Most of us carry around a cell phone on a daily basis. They are compact, useful, and preserve us extremely connected to others. Some may consider them to be mini computers because of their endless capabilities. While on the go, you can easily connect to the internet for directions, email, or even game playing. Not only can you communicate with others through a expedient cell phone, but you can also easily use them to increase your productivity level in an instant. Mobile business users have access to wonderful smartphones that allow them to create and edit Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents. Now regular consumers can do the same thing with ease. With a few short hints, you will soon become a mobile warrior with your cell phone and increase your productivity level.
1. Customized reminders. Plenty of cell phones have a built in calendar. You can easily organize your entire day’s schedule with just a cell phone. Setting up appointments and then adding them to your phone will help you halt completely organized. Instead of being late for an important appointment, you will have vital information within your reach. Some phones allow you to grasp this step a bit further. You can quickly synchronize your phone’s information to a computer and then invent a backup copy of valuable contact information. Using your cell phone as an organizer on the go will allow you to have your very own personal assistant. It is almost like having a secretary in your pocket everywhere you travel.
2. Portable GPS device. Instead of having to use tons of cash on an expensive GPS contrivance, your some phones already have this feature included. You can travel to multiple locations without getting lost. As long as you have a cell phone signal and an internet connection, you will be able to get vital traveling directions. For phones that do not have this feature already built in, you can still use it like a GPS device. Several downloadable software applications will give your cell phone the same functionality. Traveling to a foreign or unfamiliar city will no longer be a stressful situation.
3. Use your cell phone for mobile photography. Since many cell phones have camera capabilities, you can easily become a traveling photographer. Fair snap a photo and then instantly publish it to your online photo location. Although you won’t find the best photos in the world from a cell phone, they are still useful enough to take gigantic photos. Traveling to multiple countries can be an experience shared with friends and family members. They will not have to wait until you get back to see some of the most beautiful places in the world. You can rapid share photos with them while traveling.
Cell phones are no longer cramped to talking. You can increase your productivity to new levels with them. Organizing your appointments, setting reminders, getting much needed directions, and photography on the go are only a few of their capabilities. Users can depend on their cell phones for important tasks without hesitation. They are small enough to be tucked out of site, but immense enough to take care of the functions we need while on the go. Using a cell phone as a personal assistant is not only a smart idea, but a convenient one as well.
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Filed under Small Business Phone Service by on Nov 17th, 2011. 
So you’ve decided it’s time to get a website for your small business but you’re not sure what’s enthusiastic? Here are five things you need think about before you take the plunge:
What is your business goal for this website? In other words, how is having a website going to contribute to your bottom line? Are you introducing a new product, hoping to expand into a new market, or maybe you fair want to be sure potential clients can find you on the Internet. Vivid before hand what your goals and expectations are will go a long way toward building an effective website.
Content is king. Do you have some? Photos, lists of services, pricing–you have all the basics, but what makes your business unique? Fast turnaround, exceptional customer service, your many years of experience in the field? Or perhaps it’s your innovative use of technology, or your luxurious facilities. These are the things that convert a website visit into an email or a phone call. No matter how attractive your website is, it can’t turn your visitors into clients unless you show people what makes your business special.
What is your budget? Know this going in and stick with it, but do your homework first and make certain your budget is realistic. Web designers charge anywhere from $200 to over $1000 for a exiguous custom designed site. Like anything else, you accumulate what you pay for.
Time. How much time can you devote to keeping your website up to date? We’ve all visited websites that suffer from Vacant Lot Syndrome. Their copyright date composed says 2002, and it seems like nobody’s home. Doesn’t inspire you to want to do business with them, does it? Keeping your site fresh and up to date is the best intention to ensure a return on your investment. Whether you lift some maintenance hours from your web designer or update the site yourself; if something is happening in your business, it should be happening on your website too.
Choose a designer with care. Review their portfolio–have they built other sites you admire, and do they offer the services you need? Talk to them on the phone to get a sense of their business style. Make sure they understand your business and your expectations for your website. Get a quote and contract in hand before writing a check.With a little preparation before you start, you’re bound to have a website that’s an asset to your business!
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Filed under Small Business Phone Service by on Nov 15th, 2011.
Vonage is a cheap yet reliable phone service that offers a great alternative to old-fashioned phone service. Vonage has become the largest VoIP(protest over the internet) phone service provider in the US. They offer residential plans and business plans as well. For residential service, their are 2 plans available.
The basic plan (plan #1) runs $14.99 per month and includes 500 minutes (incoming calls are free) of local and long distance anywhere in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The premium plan (plan#2) is $24.99 per month and includes unlimited local and long distance anywhere in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and select European countries. For the extra $10, it’s best to just get the unlimited plan. On the basic plan, if you go over the included 500 minutes the per minute rate is 3.9 cents.
For small business plan #1 it’s $39.99 per month, you salvage 1500 minutes (incoming calls are free) anywhere in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. Additional minutes are 3.9 cents. All business plans come with a free dedicated fax line as well. The small business plan #2 is $49.99 per month and comes with unlimited calling anywhere in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and capture European countries.
Vonage does provide the modem and all necessary equipment. The only requirement for the end user is a broadband internet connection. Vonage will work with either a DSL or Cable ISP (internet sevice provider). Personally, I select Cable over DSL for reliability reasons. I have had my Vonage line for 3 years now and it has been very reliable, with little to no problems at all. For those of you who have traditional phone service (Bell South, Verizon, GTE Etc.), you must be sick and tired of the taxes and long distance connectivity charges that keep appearing on your bill every month. Well I have righteous news, with Vonage you won’t be paying all that crap anymore! I have the $24.99 unlimited plan and the total monthly charge including all the taxes and fees is only $30.72. The taxes and fees don’t even add up to $6.00 per month. Yes it’s reliable and cheap! That’s just the beginning. The features you get with Vonage are fantastic. You’ll gain more features than you probably will ever exhaust and none of them will cost a dime.
Oh and if you’re worried about it being hard to hook up, no worries, it’s a traipse with the instructions that are included with the modem when you notice up. There are 2 ways to get signed up. You can go to vonage.com (the phone adaptor is free this way only), or several retail stores (Office Depot, Staples, Comp USA Etc.). If you want to keep your modern phone number, no sweat, Vonage will port that number for you. I suggest signing up at vonage.com if you want to keep your phone number. They will have your number switched over pretty quick too! If you decide to net a new number it can be with any set code you want. You could live in Florida and have an residence code from California. Should you decide to pick up the modem at a retail store you will still need to activate it on-line. Another nice feature( if you’re house has multiple phone jacks and you want more than one phone on that same number), is in a matter of minutes you can have all those jacks working through your Vonage number. It will not require any changes to the inside telephone wiring presently in your home. Also each modem has the capability to have 2 different phone numbers connected to it. So if you need an additional line for another member of the household or even a dedicated fax line, one modem will cover it. Should you require more than 2 seperate numbers, you will need a second modem. The standard modem (you have options) that comes with a Vonage will have 2 ports for phone lines and a port for your computer connection to the internet. They also have 4 port routers with the 2 phone ports built in. Whatever your needs, they have it. You will not need to purchase a special telephone to exhaust Vonage, any regular phone (corded or cordless) will do. Like I said, other than a broadband connection to the internet, they will provide everything (even the cables).
Now about those free features. Your Vonage phone service will come standard with call waiting, call forwarding, voice mail (no need for an answering machine) and all those premium features. There is no extra charge for any of them. Better yet, with Vonage you can manage your features and billing directly on-line without having to call someone. Say you are going on vacation for a week and you don’t want to miss any calls. No problem, in a matter of seconds by going on-line you can put in a cell phone number and all your calls will be forwarded to that number. When encourage home from vacation, just change it back. Also in the unlikely event of a network outage, you can put a secondary number (cell phone number) in and if a call comes in you will never miss it. Everything on your account can be accessed on-line, including all the features and billing. As far as the billing goes you won’t be getting an invoice in the mail, when the epic is dwelling up you will simply enter a credit or debit card and it will be charged the same day each month. You will receive an e-mail letting you know the charge went through each time. There are no credit checks involved with a Vonage account. Each phone line only uses 90 kbps of bandwidth. So with a standard broadband ISP (about 786 kbps down), you could have multiple phones and multiple computers on-line at the same time with no problem.
I have used Vonage for years now and can honestly tell you it has served me well. Other than having to reboot the modem once in a blue moon (if no dial tone), it’s been near perfect. The only real issue I have ever had is with my fax line. There have been times when sending a fax, I’ve had to resend it a couple times to fetch it through. Unless you send major faxes daily, this won’t be an enlighten. Do you already have a DSL or Cable internet connection in your household? Still using a traditional land phone line? If so, Vonage could save you a lot of money without sacrificing any quality or reliability.
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Filed under Small Business Phone Service by on Nov 7th, 2011.
Finding a small business lawyer isn’t the same as finding a personal lawyer; you need an attorney who specializes in small businesses and has sufficient experience to represent you. It is also a suited idea to further specify that you’d like a small business lawyer who has worked with small businesses in your industry to maximize your success. Above all, you need an attorney who can devote adequate time to your miniature business and who can satisfy all claims that might be filed against you.
One of the best ways to find the suitable small business lawyer is through referrals. When an attorney comes highly recommended by a client, you can usually trust that he or she will be right for your business. You can also get referrals from other professionals you consume, such as your accountant, your banker or your marketing consultant. Often, small business owners rely on attorney referral services, but you have to realize that those businesses are paid to effect referrals — they aren’t necessarily based on objective experience.
If you can’t pick up a referral through a friend or trusted professional, your next best bet in finding a dinky business lawyer is to use the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which can be accessed through Lawyers.com. This directory contains not only listings for attorneys all over the U.S., but also a rating system that is based on the reviews of other legal professionals.
Once you have garnered a list of acceptable prospects, you’ll need to interview each runt business lawyer and find out exactly where their differences lie. Some attorneys will have higher fees than others and some will be more available with their time. Depending on the nature of your small business, you’ll need to make an educated decision based on your need and your available monetary resources.
The most important characteristic of the right small business lawyer is a willingness to respond your questions at length. If the attorney is rushed or doesn’t seem to have time to answer your questions, you’re better off taking your business elsewhere. Many attorney-client contracts are filled with legal jargon that can be difficult to understand, so your small business lawyer should be willing to explain everything to you.
He or she should also be open about fees, including retainer fees and other deposits or monthly payments. Talk about any expenses you’ll need to cover, such as phone calls or photocopies or traveling. The right small business lawyer will be open and unprejudiced with you from the get-go, so look for signs that the attorney is avoiding your questions or trying to evade full disclosure.
Once you’ve narrowed the candidates down to two or three, your final decision should be based on personality. The right small business lawyer will “mesh” with your company culture and will manufacture you feel at ease during conversations. Choose an attorney with whom you have a strong rapport and to whom you wouldn’t mind seeking advice. After all, he or she will be your legal counsel.
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Filed under Small Business Phone Lines by on Nov 6th, 2011.
The Internet surrounds most of us in current society today. It’s connected to our phones, our TVs, our cars, and to every other electronic device that has the conceivable capacity to flip bits from across the globe. These devices are products of innovation inspired by the sea of limitless potential that is the Internet. Take for example Apple’s latest incarnation of the iPod: The iPhone/iPod Touch. Since their simultaneous release in 2007 Apple has sold over 30 million of these devices (Takahashi). But it’s not the figures that are staggering. It’s the fact that nobody is surprised by these numbers. People have come to expect the great leaps of innovation that have lead to these products’ success – and they demand so because they understand that with the infinite knowledge and opportunity that exists on the Internet comes infinite innovation.
But image for a moment Apple had never invented the iPod. Or Facebook had never been created and for the rest of your life you never again spoke to your now-distant childhood friend. Take any innovation that was created on or inspired by the Internet and contemplate upon what an opportunity the world would have missed out on had it not been invented. This is the kind of universal injustice that will soon be common-place should the Internet not eventually be regulated in a way which enforces net neutrality. There are few realistic scenarios imaginable which would consider worse on the technological progress of mankind than the desecration of the internet – a fate which lacking net neutrality would be inevitable.
Net neutrality is defined as the continued understanding that all Internet traffic is treated equally. Presently most Internet service providers treat all packets (Internet traffic being transferred) as protocol agnostic; meaning, all packets are sent at the same speed with the same priority regardless of their contents. Most people using the Internet today do not conclude to think about just what kind of information they are sending across the web. They pay a flat fee for Internet access based upon their potential top transfer speeds and that is that. Imagine if instead of a flat fee your Internet service provider charged you off a tiered system whereby you paid for specific services on the Internet: $10 a month for access to video sites such as YouTube, $5 a month for social networking sites such as Facebook, maybe another $20 a month to access adult content. This is the dream of corporate Internet service providers across the globe and from a capitalist perspective it is easy to examine why.
Taking a step back, let’s look at the logistics of how an Internet service provider would go about destroying innovation on the Internet and why they would do so. We originate by taking a look at America’s Internet service providers as most of the world’s Internet traffic is routed through the United States. The majority of broadband Internet access in America is provided by American telecom corporations. Corporations which are, needless to say, entirely profit oriented. Of all the telecom corporations in America Comcast provides broadband Internet access to the largest number of customers (Goldman). As such, we will be utilizing Comcast as an example as we quiz a few hypothetical situations of an unregulated Internet gone wrong.
Now, imagine if one day Yahoo! got sick and tired of Google’s search engine success and decided to reduce a deal with one of America’s largest Internet service providers: Comcast. Their deal states that Yahoo! will give Comcast a huge sum of money annually to cut all access to Google’s search engine and to display a message suggesting that the user use Yahoo! search instead. Comcast, seeing the opportunity to make a lot of money, jumps on the offer much to the afflict of its customers. The customers however are in no legal position to do anything about it aside from switch to another internet service provider. This however could be a problem because in many regions of America Comcast is the only broadband Internet service provider available. Besides, the next company may have cut a similar deal with Google which would in turn bother all who preferred using Yahoo! search.
But the lunacy does not stop there. Comcast has another plan to capitalize on the current lack of enforced net neutrality. Last year Comcast (hypothetically) released an Internet phone service which customers could bundle with their existing broadband access for a cheap telephone line at home. Unfortunately for Comcast they found that their phone service was not doing very well because many of their customers were already using Skype – a cheaper and arguably better online phone service. Comcast comes up with a great idea: slow down all of their customers’ Skype traffic so that the customers think their terrible phone reception is a reflection of Skype’s quality as a product. Again the customers are out of luck and are forcefully inclined to buy Comcast’s Internet phone service.
Lastly Comcast has a third plan to increase profits at the expense of their customers’ online freedom. The new view is to engage all of their lite-speed internet customers (those subscribed to the cheaper Internet access plan) and befriend these users ads on every website they visit based upon their search history. Comcast would start by looking for every Internet traffic packet, or every fraction of data being sent to a website, and checking to see if the data was being sent to a search engine. Once a search packet has been identified Comcast will look at the data that is inside and pick out the term that is being searched for such as “How to tie a rocket to a dog.” Once Comcast has found the search term they will inject a report of a dog with a rocket on its abet into the web-page that the user was viewing which when clicked would bring Comcast revenue. It would also play a very annoying “BARK!” sound followed by an explosion. The user might not even be informed that the advertisements being seen belong to Comcast and instead may assume they belong to the website being visited.
The process by which Comcast would find and extract this search term is called Deep Packet Inspection. Deep Packet Inspection contrasts with what is typically called Stateful Packet Inspection. In a normal packet routing situation (one involving Stateful Packet Inspection) an Internet service provider would look at a very small snippet of each packet being sent to and from a website where it would determine the eventual destination of said packet. This snippet is called the header. Alternatively, in a scenario involving Deep Packet Inspection (such as this one) an Internet service provider would look at a packet’s raw data and would try to interpret what it means. Through this process the Internet service provider could log in broad detail nearly every portion of information that a customer entered into a website. Deep Packet Inspection is by relation uncommon and is widely frowned upon in situations of customer profiling but does certainly have other legitimate uses.
Now that we have outlined the specifics of the potential horrors that a lack of come by neutrality could result in we can paint a more general picture of what is at stake today. Presently internet service providers have the ability to: slow down or block access to any traffic which they deem undesirable (file-sharing, phone/voice traffic, certain games), form incentivized deals to censor media outlets or to hinder competition amongst products, intercept and inspect all traffic and begin customer profiling, and modify all reveal received with or without prior notification to the recipient. All of these actions have been implemented by various Internet service providers in both America and the rest of the world.
Despite the Orwellian preface the future of the Internet might not necessarily be as gloom as one might predict having known only the above. There is a rapidly growing movement on the Internet comprised of net neutrality supporters from all parts of the world. However, while there are many advocates of net neutrality on the Internet their wait on only goes so far without an actual idea. Fundamentally the concept of procure neutrality breaks down to regulation. Net neutrality proposes that somebody regulates the Internet service providers to ensure that they do not discriminate against sure types of traffic, censor free speech, or in any way infringe on the freedoms found on the Internet today. But who, you might ask, should be in charge of regulating the Internet and its service providers? Well, the United States government. Actually, more specifically, it’s the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that has been generally accepted as the entity who should be in charge of said regulation. The FCC “is an independent United States government agency” whose purposes primarily involve “regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable” (FCC). It was the logical choice really.
Net neutrality is a concept that has in one form or another been advocated by some for roughly a decade. It was not until 2006 though that the debate started to become political. In June of 2006 a bill titled the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act entered the United States House of Representatives (Nichols). The bill was met with opposition for amendment by various Internet companies, most vocally by Google, who felt that the bill was aimed at pleasing the telecom corporations rather than the companies which operate on the Internet. The bill did not pass. For the next few years the issue of net neutrality made puny head-way as it became clear that nothing of value was going to be passed in the Republican-controlled Congress.
In 2009 Barack Obama became the president of the United States; and with a new president comes new appointees. Following his campaign-trail promise of steps to ensure a neutral Internet President Obama nominated Julius Genachowski to be Chief of the Federal Communications Commission (Broache). Genachowski is no stranger to the Internet having worked on and shown public support for the relate of net neutrality in the past (McCullagh). Fast-forward to September 2009: Genachowski announces on behalf of the FCC that they will be taking the first steps in drawing guidelines for enforced net neutrality (Bradley). This announcement was both expected and praised by the majority of informed Internet users. However, those opposed to the concept of a regulated Internet were quick to retort. Comcast’s Vice President David Cohen asked in a blog post “whether increased regulation of the Internet is a solution in search of a problem? ” He wished to remind us that “the Internet has enjoyed immense growth even as these debates have gone on.” He further stated that “the Internet in America has been a phenomenal success that has spawned technological and business innovation unmatched anywhere in the world” (Cohen).
Though, those opposing bag neutrality were not the only ones to speak their voice on the issue. In a collaborative begin letter cross-posted on the respective companies’ blogs Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt and Verizon Wireless’ CEO Lowell McAdam took a stand to wait on Genachowski’s position on net neutrality. The letter stated that Genachowski had “promised a thoughtful, transparent decision-making process” further pointing out that “the FCC’s existing wireline broadband principles make clear that users are in charge of all aspects of their Internet experience — from access to apps and content” (Schmidt and McAdam). Compared to the Google/Verizon open letter Comcast’s statement fell on deaf ears. The FCC’s desire for win neutrality now has the support of their chief, their nation’s president, one of the largest telecom companies in the world, and finally the most powerful company on the Internet. So all-in-all: things are looking up for net neutrality.
While progress is being made, it is important to understand the whole scope of the issue. Currently no one has the power to regulate the whole of the Internet. Before the FCC can get to work it will need to be granted the power of regulation by Congress – something of which zero progress has been made. Moreover is fact that giving the government power to control the Internet, the one final haven of free speech, concerns many people. After all the FCC has been known to do things which have bothered people in the past (censorship in music, television). Lastly it should be well-known that the focus of this writing has been on Internet regulation in the United States. In reality this could be a bit deceptive as ultimately it is every country’s own responsibility to settle whether or not they wish to regulate their peoples’ Internet access.
So remember: when it comes time to vote on the issue of net neutrality in your country you should make your voice heard. Go online and research the issue and make an informed decision for yourself. Because in the end, why should you let the telecom corporations tell you what to consider?
What? You didn’t pay the $5/month to visit derive neutrality sites?
Works Cited
Bradley, Tony. “Battle Lines Drawn in FCC Net Neutrality Fight.” PC World. 22 Sep. 2009. 09
Dec. 2009. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/172391/
battle_lines_drawn_in_fcc_net_neutrality_fight.html
Bradley, Tony. “FCC to Take a Stand on Net Neutrality.” PC World. 19 Sep. 2009. 09 Dec.
2009. http://www.pcworld.com/article/172290/fcc_to_take_a_stand_on_net_
neutrality.html
Broache, Anne. “Obama pledges Net neutrality laws if elected president.” CNET News. 29 Oct.
2007. 09 Dec. 2009. http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9806707-7.html
Cohen, David. “Does the Internet Need More Regulation? FCC to Decide.” Comcast Voices. 21
Sep. 2009. 09 Dec. 2009. http://blog.comcast.com/2009/09/does-the-internet-need-more-
regulation-fcc-to-decide.html
FCC, Federal Communications Commission “About the FCC.” Federal Communications
Commission. 03 Feb. 2009. 09 Dec. 2009. http://www.fcc.gov/aboutus.html
Goldman, Alex. “Top 23 U.S. ISPs by Subscriber: Q3 2008.” ISP-Planet. 02 Dec. 2008. 09 Dec.
2009. http://www.isp-planet.com/research/rankings/usa.html
McCullagh, Declan. “Obama picks Net neutrality backer as FCC chief.” CNET News. 03 Mar.
2009. 09 Dec. 2009. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10187067-38.html
Nichols, John. “House Rejects Net Neutrality.” The Nation. 09 Jun. 2006. 09 Dec. 2009.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/90090
Schmidt, Eric and McAdam, Lowell. “Finding common ground on an open Internet.” Google
Public Policy Blog. 21 Oct. 2009. 09 Dec. 2009. http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com
/2009/10/finding-common-ground-on-open-internet.html
Takahashi, Dean. “30 million iPhones sold.” GamesBeat. 17 Mar. 2009. 09 Dec. 2009.
http://games.venturebeat.com/2009/03/17/iphone-30-event-30-million-sold-now-thats-a-
game-platform/
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Filed under Small Business Verizon by on Nov 5th, 2011.