Month: July 2008

Visit to South Padre Island



beach 025

Originally uploaded by shainelee.

Today we took a spur of the moment trip to South Padre Island, Texas. Originally, we were just going to cruise around to get out of the house. As we got closer to the beach, it just seemed like taking a dip was the best course. I stopped and got the kids some swimming clothes at a local shop. We had a great time today even if we got there around 5 pm.

What’s Your Schtick?

Lately, I have been checking out services to which I subscribe. There are some things like Blog Talk Radio, blogs, podcasts, tv shows, radio shows, and other things. It clicked that everybody has their own schtick. The people to whom I subscribe will be into health, fitness, finance, politics, family, or some other special topic. Even my one magazine subscription to Men’s Health has a schtick.

When it comes to content, there has to be the one topic that defines what you offer. You have to make your name synonymous with a topic. When you hear Richard Simmons, you think Sweating to the Oldies. When you hear Fox News, you think Fair and Balanced. When you hear Robert Scoble, you think Technology Blogger. Some people are New Media gurus. Some are big names in the financial world. Everybody has a topic that defines them. Martha Stewart, for example, is a big name in home-related fashions and crafts. In short, everybody has a schtick that defines what they are all about. Marketers would call this a niche.

If you are having trouble finding an audience for your blog or other content, it’s probably because you don’t have a niche. You have to find the one topic at which you will the expert and the voice. In other words, you have to find your schtick. You have to be known for that one thing that makes you different from all the other schlubs out there. You need to stand out.

So, what’s your schtick?

Getting Back On The Air With Blog Talk Radio

I have been playing around with getting back on Blog Talk Radio. I’m doing a series of shows this week to kind of get myself in the groove. Formerly, I did 30 minute shows during my morning commute. My drive is much shorter now, so I am only doing 15 minute shows. Topics will include my opinion on current news and issues. If you wish to join me at 7 AM Central time, you can give me a call at 956-205-0706 so I can patch you in on the mobile.

I’m Back Online With Cricket

We finally have broadband at home again. Yesterday, I purchased a Cricket Broadband modem on the way home, yesterday. It works on CDMA. I don’t know if it’s EVDO, but it got a high download speed over 900 kbps. That’s enough for me.

Just to recap my broadband situation, my family and I moved to an area where DSL and digital cable are not available. Our only other options for broadband are satellite and wireless cards. Satellite is a tad pricey on the equipment purchase and monthly fee side. Most mobile companies (ahem, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon) try to lock you in on a contract. But what if reception isn’t all that great where I live? It would be a hassle to cancel the service and return the equipment.

I recently caught a commercial on TV that advertised the Cricket Broadband service. I liked the entire premise, no contract. We tried it yesterday and we have signal up in the 90% range. It’s perfect. I have installed the dial-up equipment on all the computers at home pending my figuring out how to network them. Call me pleased. This opens up the world of podcasting and video for me as well. You can expect me to have a greater online presence from here on.

Outsourcing Changes That Benefit You

Two outsourcing companies have recently made changes that may benefit those of us who are using virtual Personal Assistants. BPOVIA is a Business Process Outsourcing company based in China that also provides Virtual Personal Assistants. GetFriday is a Virtual Personal Assistant company based in India.

Not too long ago, BPOVIA announced that they are now providing service on a pay-as-you-go basis. You can still hire BPOVIA on a monthly rate, which saves you money, especially on a full-time basis. However, if you have only a few tasks here and there, you may consider going with a pay-as-you-go agreement. BPOVIA has a team of highly educated and qualified people whose specialty is helping businesses. BPOVIA is geared towards the small and medium business environment. You can hear more about the service on a prior interview.

GetFriday is a service that I have personally used for about 1 year already. GetFriday has raised the bar on their service by announcing that they will provide 24/7 service starting July 7, 2008. One of the limitations that I have had with oursourcing is that GetFriday only operated during business hours in the U.S. The problem is that I often need help after hours. For this reason, I am glad that they have chosen to provide round the clock service.

The competition in the outsourcing field is giving companies reason to differentiate and offer more. The differentiation varies from cost, availability, and even specialization. The Outsorcerer, for example, specializes in research. This is good if your needs are limited to that service specifically. There is much to be said for specialization in the realm of outsourcing. Another company that specializes is IGSBookkeeping. They specialize in providing accounting services, often as a backoffice to CPA offices.

Whether you have a very general need for help or a very specific need, you can find the right outsourcing company. I’ve only mentioned some companies that are available abroad simply because of the price advantage. If you are looking domestically, there are plenty of companies that offer similar services, but at a higher price. It all comes down to your comfort level in dealing with non-U.S. based companies.

4th of July



The Renegades: July 4, 2008

Originally uploaded by shainelee.

Yesterday was an interesting day for me. It started at 5:30 AM. I met with The Renegades, a barbecue competition team headed by Texas State Representative Ryan Guillen. We arrived and started getting things ready for Texas Cook ‘Em in Edinburg, Tx. There was a large number of teams competing at the event. One of the first things I did was go out and look for water for the cook while the team got the fire going. Here in South Texas, the obvious choice of wood for grilling is mesquite. By 7 o’clock, it had started drizzling. Fortunately we had one of those collapsible canopies which are popular. We used it to cover the firewood so that we could keep on grilling. The rain got heavier and we were all drenched in no time as we stood around the edge of the canopy covering the firewood. We had a problem getting the grill to heat up due to the rain. Another problem developed in that the trailer with the grill was parked in an area that pooled the water about 4 inches. Things just weren’t going well.

After a while, I went to South Texas Communications to meet with co-worker Bill Fitzpatrick so he could open the door. I was going to meet up with a client later in the day to deliver his computer. We talked tech a bit, then I went to deliver the computer. Upon returning to Texas Cook ‘Em, I met up with Rep. Aaron Peña. We went to Elsa, Texas to check out the 4th of July celebration there. Afterwards, we headed back to Edinburg to rejoin The Renegades.

Back at the park, the ribs and chicken had already been submitted for judging. The only meat remaining was the brisket. Once that was done and sliced, we submitted it for judging. All there was left was to wait for the announcements, which were scheduled for 6 PM. We chatted, drank beer, and went for rides on the bus that shuttled people around the event. When the time came, we walked away without any awards. That’s a bit of a bummer; but we do have a story to tell and had fun.

Later that night, I went to watch Hancock, still in my wet clothes. My family is out of town for the weekend, so there was nobody to accompany me on such short notice. That was my 4th of July.

Microsoft Office OneNote Versus Evernote

In this post, I will compare Microsoft’s OneNote with Evernote. Under normal circumstances, I would be too poor to compare Microsoft Office OneNote to Evernote. Given the low startup cost of Evernote, FREE, I would have started with it and kept using it. I have been able to get a copy of Microsoft Office OneNote through my job. So, due to a strange coincidence, I have the opportunity to try both services at the same time, for the first time.

Microsoft Office OneNote

What I love about OneNote is that you can click your mouse anywhere on the page and start typing. Just as you would write notes on a paper, OneNote allows you to group your thoughts anywhere on “the page”. You can also add photos of voice files to your notes. The upside is that OneNote can search your photos and audio for written or spoken words. I think that the Windows Tablet version also allows you to search handwritten notes on the “page”. Overall, OneNote is a very powerful way to keep tabs on all your notes on certain topics.

Perhaps the most powerful part of OneNote is how it ties into Microsoft Office. Being a Microsoft product has its advantages when it comes to compatibility with Word, Excel, and Outlook. Furthermore, OneNote lends itself to sharing through Microsoft SharePoint. Not only are you able to keep notes in a more natural style, you also have the ability to use those notes to collaborate. There are even more features for sharing your work that involve live interaction. When it comes to the enterprise setting, OneNote is one great addition to the Microsoft Office Suite.

Evernote

Evernote, has some of the same functions as Microsoft OneNote. For example, you can search handwritten notes and audio notes. This is definitely handy for both. Of course, you can also simply type notes and upload them to Evernote. The main distinction between the two is that Evernote resides on the web while OneNote resides on your computer. For this reason, there is a bit of a tradeoff. For example, you cannot write anywhere on the page. You can only write notes like you would in a regular text file. In short, Evernote is not as rich as OneNote is when it comes to features and integration with other products.

Despite the lack of richness, Evernote excels (no pun intended) in its universal access. Currently, you can access Evernote from a PC, a Mac, Windows Mobile devices, and even the iPhone. What you give up in feature richness you gain in accessibilty. Whereas OneNote requires you to own the software to view the files, Evernote can be viewed from most standard web browsers. Given this universal accessibility, Evernote is not shareable without giving out your password. I think this can be explained with the intended user. OneNote, with its ties to the Microsoft Office Suite, obviously aims for use in the enterprise, but works well for the individual. Evernote seems to be geared towards the individual rather than a group.

Where Evernote Wins

I have to say that I really, really like OneNote’s features. If I were to spend a lot of my work time on a computer at the office, I would definitely be a OneNote man. Evernote, however, wins my heart because I am out of the office so much. Both OneNote and Evernote have mobile clients. I must add that both mobile clients are rather lame. They are both better suited to making entries rather than accessing existing notes. In other words, they are good for taking notes, not retrieving. Where Evernote comes out ahead in that the mobile client is extended with a mobile website where you can search your notes. If you enter your notes through the mobile site, you can even title and tag the notes. For somebody who is out of the office a great deal, it is great to have this ability to search, even if it is through a WAP site.

If you are a mobile professional who is constantly working out of a laptop, then you may very well be able to work with OneNote for your day to day information gathering. My current work environment involves heavy tools, ladders, and exposure to outdoor weather, hardly ideal for laptops. Therefore, my best option for keeping up with information is through my smartphone. In addition, in the time it takes for a laptop to boot up and run a note-taking application, I could be long done on a smartphone. Even handwritten notes on paper are easier to photograph and upload by phone than doing the same with a laptop.

Given my current circumstances, Evernote wins, followed by paper notes. In an enterprise environment, it would be OneNote, Evernote, and then paper.