data Entry Job

To run a business successfully means embracing a new challenge everyday. It indicates exciting avenues to be ventured into and daunting hurdles to be overcome while keeping ahead of competitors. Each day is a new day that needs to be met with new strategies, plans and goals. However certain crucial aspects of running a business can become monotonous and can require repetitive work on a regular basis but the accuracy needsto be impeccable. The data entry requirements of a company fall under this category of essential tasks that can be quite time consuming and repeatable but essential for running the business successfully. Business houses are therefore looking for options to get this task done smoothly without using up important resources of the company yet maintaining the required standard of accuracy and confidentiality. Data entry is therefore fast becoming the preferred option of every business entity.
Data entry is the process of hiring an external entity to perform the data entry functions for the business in a country besides the ones where the products and services of the business will be sold or used. The data entry services provided by a vendor help the firm access processed and accurate data that has been well –presented to be of maximum use to the firm. The data entry firm employees have the taskof collecting data from written or printed records and entering them into the computer system. This data is maintained in a systematic manner to be as informative to the business as possible. The data entry records are then transferred back to the client for regular referral and checking. Some of the major countries that are providing such data entry services are India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Egypt, Malaysia and others.
The major criteria for a job to be qualified for requirements are that the task should be repeatable, have high information content, be transferable over the internet, the process is easy to set up and the wages paid to the data entry staff must be reasonably lower than those in the original country. The major requirement for data entry services arises from the strong need to cut down on costs and the internet and the facilities it provides has given a direction to this need. Data entry jobs have opened up a world of opportunities for professionals around the world and the constant advancement in the field of technology and internet further add to the advantage.
The prevalent exposure to internet has enabled many freelancers across the globe to offer their services for data entry to small businesses and this works out to be a winning deal for both the parties involved. Free trade advocates are vocal about their support for data entry business as they feel that this will provide benefits to economies as a whole in the form of labor off shoring. Whatever may be the reason for a company to employ data asistance, but the fact remains that in todays world data entry is a booming business and the trend definitely seems to be on an upward motion. To get started with global data entry go to: http://tinyurl.com/2bcwoxh

Will Microsoft become the General Motors of software?

It has near-monopoly status and nimble, disruptive competitors. We’ve seen this movie before.
By Jay R. Galbraith, president and founder, Galbraith Management Consultants
The more I learn about the current situation in software, the more Microsoft’s position seems to mirror General Motors’ position in the auto industry a few decades ago. Like Microsoft (MSFT) today, GM was an icon in its industry, held a quasi-monopoly, produced eye-popping profits and was often distracted by antitrust lawsuits. When a company experiences this kind of environment over a couple of decades, it eventually loses its competitiveness. Of course, Microsoft would vigorously deny any such comparison. The top executives in Redmond, Wash., claim to be on top of the trends in the industry. They are confident they can develop all the software they will need to be competitive.
My concern is not with the leadership of Microsoft; I am sure Ray Ozzie, the chief technical officer, will stay on the cutting edge of the technology. But its 15,000 to 20,000 middle managers have never been through a downturn (assuming they’ve worked only at Microsoft). And to me, you are not a real company until you have been through a downturn. Growth and high margins are very good at covering up a company’s bad habits and unresolved issues. When a downturn hits, all of the flaws come to the surface and the company purges itself of its bad practices. A 3% decline in sales in 2008 – Microsoft’s first ever – during the worst recession in decades will not wake up Microsoft. The bad habits will persist.
Microsoft’s Options

The best thing that could happen to Microsoft would be successes by Apple (AAPL) or Google (GOOG) that cause a significant loss of sales and market share. The shock would create a sense of urgency and cause the leaders to clean house. The worst thing that could happen is a success with Windows 7, which would reinforce management’s focus on the desktop. Then, as customers move away from the desktop to smartphones and other devices, market share will decline. But if share declines slowly, maybe a point or two a year, the drop will not be enough to overcome the pride that comes with high margins and high profits. Over time, the desktop mafia will experience a shift from pride to hubris. Welcome to the General Motors scenario.

I am not concerned about Microsoft developing the software. They always have. My question is whether they will develop the new business models. As computing moves away from the desktop and onto small mobile devices, the industry moves away from Microsoft’s strengths. Consumers are driving computing now, though, and customer-centricity is not a Microsoft competence. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, will have to give a lot of his famously YouTube-worthy stage performances to convert the middle managers who are currently enjoying monopoly profits.
Microsoft’s Path Ahead

Microsoft also suffers from the incumbent’s curse during a technological transition. The curse is well described in Clayton Christensen’s research. Cloud computing, in which software and other applications are housed in a central location and delivered over networks to end users, could lead to a shift away from desktop-based computing and from complicated operating systems. As Microsoft adapts to it, will it promote cloud computing or protect Windows? Will the team leading Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing business have the freedom to cannibalize the desktop? Or will it be integrated into Windows, where the desktop mafia will slow, modify and dilute the efforts to convert to a new business model?

The General Motors scenario does not have to happen. Ballmer can focus inward on transforming the desktop mafia to the new computing paradigm. Or, better yet, appoint a hands-on, change-experienced chief operating officer who can do it with him.

Meet the guy behind the ‘i’ in iMac, iPod, iPhone

Ever wondered whom to credit – or whom to blame – for the “i” in Apple’s iMac, iPod and iPhone? It’s Ken Segall, a former creative director at Apple’s main advertising agency, TBWA\Chiat\Day, and now an employee at Dell. Leander Kahney, of Cult of Mac, interviewed Segall about coming up with the now-iconic prefix and working with Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Back in 1997, Jobs led Segall and others into a secluded Cupertino office, pulled a sheet off of the company’s new translucent-blue computer, and asked for suggested names, Kahney wrote.
From the Cult of Mac piece:
Segall says he came back with five names. Four were ringers, sacrificial lambs for the name he loved – iMac. “It referenced the Mac, and the ‘i’ meant Internet,” Segall says. “But it also meant individual, imaginative and all the other things it came to stand for.” (The) “i” prefix could also be applied to whatever other internet products Apple was working on.

Jobs rejected them all, including iMac.

The 1998 release of the iMac arguably turned things around for Apple, which then was on the verge of bankruptcy. As we all know, Apple applied the “i” prefix to a number of subsequent successful products, such as the iPod and iPhone, which earned Apple the reputation of being one of the most innovative tech companies.

SEO is a Task for Marketers, NOT Web Developers

The SEO industry has surely been put through the ringer over the years. There seems to be an ongoing debate about web developers and SEO and how they all connect together. Don’t get me wrong, proper web development is a very important step when launching any new business online but it is important for people to really understand that SEO is not just all technical. It is actually much more on the marketing side of things than people think. I have seen it many times over the years, where excellent web developers that are amazing at coding and design but not the best marketers think that their website building steps is everything a client needs when it comes to SEO. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Almost every aspect of SEO requires a person to really step into the shoes of their audience. How can you craft well written meta-tag that will be clicked on by your audience without putting yourself in their shoes first? When a person or business takes a real strong marketing approach to their SEO efforts they minimize their potential for penalties from the search engines and increase their potential for very strong and effective company branding. Web design and development is still very important for the user experience along with website conversion aspects but SEO should really be left to a marketing brain. Having a clean coded website is very important but that clean code will only benefit you once you start trying to get your website ranking in the search engines. Rankings alone do not generate business; marketing and rankings together generate business in a great way. Yes rankings are very important but if your website is not built with the user experience in mind also than all the rankings in the world will not allow your website to convert properly. Buyers need to see more than a just a website ranking in search results. A press release written by a marketing person and distributed through the right channels could get you a story in an online or offline publication. A press release written by a technical SEO person for the sake of rankings will most likely not get picked up anywhere and virtually no positive effect.

Search engine and visitor trust factor is something that not only the search engines need to see but also your audience. A potential customer will be much more inclined to purchase from you or give you a call if they see you in multiple areas, the only way to really be visible in multiple areas is to come to the party wearing your marketing hat. A marketing approach to building your rankings will not just build your rankings but also build your business. What is more important to build rankings or business?

Oftentimes web developers miss this fundamental step in building a business online. It is more than just technical efforts. The search engines are slowly eliminating individuals who only take a technical approach to SEO. Change your SEO style to start building your brand and business and watch your rankings increase naturally the right way over time.

Google introduces new commerce search engine

Online retailers now have a new target platform for search engine optimization (SEO) with the launch of Google’s newest search engine, which searches online stores to index product price and information.

We all know that commercial search is paid search technology; however, the field of SEO will be affected as well. Most internet gurus say that online retailers are not dedicating as much resources as they ought to SEO. These retailers are missing out on several advantages.

Google has already scheduled a demo of the new product and the initial response from critics has been positive. Reports say that the new technology has improved the search speed and efficiency of Google.

Google Commerce Search comes at a crucial juncture of the year as the holidays are approaching. Online Christmas shoppers will be crawling and searching the World Wide Web for the best deals in the market. This means that top Google entries will be in an advantageous position.

SEO: Art and science

A lot of the mystery around search engine optimisation comes from the attitude that it is a science. There is a general feeling around SEO that if you could just get the equations right, everything would fall into place.

The difficulty is, although sometimes equations do work, they won’t work for long. Search engines actively strive to confuse search engine optimisers. Any time the rules seem to become clear, that is the time they are guaranteed to change. It’s what makes SEO such a challenging, vital industry and one of the many reasons to keep an expert on board.

Often, businesses become aware of the change in rules just after they occur, leaving the business scrambling to keep up. The SEO community is full of useful advice and tips. A lot of people forget that Google can read SEO blogs too, and learn in a different way from the posted techniques. Many sites get caught out because they follow the latest craze, then find that it’s been banned.

Take early techniques, for example. In the early days of SEO it was thought that keywords were the main key to success, and content was saturated with them. These days, this kind of clumsy attempt to draw search engine attention is considered keyword stuffing and is likely to result in a penalty.

Search engines, although they operate along coded lines, are built to think like their human users. Sites that present themselves in too contrived a manner are likely to draw the wrong kind of attention. Although SEO is designed to appeal to robots, anything that appeals to robots too well is likely to get you kicked down a few ranking points. This is because a search engine’s aim is to act like an automatic human. Humans don’t work to predictable formulas. Although you might have some indications of what might or might not work when dealing with a human being, it’s more a matter of intuition. The same is the case for SEO.

Every site is unique and needs individual attention when it comes to search engine optimisation. There are plenty of SEO companies out there offering secret formulas and keyword density equations . Even if they are not outright charlatans, these companies are misguided at best. There is a lot of science to SEO, but it’s science that is guided by intuition.

A good SEO expert gains experience over time which allows them to see the subtle shifts in the SEO ether before a definite change occurs. This makes SEO more of an art than an exact science. There are simply too many factors involved in optimising a web site to operate on strict rules, and this is why words like ‘organic’ are often applied to good SEO. A site will benefit more from individual attention than cookie-cutter techniques. For an individual approach to your site’s optimisation, you can talk to us at SEO Consult for more advice.

With the authority that a scientific approach naturally confers, many SEO companies advertise their service in very science-y terms. Equations and formulas get mentioned a lot. When you are approaching an SEO company about their services, however, make sure to talk with them about their experience and approach. Your website is unlikely to benefit from off-the-shelf solutions

Making your Laptop as Ergonomic as a Desktop

Many freelance writers prefer the freedom of working on a laptop instead of at a desktop. Their reasons are varied, but there’s no doubt a laptop give you much more freedom and more places to work as your schedule may dictate. Busy moms who are freelance writers may like taking their laptop to the park and writing while their children play. Others find that working in an outside location such as a coffee shop is a much more peaceful place to write and the laptop helps them do that.

The sad truth is that a laptop is not as ergonomically designed as a traditional desktop. Concessions in the design of a laptop must be made in favor of portability. However, you can take steps to improve the ergonomics of your laptop even if you ultimately use it as a desktop as many people do.

One huge problem with using a laptop is the design of the keyboard. You can’t move the keyboard around like you can with a desktop. Using the keyboard as it is can cause hand cramps and repetitive stress injuries. You need to keep your wrists in the most natural position as you can so that your hands rest naturally and your wrists are not constrained.

Laptop monitor screens are often smaller than desktop monitors and can cause more eye strain than larger ones. The good news is that you can rotate the screen so that it is in the best viewable position that won’t make you strain your eyes. You need to minimize the bending of your neck. Tuck in your chin to rotate the head instead of bending your neck.

Laptop monitor screens are often smaller than desktop monitors and can cause more eye strain than larger ones. The good news is that you can rotate the screen so that it is in the best viewable position that won’t make you strain your eyes. You need to minimize the bending of your neck. Tuck in your chin to rotate the head instead of bending your neck.

There are some other possible solutions to improving the ergonomics of your laptop and preventing injuries. You could consider a laptop docking station that lets you plug your laptop into a base station that has a monitor, keyboard, and mouse already connected. It’s basically a desktop setup with a removable computer that just happens to have a keyboard and screen attached.

You could also use a separate keyboard and mouse at your desk connected to your laptop. This lets you put the monitor in the correct position and have a comfortable keyboard and mouse in their proper locations. While I don’t use a separate keyboard, I do use a separate mouse so that I don’t have to contend with the touch screen mouse that tends to reduce my productivity.

Technology is always changing and always improving the ergonomics of new laptops as new ones are introduced to the market. But there are things that you can do with your current laptop to make sure that you don’t suffer from painful injuries just because you choose to use a laptop over a desktop.

How to Write a Successful Freelance Writing E-Course

E-courses are becoming very popular today in a variety of genres, but especially in the freelance writing area. If you are a freelance writer, you can write a successful e-course that will be valuable to those who are interested in becoming a freelance writer, and you can make some money selling that e-course. In our previous article, we went over the basics of what e-courses should contain. Now, it’s time to put that e-course together.

First, in preparation, don’t just throw something together and think that people are going to want to buy it. This is probably going to be a lengthy process that could take quite awhile if you want to have a successful and best-selling course. You want to give your customers quality work, and that takes time. Plan your course from start to finish, research, write, revise, and then publish. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

You must, of course, begin with a topic – what the course is about. This article will focus on a freelance writing e-course, but you can actually create an e-course about literally any topic at all. It’s often a good idea to cover a niche for example: How to Become a Technical Freelance Writer; How to Become a Ghostwriter; How to Write Articles that Sell, etc.

Niching makes your courses easier to sell because you can get specific. Every discipline is different and has different lingo. The more specific and concrete advice you can offer, the more valuable your course will be, and the easier it will be to market and sell.

How you organize your material can be just as important as the topic itself because an e-course should present material in a learnable, usable format. Experts feel like there are five essential components that must be covered: marketing, samples, pricing, a basic business plan, and freebies. Of course, this doesn’t cover how to write the course, but it does give you an idea of how to plan the course itself.

There is so much information that can go into an e-course that once you sit down to write it, you may discover you have the makings of two or three courses. That’s why it can take quite some time to put the e-course together. The key is to follow your plan and write the course so that it flows and make sense. Tell stories, use success examples to show what your writing really does work, use your writing skills, and let the prose flow!

Just like writing an article, you will have to add, revise, and cut material until you get it right. Once you are please with your content and the course itself, it’s time to publish. This is easy enough when you convert it to a PDF format and place it on your website for sale. Then, the marketing can begin.

While we included this info in the previous article, we can’t stress enough that there are many different free and low cost ways to market your course online. Find websites that your target audience might frequent and advertise there.

You should start marketing well in advance of finishing the product so you can start a buzz about the course itself. After that, you’ve gotten on the road towards writing and marketing a successful e-course. Good luck!

 

 

How to Market and Sell a Freelance Writing E-Course

If you’re a freelance writer who is always doling out free advice on your craft or any other subject, you have the ability to write and publish a freelance writing e-course and make money from it. An e-course is like taking a class only it’s done online. It walks people through different topics to help them learn about a variety of subjects.

The great thing about this is that it can be a constant revenue stream once the course is written. It can be sold over and over again without any additional work on your part. Once the course is written, you will market it and sell it to a variety of people and there is no time constraint on how long you keep it up for sale. You will want to follow some simple guidelines to make your e-course a success.

First, sell yourself, your talent, and your abilities. Let people know why you are qualified to write the e-course. Essentially, the biggest selling point for an e-course is going to be the experience of the author. Your readers must trust they are getting the best and most reliable information from an expert on the topic.

Your course is not going to sell itself – you’re going to have to do some pretty lucrative marketing and make the buyer absolutely HAVE to buy what you’re offering. One way to do this is to offer incentives or freebies. What kind of freebies? You can offer free websites, e-books, free software, free consultations, newsletters, articles, and so much more. The offers you can give are endless.

You must make these freebies pertinent to the course you have written. You may want to include a weekly e-mail newsletter listing available freelance jobs or additional information about the freelance writing business. One e-course author offers a free website (as we mentioned above) so those who buy the course will have the opportunity to put up their own website. Offer something unique that your readers can really use.

A money-back guarantee is a must these days when it comes to offering things for sale on the internet. Although some will disagree, when you offer a money-back guarantee, it gives you credibility. You are standing behind your e-course and telling the buyer that they are getting a quality product. Some people will take advantage of this and want a refund even if they are satisfied, but if your course is truly useful and your readers come away with just one piece of concrete knowledge, most of them will be satisfied and you shouldn’t have a problem with requests for refunds.

Finally, check out innovative ways to market your e-course. This can done through affiliate marketing or advertising with Google Ad Words and Google Ad Sense. But there are other ways such as joining writing forums and including a link in your signature line. Write a freelance writing blog and include a link allowing readers to download your course. When you think “outside the box” to find new ways to market your product, you will find there are many, many ways to get the word out about your e-course, and start the money rolling in!

 

Defining Writing Genres

When you decide you want to become a freelance writer, you may already have a specific idea in mind about what you want to write. The truth is that there are so many different writing genres you can choose from – some of which will make you more money than others. Let’s take a moment and define the different freelance writing genres.

- Business Writing – This is any kind of writing assignment you take on for a business such as a newsletter for a company’s employees or a marketing brochure

- Blogging – Blogging is the act of updating web content in a date ordered posting. Blogging is generally used to build a community and solicit comments from readers. Companies who hire bloggers want them to maintain their blog and increase readership. Blogging can also be used to promote a product, person, or a service.

- Content Writing – This is writing specifically for the internet which is similar to blogging but more static and formal. Web content comes in many forms such as articles, columns, how-to’s, or lists. Content can be part of a website or the entire website. For many websites, the entire site is web-based and is intended solely for informational purposes like Wikipedia.

- Copywriting – When you are a copywriter, you are writing for promotion or marketing purposes. This is writing to sell something but also includes indirect sales like press kits and informational brochures. In general, copywriting is looking for a reaction from the reader.

- Critical Writing – If you are asked to critique something such as a book or a movie and then write about it, you are doing critical writing.

- Essay/Non-Fiction Writing – This genre includes memoirs and/or anecdotes in an educational or persuasive form.

- Fiction Writing – This is a broad category and not usually one that many freelancers are asked to take on. It, basically, is writing any type of fiction from a few paragraphs to a short story and even a novel.

- Ghost Writing – This type of writing is when you compose any and all of the other genres on behalf of someone else using their name and allowing them to take credit for the final piece.

- Grant/Proposal Writing – Traditionally, this type of writing is the act of putting together the written content of a funding proposal. Many times, this goes beyond simply writing the proposal but also delves into aspects of accounting, budget, research, and project management.

- Journalistic Writing – When you write for magazines or newspapers, you are a journalistic writer. The content can be about nearly anything and can include newspaper columns, features stories, and even ezine articles

- Speech Writing – Writing for spoken word in a non-performance setting for a live audience.

- Technical Writing – If you are writing to convey information or provide instruction in a specialized field, you are a technical writer. Tech writers are likely to product instruction manuals or similar documentation used for teaching purposes.

- Web Writing – This is similar to content writing, but it may also include writing for ezines, online columns, or search engine optimization articles.
No matter what type of writer you decide you want to be, we suggest that you keep your options open to whatever jobs may come your way. You may really desire to be a freelance fiction writer, but a content writing job may pay the bills in a much more feasible way. That’s the beauty of freelance writing – depending on what is available for bid, you have your choice as to what you want to write and which direction you want to go!