Web Stuff and Whatnot » Business

Great Read- an Interview at Microsoft

Eden Jaeger — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 23:13:26 +0000

This has been around for a while, and I am probably not adding much in the way of new and exciting content by posting this, but I do know that many people who read this page probably would not have come across this article on their own. It offers great insight and specific details of an interview with Microsoft. It is written by Aaron Boodman, a clearly brilliant programmer (especially sharp with JavaScript based on my research). The whole interview process is covered very well and written in a very easy to read style. Enjoy!
http://www.youngpup.net/2004/msinterview

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Great Read- an Interview at Microsoft

Classic ‘Why Didn’t I Think of That?’

Eden Jaeger — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 21:44:24 +0000

This must be one of the best ideas I have heard in a long time. A college student in the UK had an idea to find a way to pay for school. The idea- create a block of one million pixels on his web site and sell each pixel for $1 to advertisers. Simple idea. Sounds like it could be successful; maybe a few hundred pixels would sell. That was my initial thought upon hearing the idea.

Well, as of November 8th, 2005, this college student has sold $568,400 worth of pixels. In just over two months time! Try to let that sink in for a moment. It’s nearly unimaginable, but this is the Internet, and we have seen large amounts of money flow to seemingly foolish causes in the past. Not that I am calling this foolish. Not at all. You have to wonder what kind of value advertisers are getting for their money, but I would actually argue that $1 a pixel is a steal given the amount of press coverage and publicity the site is receiving.

Clearly, there is plenty of money to be made on the Internet for a smart content provider. How could you make a million on the Web?

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Classic ‘Why Didn’t I Think of That?’

What is Web 2.0?

Eden Jaeger — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 16:27:52 +0000

Don’t ask me! I could offer some incomplete definitions, but if you really want to know, just read this article from Tim O’Reilly (the O’Reilly book guy). For the average user, Web 2.0 means getting better and richer applications from the Internet. Applications like Google Maps and Gmail are quick examples. Web 2.0 isn’t here yet, but it’s getting closer. Read this to learn all about it: What is Web 2.0.

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What is Web 2.0?

Passages of Tucson

Eden Jaeger — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 14:46:30 +0000

The Passages of Tucson is a planned retail and residential complex in Southeast Tucson/Vail, AZ. One of the developers is credited with making the Mall of America happen in Minnesota. The plans are too grand to list in detail here, but some of the highlights include a water park, lots of retail, homes, apartments, health club, office space, and much more. The development will include 97 acres for Cienega Creek Village and 278 acres for the Passages of Tucson. Cienega Creek will be located a few miles from Rancho Del Lago and Rita Ranch. Passages of Tucson will be just off I-10 near I-83, east of Wentworth. Could this be the signal for Tucson’s future growth direction?

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Passages of Tucson

Small Business on the Web

Eden Jaeger — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 14:47:08 +0000

According to a recent survey from Interland, more small businesses are building web sites and conducting business online.

78% say that their business is healthier today because they have a web site.
76% say their web site generates leads for their business.
53% say they have a web site primarily to establish business credibility.
60% are using or are interested in using email marketing.
54% are using or are interested in using search engine optimization.

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Small Business on the Web

Battling Procrastination

Eden Jaeger — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 20:13:28 +0000

If you’re looking for a little help with a project that has been looming over your head or just a nice bit of advice for dealing with common tasks that require great amounts of motivation to begin, read this article about dealing with procrastination from 43 Folders: http://www.43folders.com/2005/09/kick_procrastin_1.html

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Battling Procrastination

The Best Search Engine?

Eden Jaeger — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 20:12:57 +0000

Yahoo has now doubled Google’s index of of online documents and images.

After a major upgrade, Yahoo now claims to have over 20 billion online objects indexed in its search engine. Google currently has just over 11 billion objects indexed- about 8 billion Web pages and about 2 billion images. Looks like this rivalry is heating up.

Just because Yahoo has a larger index does not mean it will be a better search engine, but it could be. The relevance of search results is what matters most, but there is no large-scale way to measure search relevance. Different search engines are likely to be more or less relevant on specific searches based on the specifics of the keywords searched for.

Google is still the search leader in terms of market share with a 36.9 percent share as of June vs. Yahoo’s 30.4 percent share (according to comScore).

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The Best Search Engine?

‘China’s Google’ Hits It Big On the NASDAQ

Eden Jaeger — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 20:16:44 +0000

The Chineese search engine company, called Baidu (www.baidu.com, ticker symbol: BIDU) more than quadrupled in its IPO today. The shares traded from a low of $27 and topped $151 at one point during trading. BIDU closed the day at $122.54. While this success is rather exciting, it is most likely attributable to a small share offering- only about 4 million shares were sold here on the NASDAQ.

Baidu makes money in much the same way Google does, by selling text based search advertising. And as if the Google guys were not rich enough already, Google happens to own about 2.6% of Baidu’s stock. While the business models are similar, Baidu is quite small when compared to Google, and probably quite a bit more risky. Baidu must follow Chinese government regulations, so there is always the chance that they may have to pull the plug some day. Unlikely, but still a risk.

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‘China’s Google’ Hits It Big On the NASDAQ

SpyBlast Pop-Up Ad Software Busted

Eden Jaeger — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 20:23:45 +0000

From a news story published by Media Buyer Planner, Advertising.com finally suffered a bit for its sneaky SpyBlast software. The SpyBlast program was promoted as a spyware stopper, yet it secretly installed pop-up ad generating software behind the scenese on a user’s computer. Certainly not surprising to hear of such treachery from the likes of Advertising.com and America Online (which owns Advertising.com), but a sad story none-the-less. As if people using AOL weren’t bombarded by enough pop-up ads and poor Internet software to begin with. Hopefully more of these unethical businesses will be cracked down on, but clearly there is still a long way to go for victory in the Spyware and Adware battle.

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SpyBlast Pop-Up Ad Software Busted

Baby Boomers Spend More Money Online

Eden Jaeger — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 20:28:43 +0000

As reported by Internet Retailer, a new study from Jupiter Research outlines the spending habits of that all-important group of consumers- Baby Boomers.

Apparently, Baby Boomers are likely to spend more money online than the average online consumer, even in the same income ranges. In general, Jupiter Research believes that 76% of Baby Boomers have purchased goods or services on the Internet.

Baby Boomers are also believed to be the largest age group on the Internet (Baby Boomers were born between 1945 and 1964). 48% of this group has been online for more than five years, making this the most ‘experienced’ group of users on the Internet.

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Baby Boomers Spend More Money Online