Posts tagged as:

Chrome

Why Bing Will Always Be #2

by Daria Steigman on January 24, 2011

Business, Technology, Independent Thinking, Steigman Communications, llcIf Bing‘s process for setting up a Bing Local Listing is any indication, Microsoft is in trouble.

It look me 7 weeks from start to end to do something that should have taken 7 minutes. (Okay, maybe 30 minutes.) Here are a few of the hoops I had to jump through:

  • I couldn’t use my browser, Chrome (a Google browser). Is that petty or what? I think  it let me use Firefox to sign up, but it was so long ago I can’t remember for sure.
  • It took about 7 minutes to set up the basic information–but then Bing said they had to mail me a confirmation pin number. Yes, snail mail.
  • When the letter arrived, I signed back in. It asked me if I had any changes. I made some edits. Then Bing said they needed to mail me a confirmation pin number. (Sound familiar?)
  • The second letter finally arrived. But the system wouldn’t accept my password (yes, it was the right password), so I had to reset that.
  • This time I didn’t make any changes until after I figured out where the pin number went.

Oh, and Microsoft loaded WindowsLive software onto my system during the initial log-in process, which promptly caused Outlook to start freezing up intermittently. By the time I figured out that problem, I’d wasted a couple of hours uninstalling and re-installing my virus protection software.

As a business owner, I try to keep up with technology. Phil Simon has a whole book, The New Small (review coming shortly), that’s all about how small businesses are harnessing new technologies. Maybe Microsoft ought to read it. Because, for a technology company, it seems rather stuck in the 20th century.

Anyone else tried to claim a Bing Local listing? If so, what was your experience?

Photo by blakespot (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

Tagged as: , , , , , ,

{ 2 comments }

RockMelt: First Impressions

by Daria Steigman on November 10, 2010

RockMelt Browser | Social Media | Independent Thinking | Steigman Communications, llcRockMelt, unveiled yesterday, touts itself as a social browser “designed around you and how you use the Web.” And it might be the future — but the future, in this case, isn’t now.

1. You have to “log in” via Facebook to use the browser (see #2), which is designed to make your data portable and your usage seamless. Okay, but I can already access my social graph and more via Chrome or any other browser–not to mention TweetDeck (see #3).

2. RockMelt is built around Facebook. It’s the way you log in, request a beta invite, and issue invitations to your friends. A list of your friends populates the left-hand corner. The problem for me is that Facebook isn’t the center of my online network. I think RockMelt might be a lot more valuable if it let me pick my primary network.

3. I’m used to streams, and RockMelt’s interface feels static in comparison to the dashboard, real-time model I’m grown accustomed to with TweetDeck. Plus I can now pull in multiple streams and platforms at once (including Facebook and LinkedIn).

On its blog, RockMelt calls its product “still a baby… but we’re most excited about what it will grow into.” I think RockMelt may well be onto something, so I’m going to keep an eye on it. But, for now, I’ll access my social graph elsewhere. Meanwhile, Robert Scoble has an interesting analysis over on his blog.

Have you tested RockMelt. If so, what are your first impressions?

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

Tagged as: , , , , , , ,

{ 1 comment }

What’s in Your Toolbox?

by Daria Steigman on April 28, 2010

Business Productivity Toolbox

[Note: This post originally appeared on IABC's Communication World blog.]

I was checking my e-mail, tweeting with friends, and reading through a backlog of blog posts last Friday while soaring across the United States at 35,000 feet. It was a great way to feel connected after a week of airplanes, hotels, and day-long meetings. But then I came back, and my Internet service provider had a major outage—leaving me offline and disconnected for several hours on Monday.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the tweets or my e-mail that I missed. It was Google. And Dictionary.com. I was working on a report for a client, and I’m so used to being able to fact check, decipher acronyms, and check for precise word usage that the productivity snag was making me really cranky, really fast.

That got me thinking about the tools I take for granted that help me as a multitasking communications pro, business owner, and blogger.

Here are seven programs and tools that help me to be productive every day:

  1. Google has become my backup business hub. Plus I can sync my Droid so that I can access Gmail, my contacts, and my calendar on the go.
  2. Google Reader is indispensible. Without a good aggregator, it would be impossible to keep up with 10-15 blogs, let alone the 100+ I read regularly.
  3. Ever since I loaded that first beta version of Google Chrome, I’ve been hooked by the speed and simplicity of the browser. I’m particularly fond of the bookmark sync feature since I typically use two computers (one desktop, one netbook).
  4. TweetDeck is my Twitter desktop client of choice. The Groups feature is invaluable; I also run Facebook and LinkedIn feeds. I typically monitor the notifications window at the bottom of my screen, and pop in periodically to chat during the day.
  5. Evernote enables me to capture random ideas for blog posts and other notes and access them wherever and whenever I want.
  6. Post-it Notes, Sticky Notes, and 1 dry erase board. I’m big on both to-do lists and capturing ideas and potential innovations. I use my dry erase board as a visual reminder of projects and deadlines and as a place to aggregate blog post ideas for Communication World, Workshifting, and this blog. I use the Sticky Notes program (which sits on my desktop) for nagging items. Post-it Notes is for one-off items, from checking on the status of an invoice to a phone call I need to return.
  7. My Droid, with its crisp big screen and Android operating system, is rapidly becoming an invaluable business tool. Plus it has amazing turn-by-turn GPS navigation.

What’s in your toolbox?

Photo by Ali Edwards (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , ,

{ 0 comments }

Google’s Chrome Strategy

by Daria Steigman on September 6, 2008

Google’s new browser proves the power of the brand: it has received instant attention and was in short-order downloaded over one million times. Plus the blogosphere’s been buzzing with a mix of browser reviews and discussions about Google’s business strategy.

But is Chrome a good browser? It installs and loads quickly, but there’s nothing there to give me that WOW factor. But maybe that doesn’t matter–at least for now. Google’s accomplished key business goals already with Chrome: 1) media attention; 2) user interest; 3) a new platform for innovation for both Google products and other applications. That seems like a pretty good week to me.

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Tagged as: , , , ,

{ 0 comments }