I think I have, you can follow my madness. Like our OnlineOffice, twitter is an online tool, so you do not need to install anything, if you don’t want too. I love this little tool, it is great for small business. At first glance you may not realize it, but it’s brilliant. The best way to understand it, is to sign up and watch others, you’ll get the idea soon enough. Again – think global, do local, more about that in a later post.

In this post I would like to share some of the twitter applications I like to use:

• TweedDeck is my favourite, since you can have different columns for different groups, replies and direct messages, very handy. IT’s free, but make a donation if you can.
• Adjix -> Twitter, is a bookmark-let that sits in your browser bookmark bar and let’s you tweet about anything you see on the web in seconds – great tool – free too.
• BrightKit, I’m just getting starting with this one, but it let’s you have more than one account and allows you to plan you tweets releases by time. Great for blogging.
• Tweetie for my iPhone, it is easy to use and handy on the go.

BTW, make sure you don’t use all of them at the same time, as twitter will only allow you 100 updates per hour for all your APIs, so you could run out before the hour is up. This does not apply for the twitter web interface.

Yes, I have gone tweet mad, but I like it. You should give it a go. tweet, tweet…. tweet!– ST.

WinWeb posted this earlier on our WinWeb Blog and I thought my readers here would benefit from it too, so here it is:

‘Cloud Computing‘ is in the media everywhere these days. What does is mean and how is it going to help your small business or home business?

WinWeb has been providing Cloud Computing for over ten years now and the benefits are as multifaceted as the technology itself. Here are the basic benefits how we at WinWeb see them:

• The more general benefits are no software installation, no upgrade hassle, live support 24 hours everyday, and you can use it anywhere at anytime.
• Then there are the environmental benefits, which help you to reduce your carbon footprint in your business and home.
• Followed by the compatibility benefits, making your IT transparent and less hassle and saving you money and time in the process.
• The data security and business continuity benefits are very important too, as they will keep your business going even after a disaster in the office.
• The collaboration and networking benefits are often not spoken about, because most vendors only want to sell software and not real solutions.

There are many other names for this kind of online and on-demand technology, such as Software as a Service also known as SaaS technology, or Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, we still call our applications ‘Web Applications’. Then there is still an ASP – Application Service Provider model, were suppliers host normal desktop applications on their servers, because they do not have the online technology needed to create real web applications, this is usually a very expensive way of doing things.

If you don’t get all these benefits, why change your software? Moving business processes forward should not end by putting the same old software online, it should help you to run your small home business better, while at the same time providing easy to use solutions, leaving you free to follow your entrepreneurial vision – then and only then is it really ‘Cloud Computing’.

Read more ….

Here is this week’s round-up of technology news small business owners may find informative, useful or entertaining: 

• Companies May Be Held Liable For Deals with Terrorists, ID Thieves – US small businesses must beware of new legislation that may mean they need to vet their customers more carefully
• A Google Prototype for a Precision Image Search – Google may soon be able to search for images in a completely new way. They also announced plans this week for ‘Google Ocean‘, a 3D map of the world’s seas that will complement Google Earth & Google Sky
• Average Web Page Size Triples Since 2003 – In the past five years the average data per webpage has trebled
• The Mac in business: it’s easier than you think – An article about the growing usage of Mac products in the business world
• Happy spamiversary! Spam reaches 30 – Thirty years ago tomorrow the first ’spam’ email was sent
• Performance showdown: Flash drives versus hard disk drives – Testing reveals only a tiny speed advantage from solid state drives
• Xerox touts erasable paper, smart documents – New environmentally friendly paper can be re-used 100 times
• Entrepreneurs and Tech Startups: Who’s Doing What When? – A new study shows a large number of new tech startups are owned by entrepreneurs in their 50’s
• Web in infancy, says Berners-Lee – The creator of the Internet believes we are still just getting started and reflects on what would have happened if he had never released the code into the public domain
• Amazon, or online, tax will hurt small business – A tax ruling in New York will also damage Amazon small business affiliates
• Smaller Businesses Learn From Enterprise : Integrating Business and Technology Initiatives Matters – An article examining how SMEs in Canada use new technology
• Microsoft device helps police pluck evidence from cyberscene of crime – A special USB device supplied to the police by Microsoft acts as a back door to all the data on a Windows PC
• Report: Microsoft close to hostile bid for Yahoo – The talks currently remain ‘friendly’, although news this week regarding a fall in Microsoft’s quarterly income may put the deal in jeopardy
• Dell: We’ll install XP for you, even after the deadline – Dell have bravely gone behind the back of Microsoft and will not acknowledge the June 30th XP cut-off date, whilst the release of XP SP3 was delayed this week due to compatibility errors
• Vista struggles to bust out as business customers snub it – It appears to be reaching make-or-break time for Vista and convincing the corporate world to update will be crucial
• Mobiles help SMEs win more businesses – SMEs are embracing mobile technology like the Blackberry to become more responsive to the needs of their customer base
• Modern technology can help small traders to expand business – Businesses in Kenya are starting to realise the importance of technology in helping their SMEs to grow
• Scented text messages patented in Germany – A new mobile phone chip will soon allow you to send messages that smell
• Building your first business website – A helpful article about creating a web presence – don’t forget to check out OnlineOffice for more help

I joined Twitter.com, well I have been signed up for some time now, but with a friendly push from Shama, I’m using it since yesterday. It allows you to stay in touch with colleagues and friends while on the move or on your desk.

It is an electronic messaging service, that works on the web and on your mobile via SMS - you get charged your standard SMS rates – so if you have an unlimited package, this is a great service.

On my new iPhone – I’m an Apple junkie, with occasional supply problems – I can use the ThinCloud web-client for Twitter, thanks to O2 for free, that is really good.

It could be a great marketing and networking tool, that is the idea anyway. I found some friends already, Stuart Jones is “Focusing on the important rather than the urgent!”, or at least he was on Oct 15, 2007.

The jury is still out on how much of a business tool this will be for me, so we’ll see. You can twitter me anytime, I’ll try to be as twitter-able as possible. ST.

I was kindly invited by 3 Network & Skype to attend the launch of the new 3 Skypephone in London today.

The 3 Network and Skype have created a mobile phone handset with Skype button, so the user can make free Skype calls into the internet to any Skype user world-wide. To be precise, you can talk for 4000 minutes per month and send 10,000 chat messages per month free of charge, there is also no data charge for these Skype calls, which in my opinion is the real interesting part in this deal – more on that later. You just need to pay for your regular mobile phone calls, by contract or Pay as You Go.

For Skype, which is owned by eBay, this is a good deal as it allows Skype users to stay connected to Skype while on the move with one device, the new 3 Skypephone. As acting Skype CEO Michael van Swaaij said, “people will no longer “phone” each other, they will “Skype” each other over the 3 Network!”

Noteworthy here is that no SkypeIn and SkypeOut is currently available on the 3 Skypephone. SkypeIn will be available sometime in the future, whenever that will be? It was not quite clear why it is not available now. SkypeOut will not be available anytime soon.

Things got a little heated when Mr. van Swaaij, was asked about possible future outages, he said “This was not really an issue since the last outage was only 24 hours in four years and the service was free and not a replacement for a normal telephone!” This opinion was repeated by other Skype team members in later conversations. Personally I find this attitude disturbing and factually wrong, as the outage was around 48 hours.

For me the real news is that the 3 Network, owned by Hutchison Whampoa Limited, is leveraging their network in a new way, to attract subscriptions. 4,000 minutes and 10,000 chat messages free Skype traffic is a real commitment to their new open internet strategy, as CEO Kevin Russell put it. While the service is currently only available in the UK, Australia, Italy and Denmark, I would hope this brave move will reward the 3 Network with the deserved success. Even more interesting deals may be possible to make the 3 brand even more attractive, like delivering Web 2.0 applications over the mobile network at fixed prices or even for free.

It will be interesting to see, what the T-Mobiles, Vodafones, O2s of this world will make of this offer? The 3 Network will hope that they will not react soon, to give them more time to get a bigger market share, but time will tell.

I believe the appeal for endusers – especially the facebook generation – will be huge, free calls to friends and family via Skype has got to be a winner.
But more importantly for me – with my focus on small business and Skype’s apparent customer support issues – the 3 Skypephone has some growing up to do before I will consider it a small business tool.

While I personally may have a Skype dilemma, one thing is clear, today the mobile phone ball game has changed forever. ST.

Update Oct 31, 2007: See comments by other bloggers I met during the event and get their take on the phone:

• Gadget Venue.com
• BlogNation
• Tamebay
• dalelane
• 3MobileBuzz

I always look for way to turn a problem into an advantage, so here is my take on the so often mentioned “isolation problem” for small home businesses, free-lancers, contractor, sole-traders and micro-business.

So, you don’t meet enough people to interact with on a personal level? Let me ask you another question, what kind of people does your business need most of all? Customers, right? As a good bootstrapper you know that everything starts with sales, because that is how you get your money. You may very well do all your marketing online and get business that way, but why leave it at that? Think global – do local!

So, now to my solution for your “isolation problem”, I guess you already know what is coming:

• Go and meet people, customer people.
• Go to networking events in your local area.
• Go and join business clubs or start one.
• Run an event from your home.
• Take a business class at your local college.

All these and other events will get you out of the house, open your local paper, call your local camber of commerce, they all can help you to find events and contacts, and start your “isolation-opportunity” marketing and sales drive.

Turning “customer people” into “customer friends” could be the smartest thing you will do this year. Business is so much easier if you know someone personally. You know your “isolation-problem” has turned into an “isolation-business-advantage”, when your customers come around your house to discuss the next business deal and/or for a cup of coffee.

Always think, where is the opportunity in this problem? Once you start thinking like that you will see many new opportunities and the world will become a much more friendly and profitable place. ST.

We will release OnlineOffice 4 – our core Small Business Infrastructure product – later today, towards the European evening. Some of the major changes include:

• LiveNet – Small Business networking community and online marketplace for services and products. Including QuickSwitch to enhance collaboration between small businesses and service providers, such as virtual assistants – this is a beta-release and free of charge.
• Business Planning enhanced, updated cash-flow forecasting, SWOT analysis, mission statement and business goal statement,
• Full US accounting module, also free of charge for the single user version,
• AccountsOffice and CashBook are only available as part of OnlineOffice and are no longer individual products, both products remain free of charge as modules in OnlineOffice.
• Mobile Device Functionality for address book and calendar, beta release,
• ClimateByte Technology, we are carbon neutral and we help our customers to achieve the same,
• Highly customizable, over 100 free designs to customize your OnlineOffice, web-site, blog, online-shop and more.
• Simplified pricing, only one single-user and one multi-user price.

Releases of more features and new functionalists will be on a weekly basis. Latest by tomorrow morning your time you will see the new product online, everyone will have access to the full OnlineOffice free of charge for thirty days – no strings attached. After the thirty days you can chose not to pay for the full OnlineOffice, then only the accounting software and LiveNet will remain active.

I and my team hope you will enjoy the enhancement and new features, which are provided as usual at no extra cost to you. ST.

Starting and running a small business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal business today, is all about staying focused on the small business and not on running your office. WinWeb’s Software as a Service applications allow you to do exactly that. Below you will find some of the benefits detailed to help you make up your mind if this kind of technology is for you.

1. No More Software Installation.

Since our software comes to you via your internet browser, there is no need to install anything. Your printer will also work with our software without installation or any modifications. Our software works with any web browser, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox etc.

2. Our software is always up to date.

This really is one of the main benefits of SaaS. We make all the software updates on our servers, so you don’t have to do anything. No update hassle and worry anymore. There are no “Update available – Please download” messages and no CDs / DVDs updates arriving in the mail.

3. Never pay for software “updates” again!

No matter if we update or bug-fix, you will never have to pay for them again, it is all part and parcel of our service. Artificially accelerated software cycles are a thing of your past.

4. Fully Compatible with any Operating System.

Our software runs on any Operating System (OS) with Linux, Mac, Windows and some others – you login and use it.

5. Work and collaborate with anyone, anytime and anywhere.

Our software allows you to work with your accountant, colleagues, virtual assistants and others in real-time at anytime – whatever your business needs.

6. No commuting. No time wasting.

With online technology you can work from anywhere, so no need to travel to an office. Run your small business from home and benefit in terms of time, money and investment.

7. No security problems. No business interruption problem.

Your data is continuously backed up onto multiple RAID-5 data servers in multiple physically and network secure data centers – if that is not enough you can make a copy of your data anytime onto your PC or a CD.
Should your computer crash or get stolen – no problem, just log on to another computer and keep working – can your competition do that?

8. 24/7 Live Support 365 days a year.

We believe that you will be busy during the day with your clients and with working on new projects and so you should – after the phone stops ringing you get down to your admin work. So we thought we better be around in case you need some support for any of our products. It would be no good if we weren’t around now, would it?

9. No contract needed.

No minimum term, cancel anytime, no contract needed and you can test drive any software for a minimum of 30 days free of charge. This puts you in control. Unlike the boxed software you buy, once you paid for it, it’s yours including the problems. Not so with our software.

10. ClimateByte™ Technology

Our environment is in trouble – by using our on-demand Small Business Infrastructure™, you can help to reduce your carbon footprint and help our environment – we are dedicated to develop our future products and services with this in mind.

Our Software as a Service products provide your small business with a on-demand Small Business Infrastructure™ helping you to concentrate on your business, while we run your office and IT. This makes your business more mobile and competitive while saving you time, money and helping the environment.

When you run a small business and personal business, like contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants you probably benefit even more from using SaaS technology – program your business for success.

I get regular questions about what we really mean by WinWeb’s Small Business Infrastructure?

On-demand Small Business Infrastructure™ centers around the idea that business start-ups and growing small businesses need help with numerous administrative tasks that are not core to the business success – such as bookkeeping, it services, internet services, call handling and other such services.

These services – if performed by the business owner – cause a great deal of time wasting – while the fixed cost of a business is still accumulating. This is in our minds a fatally floored business model and can easily be remedied with our infrastructure approach.

We should not expect business start-ups and small business in general to be accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers, marketing & PR gurus and so on. We should provide small business with an infrastructure in which it can concentrate on core business tasks, while at the same time enabling the business owner to stay informed of all relevant business facts like cash flow, sales, HR issues, tax position and more. This will enable him / her to make informed decisions, maybe with the help of an external advisor.

Based on these facts, we have devised a six point on-demand Small Business Infrastructure™ concept, which consist of:

1. WinWeb On-Demand Software Solutions – Anywhere At Anytime.

AccountsOffice and OnlineOffice are our two software offerings, which are based on the SaaS – Software as a Services model, to allow for the following key business benefits:

• tight inclusion of business advisors from the start,
• cultivating outsourcing techniques at the outset, i.e. virtual assistants,
• no IT knowledge needed and hassle free operation,
• real-time multi-user access from anywhere, increasing mobility.

2. WinWeb 24/7 Live Support – We Are Here For You Always.

Providing customer care and support only during business hours is not acceptable to our clients. Experience has shown us that most admin work gets done by small business before nine in the morning or after five in the evening. This practice is essential if the business is to survive it’s early years.

This is why we have provided our much acclaimed customer support for 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the outset. Saving our clients wasted time and money – while setting new standards in customer support. No manuals need to be read – all problems can be solved in real-time online.

3. WinWeb Live – Networking Community for Small Business Only.

To foster collaboration and outsourcing we have expanded our WinWeb Live™ offering to allow for small business community networking – thus enabling the business owner to make decisions about his / her current needs, with the following benefits:

• timeshare virtual assistants for professional results,
• offer contracts of work to contractors on a case-by-case basis,
• promote the business to a large audience or even locally,
• find new work and contracts online

4. Business Advice

Our On-Demand Small Business Infrastructure™ enables business advisors, accountants, bookkeepers and other advisors to have a “Up Close and Personal” relationship with the small business owner, providing key elements for the success of a small business:

• timely and up-to-date advice from anywhere at anytime,
• more efficient advisor function due to SaaS technology, less travel,
• easily expandable advisor network.

5. Solution Partners

Third parties provide external services to complement our services, such as parcel service, office supply services, printing services. These and other services are provided on a bulk buy arrangements by leading businesses in their respective sectors – to provide the most reliable and up-to date service possible – with the effect of enhancing the professional appearance of our clients.

6. ClimateByte™ Technology – For A Cleaner Future.

Our clients are among the biggest demographics concerned with climate change and carbon footprint neutrality. It is a fact that employing remote working and collaboration techniques drastically reduces the damaging business side affects on our environment. We enable our clients to be more eco-friendly and aware, by providing them with our green technology – an ongoing development commitment of WinWeb.

WinWeb welcomes any suggestion that will further enhance our On-Demand Small Business Infrastructure™ concept – especially the development of even more eco-friendly business processes – to serve our small business and business start-up client-base.

A few years back we used to have a product called GlobalOffice – it was targeted at foreign small businesses who wanted to export product or just support their customers in local markets. We learned that our customers just used our OnlineOffice and made arrangements for the “Live” services themselves – and this has been the way ever since we withdrew GlobalOffice to focus on our “core” business to provide a Small Business Infrastructure – SBI.

Small Biz Labs have a post today about Laurel Delaneey’s Global Small Business Blog and one of her recent posts, some of the data is quite interesting:

• Only about 4% of US companies are exporters and the US has the lowest level of exports as a % of GNP of the G7 countries – roughly 10%. The highest is Germany at almost 45% and the 2nd lowest is Japan at a bit over 15%
• SME’s (defined as less than 500 employees) accounted for 29% of US export value in 2005.
• While the number of exporting businesses in the US grew rapidly in 90’s, it has stayed relatively flat since 2000. In 2005 there were roughly 239,000 exporting companies, 97% of which are SMEs.
• 58% of exporting companies traded in only one export market.

Localization, local red-tape and the often horrendous cost associated with exporting make it difficult for small business to work in foreign markets. I believe these barriers are slowly disappearing, not only with the help of technology, but with the understanding of technology.

Globelization 3.0 as I call it – I have written about it before – will enable very small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal business, to take full advantage of global markets for products and services. Even personal business, like contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants can now use social networking communities to develop international virtual project teams or at least be part of at least one or more.

In ten years time these numbers will be very different – as it will no longer matter, if your customer is next door or half way around the globe. For some this is a reality already – have you thought about this when planning your start-up business?