Crowdsourcing

I recently had the opportunity to read Jeff Howe’s Crowdsourcing (Random House Business Books 2008). I was interested in this topic from reading Jeff’s initial thoughts on the subject in Wired Magazine in 2006. Crowdsourcing is the idea that digital interconnectivity gives businesses access to a wide range of amateur talent: talent that can perform [...]

MsAccess OutputTo Work Around

Seriously, one of the more boneheaded things that Microsoft did to Access 2007 was to remove the ability to output to an *.xls format using the docmd.outputto method. I’ve had to do a little digging to find a suitable replacement, and I came up with the following bit of code. Please: feel free to use [...]

Controlling Expenses Through IT Spending

So you’re a small business owner. You’ve purchased some microcomputers – PC’s – and you’ve got them setup to use email and browse the web. Great: your employees are able to waste time faster and you’re probably wondering: okay, when do these things help me save money? To answer that, there are two tech strategies [...]

Q: Kindle is to Book as ___ is to Music

Is it: a. Record b. iPod c. Computer d. Headphones  Well, Gizmodo is reporting that Amazon’s Kindle may rake in $750m in content sales by 2010, selling potentially 2.2 million Kindle units. That’s pretty extraordinary for a device that almost reaches $500 and costs more than many of the popular mini-notebooks out right now. Bezos’ strategy [...]

New Microlecture Posted

Just posted a new microlecture on CIO’s, CKO’s, CSCSO’s, CTO’s, and CPO’s – the IT Executive Officer. Further, you can find it on YouTube. R

Link-In Like a Pro

  So why do you want to use Linked-In? Linked-In is a social networking site for working professionals and maintains a catalog of hundreds of thousands of interactive resumes. Visitors who view a Linked-In profile are exposed to the candidate’s work history, education, and skill-set; for the business owner, Linked-In can also convey product information, [...]

Follow-up on Local Business Listings

You know, free is a very good price. Putting your company’s name in the “other” two search engine’s local business listings – for free – isn’t a bad strategy, either. So here’s where you can find them. Yahoo! Local Business Listings http://listings.local.yahoo.com Microsoft’s MSN Local Business Listings https://ssl.search.live.com/listings/BusinessSearch.aspx R

How to Create a Local Business Listing in Google

Ever wonder how your competitors show up in Google with extended business profiles, which are then linked to Google Maps? There’s no mystery here – they have set up a local business listing under Google. If you believe that the first place your customers turn to find you, or, your competitor, you want to complete [...]

Notes on Windows 7

  This week, on May 5, Microsoft will release Windows 7 RC 1 (Release Candidate) to the general public; the beta of Windows 7 was released last year, and Seven is due to be officially launched around October 23, 2009. In the last six months, Microsoft has illustrated the features in Windows 7 that will [...]