Have Laptop Will Travel

Working while travelling

I’ve done my fair share of travelling, and believe me, it’s not as cracked up as it seems. Especially when it’s not exactly a vacation, and you have loads of work to take with you aside from the usual business agenda of the trip, of course. Which is why I have my very trusty laptop with me wherever I go, It’s powerful enough to let me focus on work, light enough for me to be able to lug it around everywhere, and of course the battery life has to be stellar.

Now of course you can’t be expected to log in everytime to your office network to register your websites to some Australia business directory, and all that when you travel – scary security risks are involved. You’re probably better off using cloud-based services anyway for non-vital documents. Services like Google Docs, Dropbox, and the like are really helpful. Besides, they’re going to be synced with every computer, so if you lose your computer on the road (god forbid) your important files aren’t gone. Just log in to your account and voila, you have your files back.

Remember, I said non-vital documents. I don’t think you want to put your tax records in your Dropbox – what happens if your account is coompromised? I don’t even want to think about it. So if I were you, I’d utilize all these cloud-based apps as much as needed, but never, ever let security out of your mind. It’ll be worth it.

Twitter retention rates not satisfactory

>raman amplifierter is getting massive attention from practically everyone lately. It’s gotten to the point where a person as mainstream as Oprah has appeared on Twitter. Of course, with Ms. Winfrey’s involvement, Twitter’s traffic has received a 24 percent boost. That’s a great help in Twitter’s continued growth. But according to studies, Twitter may not be getting the full benefits of this increased attention.

Reports have come in that Twitter is not getting the retention rate that it needs to ensure continued growth. Nielsen Online reported that 60 percent of Twitter users do not return the following month. This means that Twitter’s retention rate is only pegged at 40 percent, and that’s Post-Oprah figures. Pre-Oprah, the retention rate was only at 30 percent.

Even though a high retention rate does not necessarily guarantee a big audience it is still considered important. For instance, MySpace and Facebook had a retention rate that was twice that of Twitter’s right now. When these two sites exploded into the public consciousness, the retention rate increased and are now pegged at 70 percent.

I’d love to find out what strategies Twitter will use to increase retention among its users. This will be a make or break phase for the new kid in town.

Expedia.com.au Review

I was recently sponsored to write this review.

In the global travel industry what you need is great service and great fares to capture the attention of travelers anywhere. It’s a good thing that expedia.com.au realizes this and has come up with a great product and service that really benefits travelers.

Anyone who has traveled before and who has more than a baby’s knowledge of the internet knows that online travel booking is the wave of the future and Expedia is a brand that is quite well known in the industry. Expedia.com.au basically offers the same great service that its American counterpart has been known to give. And when I say great service I mean great flights—cheap flights, that is. Expedia always manages to give the best rates to almost any destination, and all of this happens while relaxing at the comfort of your own home. I think e-commerce is really best suited for the travel industry because you get a good complement of information tools in the form of the internet and the data provided by the online travel service. Expedia gives travelers a good deal of information that is quite useful. I particularly love the easy access to car hire information, probably one of the most confusing and frustrating arrangements you can make when travelling.

Speaking of information, the website is well thought out. It’s easy to get the information you need. I also love the Holiday Packages tab, which gives visitors a quick glance at the cheap rates being offered for these travel packages.

Travelers should really consider using Expedia’s services if you want hassle-free bookings at the best rates possible.

Americans are now more “connected”

Looking at all of my new gadgets that my friends and I have acquired this year made me realize how wired and connected we are. We have achieved a level of connectivity with each other and with information that ten years ago we would only think it could happen in science fiction novels. Our laptops, our phones, our desktop computers… heck, even our refrigerators are plugged in and wired to the world wide web.

A new survey done in the United States by Deloitte and Touche shows the level of connectivity that we have and the results have been quite interesting. For example, 38 per cent of US consumers now watch TV shows online, while 36 per cent use their mobile phone as an entertainment device. Also, 45 per cent have made it a habit to make online content for others. This include music, videos, blogs and websites.

The survey confirms that new media is now a legitimate form and advertisers see a more universal strategy as the most effective means of reaching your target audience.

The figures cited have actually increased quite dramatically from the last survey and this is quite telling because it means the level of acceptability and absorption of these devices has also increased. Advertisers should take heed of this new development in making new ad strategies this year. We should also look at this as a sign that society is really becoming more and more connected whether we like it or not.

“I think for advertisers one of the conclusions is you don’t make decisions to advertise either on television or the Internet when you want to hit all the demographics, but rather you need to have a multiplatform strategy,” said Ken August, vice chairman and national sector leader for Deloitte & Touche’s media and entertainment practice, which commissioned the study. “It shouldn’t be an either or proposition.”

Among the study’s other findings:

— 54 percent of consumers said they socialize via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards, and 45 percent said they maintain a profile on a social networking site.

— 85 percent of consumers still find TV advertising to have the most impact on their buying habits, but online ads are second best, with 65 percent of consumers saying they have the most impact, beating out magazines at 63 percent.

Travel Based Businesses That Work

I’m in the process of trying to figure out a gameplan to start travelling again. However I’m in the middle of growing another new business. Over the years I’ve learned that constant blogging just isn’t a great option for me while I travel. I need to build a better more stable business that can handle a few weeks of just having blackberry access.

One of the things I’ve learned about travel and business is this: It’s Hard.

When I’m travelling I have absolutely no focus on work. I have the Look It’s Shiny mentality and I get nothing done. Last year after barely exiting Mexico with my head in tact I managed to find a way to lock myself into a small house and just work for a few months.

Sometimes this is what it takes. However I need travel in order to find peace sometimes. I think a great business that could work is a lead generation business for certain businesses like Real Estate and Mortgage companies. Now this is just an example and I wouldn’t touch that industry with a 27 foot pole but it could be worth a shot.

In your experience what has worked for you as far as mixing business with travel. What brings you success and a measure of happiness?