Let's be honest. Prime Day is likely much more about Amazon getting Prime Membership signups than selling lots of goods. After all, many of the Prime Day deals I found didn't topple over the 20% off mark. I did, however, find a few gems that I really needed for the office. What I ordered... I only placed a handful of orders. At the top of the list was an Echo Dot for the … [Read more...]
5 Deals to Grab on Prime Day
Amazon's third annual Prime Day kicks off early, at 9PM EST on Monday, July 10th. The event gives us 30 hours to grab some of the best deals ever found online. Not an Amazon Prime member? You can sign up for a 30-day trial and take advantage of Prime Day offerings. Businesses and professionals will find thousands of useful and necessary items. Be sure to act fast, because … [Read more...]
Mobile Design is Not a Replacement for Desktop
I was inspired by a short, albeit deep, blog post by Seth Godin. He's an idea guru who writes about the post-industrial revolution, and is the founder of Squidoo. To many professionals, he is on the short list of people to follow on the internet, and hopefully one day meet in person. Last month Seth wrote a post called "Without a Keyboard". The post is about the trends in … [Read more...]
Brilliant Tech. Brilliant Early Marketing. That’s goTenna.
For several years I've carried a MiFi device when traveling. Too many times I'd been at a conference or event, stuck on slow wi-fi connections. That never did much for me, though, when cell towers were down, which brings even communicating with others to a halt. Enter: goTenna This device pairs with smartphones to communicate sans cell towers or wi-fi. Since it uses … [Read more...]
Using a Smartphone for [Video] Social Marketing
Sure, you can tweet, post and share with that iPhone. But you might be missing out on one of its best tasks: shooting great video. A while back my husband plotted out a detailed contest entry for a horror convention. Unfortunately, the weather made it impossible to shoot his script, so he opted instead to write a very quick short. As luck would have it, the makeup artist never … [Read more...]
Mobile Apps: Great Looks and Functionality are Two Very Different Things
Ever since iOS 7 was released, hordes of web sites have been telling us about so-called "hidden features" (which aren't that hidden, by the way), and pointing out apps that look great in the new operating system. That's all well and good, but what should be more important to any user is functionality, not looks. And developers need to realize this, even if they aren't shouting … [Read more...]
iOS7 Installed. Now What?
You might have noticed that I've not posted here for quite a long time. That's because I've been working hard on several other projects. After upgrading to iOS7, though, and reading the thousands upon thousands of complaints on Twitter (as well as some very legitimate concerns and questions deeply hidden), I decided to provide some (hopefully) useful tips. First, iOS7 is as … [Read more...]
Move Over Netbook… The TouchPad Has Landed…
This past June, my husband bought me a netbook - an Acer Aspire One. I'd previously been lugging around a bulky laptop, though I'd often forget to put it in the car. Joe wanted me to have something I could carry in my purse so I could easily work on-the-go. It's worked well, allowing me to handle online store emergencies as they happen (I've been known to stop off at a … [Read more...]
Review: ENCHANTMENT (Guy Kawasaki) is a Must-Read
I spend at least half my work time learning—that is, expanding my knowledge and understanding of current trends in the fields of ecommerce, usability and security. Most of my learning takes place online or in-person. I’ll admit, the number of business books I read is limited, mostly because I see reading time as relaxation time, and for that, I delve into fiction. I received … [Read more...]
Latest Technology? How About Customers First…
You may be eager to update your online store to use the latest technology. By doing so, however, you just might be crippling your customer base. With all the latest and greatest Web features, browsers are constantly needing to be updated to keep pace. The problem with that, though, is that online shoppers might not be ready for these new bells and whistles. Keep this in mind … [Read more...]
Fast, Secure Connection Wherever You Go
While thousands of establishments are rolling in free wireless internet, and municipalities follow suit, I still stand by using a secure, personal connection. Simply put, I don't trust public systems which require nothing more than booting your laptop. And that's not the only problem. If you've ever tried to hop online during a conference or convention, you've probably … [Read more...]
Choosing the Right Email Options
This past May I explained how working in the cloud could have repurcussions. One of the most popular cloud tools is Gmail, Google's uber-popular webmail/email service. Gmail is attractive because it's free, accessible from anywhere and most smartphones support its usage. All arguments of potential security or privacy risks aside, I'm willing to bet the majority of Gmail users … [Read more...]