The Wide and Growing World of the Blog

If you begin to explore what blogging is for the very first time you will likely find yourself barraged by a plethora of strange terms. You will soon begin to think that they are just inventing a type of blog by attaching a random letter in front of ‘log”. Which is probably not too far from the reality. There is no need to fear though. We have created a short and concise guide to the world of blogging to help you make sense of a type of media that seems to be taking over the Internet.

First of all the basics

What is a blog?

A blog is a form of communication written from a personal perspective for public consumption. The key is that a blog is not objective. It is completely subjective and that is part of the reason for the popularity of blogs. When you read one you almost feel like you “know” the person writing it. The blog typically communicates on a person-to-person level instead of addressing itself to a wider audience. So, if we can summarize it we would basically describe a blog as something communicated on a personal level to the general public. And yes that seems to be an oxymoron. However, it is probably the best one sentence description of what a blog is without describing the technology itself. And since we are going to be discussing the various types of blogs we need to understand it at its most basic level.

FORMS OF THE BLOG

A blog ‘format’ is nothing other than the type of media used to create the blog. In an ever-increasing digital world we are given a large variety of options, which we can use to communicate with other people. Naturally, most of these devices have been used to generate a blog. And if they not, they soon will be. So, with that in mind lets discuss some of the most prevalent variations on the traditional blog.

VLOG / VLOGGING / VIDEO BLOGGING

The ‘vlog’ is something that emerged relatively recently. Essentially it is exactly what its name describes. It is a video recording addressed on a personal basis to the general public. This form of the blog has been adopted primarily by the corporate world, which sees it as a new way to communicate with the end-user or consumer. This is not a media that the average user has adopted – yet. However, with time expect this form of the blog to gain wider acceptance and greater popularity.

A new and emerging type of “Vlog” is the Vodcast, which is nothing more than a “live” version of the vlog.

Some helpful links for Vlogs:

Wikpedia entry for Vlog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlog>

evideoshare http://www.evideoshare.com/> offers the ability to share vlogs with others

Vodcasts.tv http://www.vodcasts.tv/> offers a comprehensive directory of vlogs on almost any subject

MOBLOGGING / MOBILE BLOGGING

Moblogging is a “style” of blogging. Essentially it means to blog on the go from a portable device of some type. Most of these types of blogs take the form of pictures with the picture of something serving the same purpose of words.

One good reason to consider a moblog is when you want to give someone else the experience of being at an event without being physically present. Of course this also applies to the aforementioned vlog. The “new baby” seems to be a popular reason to moblog. And the concept of ‘babies’ can be applied very loosely since corporations are also using it to introduce new products with just as much frequency. One could almost make the case for giving this type of blog entry (the photo) the moniker of “Phlog” but then again do we really need another term to keep track of? No, probably not.

The other form of a moblog is the blog entry made from a digital communication device such as a bluetooth or a pocket pc. Essentially, there is no difference between a traditional blog and this type of moblog other than the fact that you are doing it on the go.

Some helpful links for Moblogs:

Flickrblog http://blog.flickr.com/flickrblog/2004/07/turn_any_blog_i.html is a service that allow you to quickly post pictures to your blog

SnapNpost http://www.snapnpost.com/?source=adwords is another company that offers assistance with posting photos

FLOG (s) / FAKE BLOGS

As soon as a new technology emerges it is only shortly thereafter that it is adopted for nefarious purposes by the business world. Of course the purpose is only nefarious from the point of view of the consumer. For the corporation it is usually a pretty good idea. And of course this applies to the’flog’. A flog is just what it says. It is a fake blog. It is a blog written from the perspective of a fictional individual for the purpose of hyping some product or service or in some cases for the sole purpose of deception.

Of course corporations aren’t the only ones to do flogs. It is probably just as popular with individuals but most of them are able to keep it secret much better and for a longer period of time.

PODCASTING

Podcasting may seem to fall outside the scope of the blog but in most cases it does not. A podcast is nothing more than a personal radio show, which is broadcast from the individuals’ own computer or other digital device. The only major difference in a podcast and a blog is that the podcast usually lasts for a certain period of time and is given “live” whereas the various types of blogs are usually a record of what happened in the past whether that past is a few minutes or several days.

ERP Software & Business Accounting Software to Support Your Growing Business Needs

Popular ‘shrinkwrap solutions’ Quickbooks and Peachtree have been the launching point for many a business. These products are easy to use, flexible, and with the built-in two dimensional reporting, are outstanding for accounting, and even some advanced application areas like project billing and procurement management.

When is it time to move on, some company owners may ask? While there are probably 50 or so good reasons, but for the purposes of this article, I will highlight a few. If you are running a standalone Ecommerce solution that does not tie to your accounting system, that may be reason one. If you are running a simple sales force automation system like ACT!, Salesforce.com or Goldmine, and the quoting and customer master records are not tied to your accounting systems items, that may be another. In both these examples, integrated systems allow you standardized pricing by customer, item, promotion, or even dealer (partner).

The biggest justification may come with people running simple production planning and scheduling functions on spreadsheets. By passing around spreadsheets, companies are wasting time, and errors can be easily made. Also, once your production scheduling is complete, there is usually no ‘put back,’ to the accounting system. The justification for a systematic planning and scheduling system tied to your back office may be in inventory reduction, improved customer service, or lead-time reduction. If you can add an ‘available to promise,’ to commit an order to a key prospect or customer, you may be able to improve your top line as well.

From an IT infrastructure standpoint, you may start to wonder why the servers in some hidden room in your company are growing. Well with all these disparate systems, it is often time easier to add a server than to try to consolidate applications on one server. This adds complexity and increases your reliance on costly IT personnel.

Find an online, subscription based solution that combines ERP, CRM, Ecommerce and business intelligence in one simple solution. All you should need is a web browser and a high speed line. In summary, small companies can benefit by:

1) Reducing the ‘islands of automation,’ that require rekeying and are conducive to mistakes

2) Reduce the dependence on internal systems and IT personnel

3) Dive into advanced integration application areas like aftermarket service, planning/scheduling, Ecommerce and configuration management and comprehensive sales force automation.

Growing Opportunities In Different Business Sectors Of Dubai

Dubai is the business center of entire Middle East and one of the fastest growing economies. Dubai’s economic strength is based on the thriving small businesses in the city. The main revenue comes from the oil industries, but the city is now diversifying to others sectors like travel and tourism, real estate, aviation, financial services, and infrastructure projects.

Top four reasons to invest in Dubai

  1. Dubai as a Business Hub- Dubai has attracted a huge number of investors and business dealers due to its developed economy and support offered by the government to start small business or industry. Not just the citizens of Dubai but also foreigners can invest in these business opportunities. The Foreign business provides a major increase in the economy.
  2. Shopping center- Dubai is known as the “shopping center of UAE”. The majority of the visitors get attracted to Dubai for shopping as they can buy articles at a much reasonable rate. It has more than 60 shopping centers and has one of the largest shopping malls in the world.
  3. The government of UAE helps and supports the establishment of businesses thus, starting a business in Dubai is a very easy and convenient task. The government also encourages the investors and grants incentives for starting a new business.
  4. The business laws in Dubai are in favor of the investors and provide them with a tax-free environment.

Given below is an elaborated list of businesses in Dubai.

1. Travel and Tourism

Tourism is one of the booming sectors in the economy of Dubai. Dubai, being the shopping capital, attracts a large number of tourists. Dubai has many tourist attractions and five-star hotels that cater to up to 50 million tourists. Dubai is the major hub for importing as well exporting of flowers. There are many flower shops in Dubai that attract tourist from all over the world.

2. Infrastructure and Construction

Dubai has recently developed large construction projects. The city is known for its high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is situated in Dubai. The property market is immensely growing, and real estate is now one of the biggest sectors in Dubai. After Oil and Gas industry, Dubai is known for skyscrapers. Everyday new structure and buildings are being erected. This has led to the growth of new opportunities for professional builders and engineers, and they are now investing in the construction sector.

3. Energy sector

Dubai is formerly known as the core of Energy sector. The competition in the energy business sector is huge; still the opportunity for investment is available to maintain the various generations’ facilities for energy

4. Dubai Flower Centre

Dubai is known for its flower center that caters more than 450 flower shops in Dubai. The flower center is spread in the areas of 1lakh m2 and provides 1.5 lakh tonnes of flowers each year. Online flower delivery services are also available in the city that offers reliable delivery of flower at any time and any destination. The flower center employs qualified professionals that are responsible for importing and exporting activities. The DFC offers a wide range of products such as cut flowers, fruits, vegetables, plants and foliage.

5. Jewelry Making and Retailing

Dubai is also called as the “City of Gold”. The city of gold has many setups for jewelry merchants and makers. There are always been investment opportunities for jewelry making as the city attracts popular rich gold buyers.

No More Excuses for Small Business Owners for Not Growing Their Businesses

When talking about business related issues, solutions, and technologies, you will almost always group businesses as small and large. While the separation is there, it won’t be wrong to say that in a modern where digital technologies prevail, it should not be a problem for small businesses to compete with large ones. The large corporations have the advantage of having more resources without a doubt. However, there was not a time in the past when growing and expanding was as easy for small businesses as it is today.

Digital Marketing for Everyone

Digital marketing starts with a website today. When it comes to website designs, more money does not always mean a better design. If you are working with the right people and are clear about your requirements, your website can be just as impressive as the website of a large business. In fact, internet users today are more in favor of simplistic websites with a focus on the information they are looking for rather than the glitter and sparkle.

As for social media marketing, there is no difference in the size of the market that small and large businesses have to target. They are both targeting global audiences and how good they are at it is not defined by how much money they put in their marketing efforts. Social media marketing is free marketing, so there is no excuse as to who has more resources.

And if you believe that the large corporations make it to the top of the search engine results, you always have a better and more effective niche to compete within – local. With local search engine optimization, small businesses can compete with the medium and large businesses head to head. In simple words, regardless of the size of the business, everyone has access to the same market and same people today. What matters is who does it better.

Digital Solutions Are Available Specifically for Small Businesses

When it comes to software solutions for businesses, the focus is not on large corporations anymore. Today, all types of software solutions have their versions built specifically for small businesses. These digital solutions allow small businesses to cut down their costs and make use of the same technologies that large companies are using.

Take the example of CRMs. At one point, there was a notion that customer relationship management software are only for large businesses, but the things have changed quite a bit today. Web-based CRM are a revelation for small businesses. First, these CRMs provide great marketing, database, customer service and sales solutions to the businesses. Second, they are unbelievably affordable. If you own a small business, you don’t even have to worry about software integration, hardware compatibility, updates, and upgrades, etc. Keep in mind that with in-house solutions, these are the costs that make it difficult for small businesses to grow financially.

With web-based solutions designed for small businesses, you can now have access to a world-class CRM at a fractional monthly or yearly cost. Other affordable digital solutions available include invoicing software, bookkeeping software, payroll software, etc.

Customers Have the Power in Hands

The Internet has empowered customers like never before. You can’t say that just because a business is in multiple countries, it will be impressive enough for people to buy its products. The amazing thing about today’s economy is the power that customers have in their hands. Online reviewing websites, YouTube videos, blogs, etc. are among many platforms that allow customers to know more about businesses. In fact, even Google now puts business ratings and customer reviews right within its search results.

What this means is that when a customer searches for a business today, he/she is already able to see the reputation of the product they are going to buy. Furthermore, negative reviews from customers can greatly affect the sales of business, giving other businesses a chance to make their name.

Furthermore, it’s not just the quality of products that matters today. In the modern world, businesses are competing for better customer experience. If your business can give customers the experience they are looking for, your growth is inevitable despite the small size of your business.

Funding Is No Issue for Startups

It is always the starting days that matter the most for business. When you are a startup, you are looking for ways to fund your business so you can materialize your idea and polish your product/service according to the requirements of the customers. Finding a platform where you could connect with investors was a challenge in the past. This is not an issue anymore.

With like our websites, it is easier than ever for small businesses to get in touch with investors and get the right amount of investment that sets them on the path of growth. These are websites that act as a bridge between investors from all around the world and startups. With traditional banks and lenders, you are only limited to a local audience of investors. When you can’t find an investor in your local market, your hopes are almost dead.

With online funding websites, all you have to do is create a convincing pitch that explains the viability of your startup to the investors and its scope. Your pitch along with all the necessary information that you think investors should see goes on the website where it is visible to hundreds and thousands of investors. If you have done your homework and have a team of right professionals on board, getting the right investment is just a matter of hours or days.

Final Words

You can see that a small business can overcome almost all of their challenges much more efficiently today. Starting a business has become so easy that even students can be entrepreneurs today. They can lay the foundation for a business using just their pocket money. From connecting with the right investors to cutting down operational costs, all can be done from the comfort of a person’s home. The only thing that makes the difference today is if you are confident enough to take the first step.

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