

“As a business, we mourn the loss of any member, but the fact remains that our members demand the high standard of beauty be upheld,” said Robert Hintze, founder of BeautifulPeople.com. “Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded.”

“The countries where most overweight people were expelled from are the US, Britain, Canada, Poland, Germany, Italy, France, Denmark and Turkey,” said the press release.

In the e-mail sent to the banished users, there were suggestions for boot camps and workout facilities so the users can get themselves back in shape.

This dating site declares itself as “an exclusively beautiful community, founded for the purpose of creating personal and professional relationships… an elite online club, where every member works the door”.

If you consider yourself beautiful and think you can meet the standards of this snobby site, you might want to give it a try. Otherwise, there are plenty of great dating sites that won’t check your weight and won’t ban you on the basis of your looks.

Congratulations, you’ve decided to open up a small business! Whether it’s your first foray into the business world or you’re an experienced entrepreneur, you’re probably already thinking about startup expenses and the costs associated with financing a small business.  With so many factors to consider, small business finance can be extremely stressful (if not downright overwhelming).  Fortunately, there are many new services and technological advances that can keep small business expenses to a minimum.   Here are five of our favorites- we hope that they’ll help you launch a successful and financially stable business.

1. Virtual Office Services. Most businesses require a voicemail, a fax machine and a telephone plan.  They may also require multiple extensions, an auto-attendant (automated “receptionist”), conference calling and other upgraded phone service features.  With a virtual office package, all of these services can be purchased for a low monthly fee.  If you want to create a professional image without spending a fortune on individual services, a virtual office should be on your list of necessities when financing your small business.
2. Do-it-Yourself Websites. These days, every business needs a great-looking website.  And, while you can hire an expensive design and programming team, there are also many websites that enable business owners to build their own website at a significantly reduced price.  Do-it-yourself websites can support everything from ecommerce platforms to artistic portfolios and can enhance the professionalism of any enterprise.
3. Online Backups. The last thing any business owner wants to worry about is losing vital information in a computer crash or chance act of nature.  Keeping an online backup is a great way to protect your business’s important information.  If your company doesn’t have many files from its inception, you can begin with a free online backup service, and expand to a paid subscription when you’ve amassed enough files.  This can be a great way to save money while making sure that your data is protected.
4. Reliable accounting. If you’re the creative genius behind your business but aren’t strong in the math department, you’ll need a reliable accountant that can help you keep your facts and figures together.  Depending on the scale of your business, you may want to hire an accountant who can explain the necessary processes and filings with you.  If, however, you are starting as a solo enterprise, you can take advantage of online accounting software that can keep your books balanced and, hopefully, ensure that your company will become profitable.
5. Stationery and printed materials. No matter what type of business you’re in, you’ll probably need some sort of printed materials.  Personalized receipts, business cards, and even shopping bags can help a business markedly advance its branding efforts.  And yet, while personalized and printed items can be expensive, they don’t have to be.  Ordering these items online can save the business owner money and time, as it eliminates the need to travel to and from the printer’s office.

Is there another business expense that you considered a critical when financing your small business?  We’d love to hear about it!