We are very fortunate to do business in a time and age where you can get business quality software for free or close to free. They are everywhere. For a long time, I’ve been saving these tools. Every time someone asks for a software they could use to do something, I whip out this list of tools. I have finally decided to compile them all into one convenient handbook. It was originally supposed to be only 100 then it grew and grew to the final 180 – there’s actually more than 180. I just didn’t count some of them.

The tools for a ton of different things. From project management and accounting to web conferencing. Get it from my site if you’d like a copy.

“I just received a ton of bounced emails that aren’t written by me. The email address is mine, but honestly, I did not send them. Has my email/website I been hacked?”

While hacking is always a possibility and I do not want to discount that at all, the reason is probably not that but rather email hijacking. You see, it is easy to change the “From” address. All you need to do is change it in your email program. Instead of your name and email address, you can change it to just about any email address. That’s what they are doing. They aren’t sending emails via your account or your server. Just using your email address as the “From” address. Because bounces go back to the “From” address, that’s why you are receiving them.

For a long time, there is really little you can do about this. I can send an email pretending to be you and vice versa any time. But if your web host supports DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), you might want to have it turned on. What it does is only allow email to be sent from specified domain. This way, a hijacker who always sends emails from his own or any spoofed/fake domain, is prevented from sending any mail. The thing you need to watch when turning this on is to make sure that any other domain you may be sending email from is in this ‘whitelist’ or your own emails won’t go out either.

For me, this is great because I like the simplicity of using Google Sites to create a Wiki of our organization’s work flow, operating manuals and how-to’s. But the fact that the data is ’stuck’ on Google Sites made us re-think it because it takes a lot of my time to write these manuals and while I’ve not lost anything on Google yet, that’s the keyword – yet. Besides, what if something comes along I like better and want to switch? Data portability is crucial.

With the import/export tool, I can finally resume using Google Sites and create a backup of our documentation in HTML microformats. It is written in Java – which means you have to have Java (not to be confused with Javascript) installed. It is open source and you can download it here.

That’s why, I no longer use our inkjet. The only inkjet printer we have is a multi-function we purchased a few years ago and I don’t even use it for printing – only as a fax machine and scanner. For everyday printing, we have one color laser and one black and white printer.

Don’t laser printers cost a bomb?

That’s the myth. If you go for black and white – which is more than sufficient for everyday use at a home office, do you really need a document in color to read it?, you can get a decent laser printer for under $200 even a wireless one. Sometimes, you can catch sales for under $100. Color laser printers though definitely do cost a lot more but it is not as much as it used to.

But what about toner? They are high!

What is expensive is relative. Yes, I did order a cartridge for my color laser printer this week, and yes, it did cost me $34 for one color – black. BUT, guess when was the last time I ordered toner? August 2007! It is true. I had no idea until I looked at my Amazon account and past orders. WOW. Trust me, that color laser gets a lot of prints for a home office because my husband is kinda print happy. At the end of the day, the cost per page is really low compared to inkjets. Plus, love the fact I don’t have to be running out of ink and having to run to the store regularly.

If you feel your printer is literally sucking you dry – go laser.

Consider just how many blogs and bloggers are out there. Too many. Almost every one of them have been told that pictures add interest, visual appeal and focus to their content. Free image sites are cropping up everywhere. There is a demand. Bloggers can’t afford to pay for stock photos on every single post they make yet they want that visual connection. So they turn to open source or Creative Commons License images.

The company who did that Flickr campaign, sold a physical product and they had their web site nicely displayed or worked into the shot. While the article did not say, I would not be surprised if they received credit link backs too. I think this works great for businesses who sell physical items. Quit making low quality shots. Even with a simple point and click digital camera, with a little effort you could come up with really nice product shots. Release a few of them into the wild. Let people use it on their blogs, even print. It doesn’t cost you anything and could turn out to be a great way to get your name out there.

Photo from Multimedia-stock

There are plenty of ways to do that of course, from good old fashioned paper notebook to tools like Evernote. Recently, I stumbled upon PeepNote. It is an app where you can import your peeps and jot notes about them for your reference. I suppose it does have some appeal and kind of transforms Twitter into a contacts list. As far as I can tell it is free but limited only to 250 friends. The video below will give you a rough overview of the service.

Thank you page – this is the page where people will be directed to after they complete the payment process. If you are selling digital access or download, this would a page where you tell people how to access the secured content or where and how they can download the item they just purchased. If you are selling physical goods, this is the place where you tell people what to expect next. E.g. when do you typically ship the product, where do they go for help or if they have questions.

Merchant account – a merchant account allows you to take credit card payments. You don’t always need a merchant account to start selling which I’ll get into a little later under payment processor.

SSL – stands for Secure Sockets Layer – basically, it is technology that allows data passed between a user’s browser and your web host be encrypted and secure. A user knows the page is secured when a lock appears on the bottom right corner of their browser. Something we have all been taught to look out for. To get that lock on your web page, you need to purchase an SSL certificate. They are purchased yearly. Depending on what you use to process the payment, you may not need it. However, because buyers are conditioned to look for the lock symbols, it can help boost confidence.

Payment processor – these are the people who takes the information from the customer, e.g. credit card information, submits and does whatever needs to be done with the credit card companies to deduct the money and deposits it into your bank account. Examples are, PayPal, Clickbank, 2Checkout, Authorize.net, Worldpay. Some of these payment processors do more than others. For example with PayPal, Clickbank and 2Checkout, you don’t need a merchant account to take payments. Basically, they use their merchant connections to process the payment on your behalf. Because of that, they often cost more per transaction.

PCI compliance – this is a guideline set up by the major credit card companies to help business create and maintain more secure payment processes and methods of storing data. The ultimate objective is to protect credit card holders. If you process your payments entirely through 3rd party systems like PayPal, 2Checkout or Clickbank, you are automatically compliant otherwise, you may need to at least complete a self assessment or quarterly scan. For more PCI compliance information…

Now that we’ve clarified that, let’s see what the common questions are.

Do I need a shopping cart to start selling?

No. It depends. If you are selling physical products. If you have a lot of different types of products or you have only one product , say, T-shirts but in varying colors/sizes/designs, then I’d definitely recommend a shopping cart because it makes it easier for people to order, and for both of you to track the items ordered, store order history and so on.

I have PayPal and they have add to cart buttons that work well. Do I still need a shopping cart?

PayPal buttons are so simple and easy to use. I love them. The biggest down side to it is, once the payment is processed, your customer information is trapped in PayPal and PayPal is not the best place to trace the history of what a customer has purchased. It can’t effectively give you insightful reports like how many people purchased a particular item, which item is most popular this month and a myriad of other information. There is also no easy way to contact all your customers at once via PayPal which means if you decide to offer a coupon to customers only you can’t. Also, if you want to start an affiliate program, a shopping cart system with affiliate capabilities is definitely a plus because PayPal does not offer that.

While you don’t need it, but having one means you can do a lot more marketing that ultimately grow your business.

How do I set up my website so someone can pay and download a book instantly?

A lot of this really depends what you are using to process your payments and your shopping cart system. Here is a general overview of the process and what you have to do. First, create a thank you page. You can link to the download directly from this page if you want or, you can create a list just for customers of this product and tell people to sign up to it to receive the download link in an email. If your shopping cart allows you to upload the product directly to their site that’s even better because what happens is, the shopping cart system will create a private thank you page with the download link. This way, those who have not paid for your product, won’t be able to get to that download.

Then, you create a checkout button from within your shopping cart. Tell the cart where the thank you page is OR upload the product to the cart. Complete the information necessary e.g. price, affiliate commissions etc. The cart should then have a button or link ready for you to pick up. This is the link where people will click to start the payment process. You put this link or button on your web site or page where you have more information about the product, like a sales page or product description page.

Some carts are more involved than others because they have more features so you may find gaps in the overview above. However, that should give you a big picture of the steps involved. This concludes the Back to Basics mini series. I hope throughout the week, it has helped clarify a few things for you. Remember, we all started out as newbies so don’t be afraid to ask.

Image by sanja gjenero

How do I build a mailing list?

That is a big, objective question with many different tangents we can go off into, but we will focus on the technical process. The overall big picture is quite simple actually. First, you will need a system (software) or service that lets you send emails out to the masses. Next, you need to create a ‘list’ within that mailing list system you are using. Depending on what you are doing with the list, but it is recommended you then create a welcome email inside that list. This will be the first email people get when they join your list. Finally, you get the code which will give you the sign up form and put it on your website. That’s all in a nutshell.

What can I use to build a mailing list?

There are a lot of email list systems out there. Some well known examples are, Aweber, iContact, Constant Contact and Mailchimp. These are all fully hosted, web based services. Which means you will have a monthly cost involved, but at the same time you won’t have to worry about what percentage of your emails get delivered (also called deliverability), you won’t have to worry about the software or emails slowing down your web site. I highly recommend the post Is Saas For You to get a better understanding why it actually costs you less in the long run to pay someone a monthly fee for mailing lists.

Why can’t I just use my current email account and send through Outlook/Thunderbird/Mail/Gmail?

The answer couldn’t be simpler. Because your Internet Service Provider who gave you the email account, Gmail, Yahoo or any other email account providers often have fine print in their terms of use that restrict you from using your account for mass email purposes. Sure, you can email your group of 20-30 friends and family without problems and they are often OK with that. But surely when building a mailing list for your business, you want as many prospects and possible. Besides, any business, no matter how small, you will find, hitting hundreds if not thousands of subscribers is not difficult to do. Once you start getting numbers, that’s when mailing through any of these accounts will violate the terms of use.

Ultimately, this means you could lose your Internet or email service. That is not what you want.

My web host includes an autoresponder. Why do I need to pay for another autoresponder service?

Because they are different animals altogether. One is simplistic, the other one is a little more intelligent. The one that comes with most web hosting accounts is simplistic. The only thing it can do is kick back a reply automatically when someone sends the address an email. You still see some people asking you to email them at a certain address and you will get a report or download instantly. It cannot capture the name and address of whomever is emailing it and put it in a list and it cannot follow up with the person who emailed at a later date. Autoresponder services often give you what’s called a sequential auto responder. Which means, you can create a series of messages – however many you like and tell it to follow up with the individual who subscribed to the list based on intervals that you set. Maybe you want to email the prospect everyday for a week or once a week for a year, or everyday for a week and 5 day intervals after, you can.

Big difference in features don’t you agree? There are some hosts who are exceptions to the rule because these hosts understand marketing online. Some hosts do give you web hosting accounts with sequential autoresponders so if unsure, always check with your host. Most of the time though they don’t.

What is a broadcast?

A broadcast generally refers to the feature that allows you to send emails to everyone on that list. Some services even let you schedule when the email is to go out.

I already have an Aweber account, do I need another autoresponder service or software?

Nope. Aweber can do both autoresponse and broadcast. In fact, many of the bigger names can do both but if you’re not sure, check with their help desk.

I’m sure you will have more questions as you dive into the process of building your mailing list. If you don’t there’s something wrong! If you find yourself confounded with technical road blocks along the way, feel free to ask me.

Image by T. Al Nakib

Host or Web host – A website is at it’s core, a collection of files and data. These files can reside on your computer but that means it can only be seen by you which won’t do you any good. You need to put them on a computer system where everyone online can access it. A web host is a company who owns computer systems that are configured so that the files you put on their systems can be viewed by everyone on the Internet. So if you want a web site, that’s one of the key things you need. An account with a web host.

Domain – Simply put, a domain is the address of your website. Sparkplugging.com is this site’s domain. TechBasedMarketing.com is the domain of my website. So any .com, .org, .net, .me etc is a domain. This is also essential to having your own website. Sometimes you can create websites without buying a domain. This usually means, you piggyback on someone else’s domain. For example, have you seen sites or blogs like sweetcaroline.blogspot.com? Or myhomeimprovementcenter.typepad.com? These are sub-domains that ride on top of the main domain. Going back to the examples, blogspot.com and typepad.com are the main domains.

Since we are all building this website or blog for our business or to create a business around, I do not recommend you use those domains as your permanent address. Domains are cheap now. Invest $8 or $10 a year on a name that is uniquely you that you can brand and take along with you no matter which web host you go with and no matter what web building tools you use.

Now that we have the two most basic things explained, let’s move on to the methodology. Whether you choose to outsource completely or DIY, you should know the common methods as it will affect what you can or cannot do down the road.

Using Website Builders – These are often all in one packages, where you pay a monthly fee and you receive web hosting and a multitude of tools to build your web site with. Very often, the tools are web based. Which means you can work on your website anytime, anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Website builders are also very often designed with the newbie in mind so everything is made to be simple, straightforward and easy to use. Many people start with one of these and graduate to other methods as their skills grow. You often don’t need to know HTML but it would help. I often recommend these tools for the complete newcomer. The down side is they are often a little pricier. Also, as you progress and learn new things about web building or business online, there may be things the builder cannot do or can do but not the way you want it to.

Using Desktop Software – These are tools like Dreamweaver and Expression Web. You purchase the software and install it on your computer (not web host). You build the site on your computer and it can connect to your web host to publish the files. In many ways, this can be simple too. These tools often expose you to the underlying architecture of web pages – HTML. While you don’t necessarily need to be a master at HTML to use it, but you can toggle between design and code. I’ve found this the best way to learn HTML which I highly recommend anyone who owns a website to get little bit of knowledge at least. As you can imagine, it may be a little more frustrating than a website builder to get right and understand where all the pieces go, but on the other hand this also helps you build a larger skill set that will serve you well down the road. You may also want to know that sites you build with desktop based software are often static. Which means you won’t be able to add on interactive things like a forum at a click of the button.

Using Web Based Scripts – Scripts are like software you can install on your website. Some of these scripts allow you to install a system resembling a web site builder on your own website. Which means you get much of the convenience, capability and ease of use as a website builder entirely your own, it is cheaper because you only pay for hosting, many of these scripts are free. Here’s the bummer. For a newcomer, it is not always easy to install these scripts. If you can get someone to install it for you, you’re off to a good start. But could quickly and easily find yourself in deep waters when you have to edit the design. If going this route, I highly recommend you have someone build and design it the way you want it and then learn to tweak it at your own pace. Once again, HTML knowledge will be helpful.

There are still a gazillion things I wish I could cover here, but I’ll end up writing a novel. Perhaps we will revisit and build upon this in the future. However, this should give you at the beginning level, an overview of what you can expect and hopefully an idea which way you should go based on how comfortable you are learning technology that is new to you. Meanwhile, if you ever get stuck with jargon, you might want to head on over to InternetMarketingDefinitions.

Image by ivan petrov

One of the things he has to learn to do is to edit websites I created for him in the past, learn to manage his own mailing list, shopping cart and so on. It is a lot. Some of the things that are so common place to me and most of the people I deal with on a daily basis, feels like rocket science to him. He knows it isn’t of course, but it can feel like being in a massive maze. At the same time, as we work together, it amazes me how much knowledge I have accumulated over the years. Thankfully, he’s such a trooper. Which leads me to think, maybe some of you too are brand new, just starting out or have begun and still feel some areas are ‘too much to handle’.

Then, this week is a good one for you as we go back to the basics. I’ll be covering some technical jargon and concepts that you may encounter running your own business online. We will begin with Websites, followed by Autoresponder basics and end the week with an intro to shopping carts.

While I can’t possibly cover every aspect of those topics, I will strive to help you build the foundation so that, at the very least, you will know what people are talking or writing about and be ready to move on. I hope you will join me as we begin this mini-series tomorrow.

Image by gerard79

So what changed? Did I just start making more money and that suddenly meant I had to spend it monthly on software? No. If that is the case then it isn’t very good cash flow management. The sad fact is, it took a big loss for me to re-think and appreciate the value of using hosted third party applications and this is a story I tell people often. Not because I think you should always opt for software as a service solutions but because it really happened to me and I want to help you avoid a similar situation.

What happened?

It was simple. I installed a mailing list script on my web site one day and within an hour, it flooded the web hosts’ email servers to the point it almost crashed. The web host tried contacting me. But of course I had to burn the midnight oil and had went to bed after the install. He unsuccessfully tried to email me for hours and eventually, shut my account down and deleted all my web sites. All in all, the script started sending thousands of emails every hour and I hadn’t even started building my list yet.

Imagine the horror and humiliation when I started work the next morning. Here I was, thinking I was so smart, by hosting it myself and saving a monthly payment. I realized then just how little $20 a month was compared to what was at stake. Many years have passed since but that memory is still fresh and raw at certain periods today.

• If you are in the same boat, considering a hosted software versus one you install on your own web server, consider these points.
• You don’t have to spend valuable time upgrading the software, better spend time marketing.
• You don’t have to worry about people hacking it – and the many hours cleaning up if they did.
• You don’t have to think about the software being compatible with the server or crashing it – a biggie.
• When the system goes down, you have someone in the know to ask and demand for answers – it is a good feeling to be able to let others work out a problem.
• When the system goes down, you don’t have to upset my schedule and delay projects to fix it.
• You also don’t have to hire people to fix it. You know that they have properly qualified developers working on their system, people whom we on our own may not able to afford to pay.

Does that mean you should completely outsource your software? That’s going to be a lot of monthly payments.

Absolutely not. What I recommend is, outsource those that you won’t normally have sufficient technical knowledge to handle yourself or you don’t have someone technical you can hire on a regular basis. If you’re getting started and don’t have much money to invest. I understand you won’t have that option. But at the very barest basics, for your mailing list or autoresponder, sign up with a reputable service. If you don’t spend on anything else, spend the  money on that.

Image by Karl-Erik Bennion

Image by James Nash

Here’s what I mean. I love school days because I get all the extra hours in the morning, but I also don’t love the paper they send home. I have two in the same school and get duplicate copies of every piece of school wide communication. I don’t even want to think about the amount of paper I’ll get when my third child starts school.

When the children go anywhere, they love brochures – what is it with kids and brochures and flyers? Where do you think those end up on? Uhuh. Mom’s desk. Then there are receipts and business cards! Oh and, there’s the art work. How can you ever turn down or throw away all those drawings and I love you notes that were written *just* for mommy (or daddy)?

In the end, I’ve given up on *going paperless* at least in the home office. But what I can do is reduce the paper that I do have control over like:

1. Signing up for e-bills and making payments online
2. Using Evernote instead of post-it notes
3. Printing all receipts into PDF format
4. Reading digital resources and digital products that are PDF format on my PDA
5. If I have to use paper which I still love by the way, I’ll use my Pulse Smartpen so the paper can be discarded and I still have a digital copy of all my notes.
6. Scanning all business cards – the Cardscan is fantastic
7. Investing in Neat Receipts

What about you?

Jing – works on both Windows and Mac, is free and you can upgrade to Pro for only $14.95 a year. Meant for short videos, 5 mins max so it’s perfect for those who record infrequently and only need to do short videos.

Screencast-O-Matic – Very cool. It’s free and works from your browser which means it should work on any operating system. The only gotcha – the videos are public.

Wink – this has been around for a long time. Windows only. When I first started using it, it would not allow audio but I do believe it does now.

ScreenToaster – Nice. Like a merge of Youtube + social network + screen cast software all in one. Works on your browser, any OS.

CamStudio – a free screen cast software list is not complete without it. Long time screen recording software, Windows only.

Screenjelly – Browser based as well, has Twitter integration.

BBFlashback Express – Windows only. Upgradeable to paid version.

CaptureFox – A Firefox plugin. Looks pretty interesting and it is free.

Photo by T. Al Nakib

What email client do you use and why?

There used to be a time when I was a 100% Thunderbird gal but today I’m almost all web based. For my primary email I use Google Apps. Yes, I like the way it works – a lot but it’s not because of any love affair with Google or anything like that. My biggest reason for using it is because it’s accessible. Anywhere, on the PC, Mac or phone. That is the biggest ’selling’ point for me.

What about you? Are you an Outlook person all the way? Google Apps fan like me? Thunderbird geek? Mac Mail all the way or some other cool tool? I can’t wait to hear from you on this one.

Photo by T. Al Nakib

Let’s say your customer service address is help@something.com. You want your assistant to check in on the address and you also want to be able to check in once in a while. You use Outlook but your assistant is a Thunderbird fan. You both don’t want to switch.

You’ll set up the email address account as usual – make sure your host supports IMAP – most do. Give this email account a bigger mailbox than you’d normally set. There’s a reason for this we will discuss later.

Now, when you or your assistant sets up Outlook or Thunderbird to check the email account, choose IMAP instead of POP. Enter the username and passwords as usual, just as if you were setting up POP mail.

By doing this, both you and your assistant can keep your favorite email clients. All emails are kept on the server – not on you or your assistants computers. Which means, if she checks the mailbox today and answers some emails, tomorrow she reports in sick and you have to take over. The whole conversation between her and your customer is available for you to view. If you used POP, then you could be missing part of the conversation because the emails have been downloaded to her computer.

Another plus of using IMAP, if she had marked an email read, it will also show up in your email client as read so there’s no confusion.

Finally, IMAP allows both of you to be connected to the email account simultaneously. I think this is good way to get started outsourcing your email because you still maintain control over the account and can check in anytime. You also don’t get lost if you have to pass the torch to someone else and it’s already included in the tools you use. No extra software investment required.

The only thing is – because emails are stored online – it will take up your web space so you’ll need enough web space to store old messages but usually, these aren’t that much and is a small issue.

Photo by Kris Peterson

Many free conference call services allow you to record your calls. Do read the fine print. Some do charge or require you to be a premium member before you can record and retrieve your recording. Others allow you to do it for free.

Another method is to use Skype with Pamela or other software based recorder like Total Recorder. Skype is free, Pamela is a small investment starting at $21.25 and thereabouts depending on the exchange rate. I personally use Total Recorder which is a separate software, been using it since before Pamela and just haven’t bothered to switch.

When asked what aspect of working at home they enjoy most, many will say the freedom. The freedom to start work at any time. The freedom to work at one’s own individual pace. The freedom to take a walk to the coffee shop and not feel bad about talking to the barista for 10 minutes. The freedom of not having a boss looking over your shoulder all day. Yes, freedom plays a big part in a telecommuter’s life. Yet, are we as free as we can be?

No, there’s no boss leering, no constant time constraints. However, we’re still confined to our offices. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing — it might keep people productive — we need not be sedentary workers all the time. Thanks to new advancements in cellular technology, we can roam freely, toting our laptops to parks, beaches, and other little nooks which don’t offer Wi-Fi access. Mobile broadband services can provide that kind of freedom.

Quick lesson in mobile broadband

Mobile broadband is Internet access typically offered through cellular carriers on their third-generation (3G) networks. Users can sign up for mobile broadband access just as they would normal cellular service. It requires a modem, which usually hooks up through your laptop’s USB port. Once you’ve signed up for the service and have set up the modem, you’re ready to access the Internet anywhere you get 3G cellular reception.

Theoretically, mobile broadband speeds can reach a level near DSL. However, in practice this hasn’t proven true. Practically peaking, mobile broadband at its best can range between 1000 and 1500 Kbps, though speeds will vary by provider and location. While these speeds are sufficient for everyday Web browsing, they are not suitable for the usage levels of an average telecommuter.

How can mobile broadband help the at-home worker?

Mobile broadband can take the freedom of a telecommuter to the next level. It can take a normally stationary work station on the road. It can allow you to enjoy of the things you love while still getting your work done. It affords you the ability to work wherever you want, whenever you want.

Imagine this scenario. Your child has a soccer game in the evening, but you have so much work to finish up that you just can’t go. It’s a shame, but these are the realities of the work at home life. If, however, you had a broadband modem, you could go to the game and continue doing your work. Sure, no one wants to have their nose in their laptops while their child runs up and down the soccer field. After all, you might miss something big. The operative word there is “might.” Had you stayed home to finish work, you would have certainly missed it.

Or take this anecdote. I live in New York. My girlfriend lives in New Jersey. Our relationship consists of constant train rides. While I’m on the train I usually read, and then finish up my work for the day when I get out there. Once I got mobile broadband, though, I could work while riding the train, so I could spend all that time with my girlfriend, rather than making her wait for me to finish working.

There are plenty of other scenarios. Visiting a relative who doesn’t have Internet access? Like to get out of the house and set up shop at a coffee house? Riding shotgun for a long car ride? There are plenty of scenarios where mobile broadband can be a boon to telecommuters.

Mobile broadband is not for everyone

This article isn’t a total shill for mobile broadband. In fact, there are many people who simply will not benefit by it. If your work habits are just fine and you get all of your work done right at your office, well, there’s no reason to fix a system that isn’t broken. You might also be the type who can put down work to go to your child’s soccer game, with the commitment to come back and burn the midnight oil to finish up.

There are two main factors that turn people away from mobile broadband plans: pricing and usage. The biggest one in most consumers’ minds, of course, is pricing. The typical mobile broadband plan costs $60 per month, and that’s on top of your at-home Internet cost. That’s a hefty addition to a monthly cellular bill. If you already have a mobile device like a BlackBerry, it might only be a nominal fee to upgrade to broadband access. Even so, that’s yet another cost, at a time when most people are looking to cut them.

Usage is an often missed factor that plays heavily into whether you should get mobile broadband or not. The four major carriers — AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile — have 5GB monthly caps. Go over and you’ll pay a hefty overage rate, or worse, have the company terminate your contract. For many, 5GB just doesn’t cut it. With downloading images and videos, uploading, and other routine Web worker activities, there’s always the risk of running over. And that can be costly.

It’s also a reason why mobile broadband can never replace your at-home connection. Perhaps when, and if, WiMax blankets markets throughout the country, there will be a viable alternative. But until then, mobile broadband is no substitute for broadband to the home.

Freedom and mobility

At this point we can conclude that mobile broadband is a luxury of the highest order. It affords telecommuters incredible freedom and mobility. However, for those looking to keep costs in check, it’s not the best solution. That’s a lot of money to lay out for a service you already essentially have in your home broadband connection.

Still, for those looking for that extra little bit, that factor that allows them a greater level of productivity, mobile broadband can definitely supply it. If you can determine how much your time is worth to you, you can figure out if the $60 monthly fee is worth it.

Pretty soon we’ll all be mobile. But for now, it can be a distinct advantage. Expensive, sure, but advantageous even more so.

Joe Pawlikowski is the editor of Wireless Internet Reviews, a site which provides new and reviews of the all forms of wireless Internet.

Image by miki kucevic

edirect mine too. If you don’t know why, read her post. Alice does give a simple way of making redirect links too.

I did that once too but later found it was a huge problem as the list grew longer. Having something that is more centralized with stats in a nicely formatted manner and the ability to search/categorize can be helpful too. There are many link redirect tools out there. These are 3 that you can get started with.

1. Redirection – a WordPress plugin. Which makes sense especially if you are a blogger or using WordPress to manage your site content. It works well enough and is simple/straight forward.
2. Pretty link – another WordPress plugin which I found recently and considering a switch to. It does lay out all the stats nicely, very attractive clean user interface. I like the ability to make links nofollow and the frame on top for special messages.
3. Short URL script – installed on your web site. There are plenty of such stand alone scripts you can find from places like HotScripts.com. They allow you to create, manage and track clicks of each link. Some are free, some are not. May require a little bit of setup.

One thing I do not recommend though is to use third party short URL services. I think they are OK if you need quick stats that you probably don’t have to refer again or check history. But the whole idea is, keep affiliate links on your own site so you are always in control where your visitors end up.

My only question is, I wonder if it can be done for Fan pages as well for those of us who would rather use Fan pages for business related stuff rather than our personal stream. That’s one of my frustrations with Fan pages – though I’ll tell you I find Facebook navigation very frustrating overall. I do have a fan page and while it is more or less there, I still find many things you can’t do on a fan page because the tools are kinda buggy compared to your personal profile.

Sadly, much of the software we use regularly is bloated, contains many more features than you’ll ever use. Sometimes that’s to be expected. If I were a graphic designer, I’d want the top of the line tool with all the bells and whistles even if it cost me a lot of computer resources. That’s because I will use the software a lot and use many of the tools in it. I need to be well equipped to do my job.

But sometimes all you want is something simple to do a task you won’t do regularly. For those, all you want is something that won’t lock up your computer and slow it down to a crawl. In those cases, you might want to check out TinyApps.org. The site lists software that are really small and stand alone apps. Many you can even run from your USB drive. Love that.

The site lists apps that are mostly Windows based but in the blog you’ll also find some for Mac and Linux, including Mobile platforms.