SEO Herald

I just want to wish all you SEOers out there a Happy New Year! I hope everyone has had an enjoyable holiday season, and I'd like to thank you for stopping by SEO Herald.

Here's to a great 2007!

TechCrunch has launched the TechCrunch Forums, which aim to allow discussions from the blog to carry on and continue in more depth. So if all the other Crunch offerings - Crunch Gear, CrunchBoard Jobs, CrunchNotes, TalkCrunch, MobileCrunch, TechCrunch UK, TechCrunch (French), TechCrunch (Chinese) - haven't already satisfied your need for crunchiness, perhaps the forums will. I for one won't be heading over there, but it is a notable addition and worthy of mention.

Yesterday SEOmoz announced that they are now accepting nominations for their second annual Web 2.0 awards. If you aren't sure what "Web 2.0" even is, SEOmoz has put together a handy explanation.

Apparently there is now a rumor floating around that Microsoft is about to launch a web analytics service that will rival Google Analytics. The project is currently called Gatinaeu, and it has a live welcome page, but you can't log-in yet.

We'll keep you posted on any new developments. In the meantime, you can keep checking that page to see if its gone live.

One of the main problems of running an Internet business is the financial aspect of being self-employed. The taxes of running a business are very different from the taxes being employed.

I guess it would pay to get a personal financial statement. Another route to go would be to get a CPA, but that would no doubt run into the thousands.

What do you do? I'm thinking of just leaving the country and hoping the IRS loses all their records in a terrible fire.

Are you sick of web hosts that disappear overnight, taking your site down with them? Are you tired of web hosts that lie and mislead? If you're ready to get your web hosting unleashed, then listen up for these simple tips.

Before you jump right in and choose a web host just because it claims to have 99.9% uptime, do your research first. You might want to visit some webmaster forums and find out what hosts other webmasters use, and what kind of problems, if any, they have experienced. If you have friends with websites, ask them for their recommendation. Then, you'll probably want to check out some web hosting review sites. Once you have done a fair amount of research and are confident that you have a pretty clear idea of how the company you've been looking at fares, you'll want to sign up. If you have a good experience, make sure to leave a review on some of the web hosting review sites so that future web hosting hunters will benefit.

Whether you are involved in SEO, web design, or another aspect of online services and businesses, an important part of being successful is staying organized. If you're a disorganized mess, now's the time to get it together. Once you're organized and prepared you'll begin to notice that things run much more smoothly and efficiently. Here are a few ideas to keep in mind:

For routine and repetitive correspondence, a good idea is to make up some form letters. This way you don't need to write the same thing over and over again. File them under subjects, and save them on your computer.

If you store all your important information on a computer, make sure you have a back-up. Your business shouldn't suffer if your computer does..

For keeping track of business assets, get some business asset management software. You'll be able to keep track of what is going on with each thing you want to track.

Try to keep your work area tidy. If you have 50 sticky notes stuck on your desk, it'll be more difficult to find the one you need. Instead, get a steno pad and make notes there. Less clutter = less stress.

Keep all your receipts and business expense info. organized. If you keep up with it throughout the year, tax time won't be as much of a mess.

So, those are some of my tips for staying organized. What other organizational tips do you have that works for you?

Well, as you may or may not have heard, Apple announced earlier this year they will be introducing their new iPhone in June. I for one, am giddy like a schoolgirl with anticipation. Of course I’m already looking around for all the iPhone accessories that will be made available to go with this sweet sweet new toy. This new bit of disruptive technology from Apple has delivered another swift kick to the shins of Sony who at one point in time seemed poised for world domination. It was the the iPod that brought and end to the Discman and the short lived MiniDisc format and now Apple is doing what Sony has been trying to do through its PlayStation game platform; which is, the create this electronic entertainment/service hub for the home. A sort of one-stop station for all your homely electronic needs, perhaps even making fruit juice. Granted, the iPhone won’t be that hub for the home but it does centralize a lot of your on-the-go cyber needs.

Is the iPhone being poised for world domination? Perhaps. Is every kid and their parents going to have one by the end of this year? Who knows. I know I’ll get one and frankly it’s rather a bitter sweet feeling. On the one hand it is going to be a really sweet gadget to play with, but on the other, it has that iPod look, which is getting kind of old in my eye. Although it is still a really nice design, the fact is that everybody and their turtle has one and they all look the same. Frankly I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit of variety. I can just see the confusion that could occur when people’s iPhones are carelessly placed next to each other and a call comes in and everybody thinks its for them. Nah, just playing, it’s going to be sweet.

I’ll be needing to make a work-related trip to Europe soon and I’m actually looking forward to being back. I had been, on a previous employ, relocated to Spain for a few weeks to oversee the opening of a new office branch in Madrid. My experience during those five weeks wasn’t what I would have liked. Basically I had no time to see the country as most of my time was consumed by the opening which was somewhat hectic with the project manager not really being the most efficient of managers. In the end I came back with a rather bad after taste and not really desiring to go back. To be fair though it wasn’t Spain’s fault but the sound of flamenco guitars and bull’s hooves running along a cobblestone road only brought back bad memories of unorganized schedules and matadors doing bullfighting pirouettey things where the server was supposed to be installed, and so on. I at least did get the benefit from being enrolled in a couple of Spanish courses prior to going there.

In any case, this time around it seems that I’ll be able to manage my schedule so that I will have a couple of days in Greece and there to do some sightseeing. I won’t be spending all of my time in the same city this time, but I will get the opportunity to visit Spain again, see if my Spanish is still as bad or worse. Maybe reunite with Carmela. If there was one good thing about that fateful business trip years ago, it was her and her silky black hair, smooth bronze skin. The way she whispered into my ear “Tengo comezon en la nuca”. I will never forget… never forget.

A few years ago I used to work for Fujitsu as a Field Engineer. While most days I enjoyed traveling around New South Wales to install new servers or conduct roll-outs, one of the worst jobs included conducting audits of a companies IT property. This painstaking task involved making a note of all the asset labels and barcodes on each item in the office. Now this may seem like a simple task and yes it can be if the company has less than 10 staff members. However, when conducting an audit of a company with a workforce in excess of 300, it can be a long and time consuming process.

Anyone wanting to buy the latest techie toy should look no further than the new Apple iPhone. This new light weight gadget offers three great products all in the palm of your hand. From mobile phone, to iPod, it even has supports internet communications ability. The Apple iPhone accessories are also fantastic. From leather cases to screen protectors, it even supports a Bluetooth headset. One of the greatest features on the new iPhone is the crystal clear screen. Screen protectors are highly recommended as they are prone to scratches from being lugged around in pockets with change or keys in them.