Canadian eBook distributor Shortcovers is partnering with Silicon Valley's eBook publisher Smashwords to form a global content distribution partnership. Shortcovers takes an innovative approach to eBooks (being device neutral and storing books in the "cloud") that others in the industry may soon have to follow.

Comcast's coming purchase of a majority stake in NBC Universal has ramifications for Hulu. The only question is: what will they be?

Howard Richman better hope there's no such thing as karma. The former BioPure vice president was sentenced last month to three years in prison for faking cancer to avoid an SEC investigation.

On October 17, the Unites States Postal Service updated its International Customs long-form, 2976-A and it is a little tricky for us eBayers. (The short form, the green PS Form 2976, Customs - CN22, is unchanged – for now!) Those of us who ship via USPS and hand-write our customs labels, now have to fill [...]

click hereto retweet In my last few posts we covered what a blog is, and the benefits of blogging as a technique to boost your business. For any blogging initiative you'll need at least three things: what are you going to blog about (covered in my last post) how will you set up your blog (software & hosting) how will you market your blog Last time we began the discussion of blogging software, focusing on ways you can build and maintain your blog for free using services like WordPress.com, Blogger.com, or Blogher.com. The key with free blogging software is knowing what you're getting. Here are some explanations these companies have provided outlining the features they offer: WordPress free features: http://en.wordpress.com/features/ premium (paid) features: http://en.wordpress.com/products/ Blogger (all free) http://www.blogger.com/features Blogher features http://www.blogher.com/using-this-site I Can Email You When I Post to this BlogClick here to get notified of new posts to The Internet Strategist by Email But as anyone who has experienced "buyer's remorse" would know, equally important is knowing what you're NOT getting with these services. Since we all tend to be rather shy about broadcasting our deficiencies, I'll respectfully let you in on some of the downsides. These services do come with some caveats, namely, that you have to abide by their Terms of Service, the details of ownership can be somewhat nebulous, you have limited control over the look and functionality of your blog, a free service (because it's hosted separately) will limit the SEO value of your blog and you cannot, as of this writing, place ads on your blog. For those who want design control, functionality control, clear ownership of content and want to be able to generate advertising revenue -- installing your own blog is probably the ticket. If that's you, let's talk about the two other options for how to build your blog – paid upgrades and downloadable version. What ponying up will get you Most blogging software have more or less the same features. Google owned Blogger really surpasses in terms of what it offers for free, but if you throw a little coin into the game you can get everything you need. The two options when you're considering upgrading from free are: pay the blogging company directly for an "upgraded" version. Still hosted by them but with access to more features, or pay a hosting company. Have someone download a copy of the blogging software for you and install it on your own hosting account. These two paid options give you more control over your blog, your brand, and your content. Here is a chart showing who offers each option from least control to greatest: Free SoftwareFree hosting Paid SoftwareFree hosting Free Software DownloadPaid hosting WordPress x x x Blogger x Blogher x TypePad x x B2evolution x Expression Engine x Moveable Type x Free Software Free Hosting With a completely free tool like WordPress.com, WordPress owns the server, provides you the software to build your blog and hosts it for you, all for free. They can generate advertising revenue off of the blog you build but as of this writing you cannot. Note also that this version most likely means your Web site and your blog (if you have both) are completely separate hurting your SEO and possibly weakening your brand with very different designs. Related Articles by Maisha:Build Your BlogBlogging's 11 Big Payoffs pt 2Blogging's 11 Big PayoffsTo Blog or Not to Blog Paid Software Free Hosting Here again, the software and hosting are both provided by a company like WordPress but you can get more by paying a one time or periodic fee. For example on WordPress you can pay to use your own non-WordPress domain, to get extra hosting space, to customize the blog's design, to upload & store video, or to turn off advertising on your blog. Note that as of this writing WordPress still does not let you post your own ads or upload a completely custom theme even if you pay for an upgrade. Also note that Google-owned Blogger, although far less popular, lets you do all of these things for free. One other note on either free or paid software hosted by the blogging company, if you ever decide to move your blog beware. The process of moving the content itself could be a little challenging but more of a concern is your links. Each post you create will have it's own "permalink" or a permanent link that people can share, bookmark etc. If you move your blog it may be difficult or impossible to re-create the same structure on your new blog as you had on your old blog, meaning all of your links will no longer work. Free Software Download Paid Hosting (by your hosting company) This is the most flexible option. You get a hosting company (like HostGator), get your own domain name and have a developer download your own copy of WordPress or other software and install it into your hosting account for you. The options for customization are unlimited, you can use whatever design theme/template you like or hire someone to create one from scratch. You can install whatever widgets or tools you like to add to your blog's functionality, you of course own all of your content, you can post whatever you like (within the terms of service of your hosting company), and you can sell ads on your blog as a revenue stream. Just like the "paid software" version above, you pay a monthly fee but it goes to your hosting company. This version can be set up just as quickly but usually with the help of a development company. Basic hosting will be anywhere from $5-$15 depending on what you need. How to choose? Generally I suggest the free version if you don't plan to generate advertising revenue, and don't need sophisticated customizations or a custom design. Also if you're not planning to generate a lot of traffic to your blog in the beginning, you won't be as concerned about moving it (and breaking the links) later. The paid upgrade gives you a bit more but it doesn't eschew the limitations and restrictions that are inherent in working with the blogging companies. If you are ready to invest I generally recommend the downloaded version which will give you total control over your content, your design, your features and maximum SEO benefits if you have an existing site you want to integrate the blog with. I hope this has helped you understand a bit better how the world of blogging software works and how to decide which path is right for you. If you're still wondering which version is right for you, post your question below. I'd like to hear from you. Two important notes: I will be highlighting a variety of companies as examples in upcoming posts.If you've had success with your Blog and can describe results/back it up with real data, you can submit your Blogging strategy here. Even in a bad economy there's a silver lining. I'm giving away a free Web site!If you'd like to be the lucky business owner tell me about your business and why you should win here. I acknowledge I'll be choosing the winner purely based on my own discretion. Heck I may even choose more than one. I look forward to seeing your entry! Post Your CommentHave a question? Got something to share? Something I missed?Your feedback, comments, real world experience and tactical questions are an important part of the discussion. If you have a comment, question or feedback post it below.Share:Easily share "Blogging for Coin" on TwitterFollow:Follow me on TwitterFeed:Add "The Internet Strategist"RSS updates to yourreader or your Web siteRead Related Articles by Maisha:Build Your BlogBlogging's 11 Big Payoffs pt 2Blogging's 11 Big PayoffsTo Blog or Not to Blog

Looking to pick up some tips and tricks on the art of successful networking this holiday season? Then you might want to drop in on the event BNET Australia will be hosting with the Australian Institute of Management (AIM) in Sydney on December 2, 2009. It's being held at AIM's event space in North Sydney, and starts off at 5pm with a free "Accelerate your Networking" panel discussion, hosted by BNET's Phil Dobbie. You're also invited to attend a Christmas party directly after the discussion, at 6pm, where you can test out those newly acquired networking skills (admission to the party is $20 for AIM members and $45 for non-members). And now, the Christmas giveaway! We have five free tickets...

Global Entrepreneurship Week kicked off today. Follow Laurel Delaney for updates from the World Entrepreneurship Forum in Lyon, France. Jonathan Ortmans and Vivek Wadhwa explain in BW why it matters.

The credit crunch still holds businesses back in South Florida, Jim Wyss reports for McClatchy.

Younger businesses may be the key to job creation, according to a recent Kauffman study. Rieva Lesonsky explains in Small Business Trends.

Tim Berry looks at five essential things entrepreneurs should learn in b-school, but don't.

Small employers in Massachusetts get hammered by health premium hikes, led by market leader Blue Cross, Robert Weisman reports in the Boston Globe.

As noted in my previous article on startup marketing, I had the opportunity to speak at the MIT Startup bootcamp recently.  My friend, and an all-around great guy, Adam Smith (founder of Xobni) spoke earlier that day.  Adam did a great job capturing the experience of starting a company and watching a company grow.  Adam's both brilliant and articulate.  Well worth watching the video.

 

Here are some quick notes from the video (to help entice you to watch).

1.  If you can improve email just a little bit, you can create a lot of value.

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Looking for other startup fanatics?  Request access to the OnStartups LinkedIn Group.  100,000+ members and growing daily.

Oh, and by the way, you should follow me on twitter here (that's @dharmesh).

Marsh & McLennan was once the largest insurance broker in the world, until a series of scandals and management shakeups relegated it to the investor doghouse and downshifted it into second place behind Aon Corp. But under CEO Brian Duperreault, who came on board in January 2008 after serving many years as a top executive at Ace Limited, Marsh wants to return to its former glory and regain its title the old fashioned way: through acquisitions. Insurance brokers work for companies that need insurance, negotiating rates and plans with insurers such as American International Group, Hartford Financial and Travelers. But sometimes they also work for the insurers themselves; taking commissions in return for the business they bring the insurer. And...

Is the small business sector underperforming the broader economy? And if so, does our economic data accurately reflect that?

Those are the questions Jan Hatzius, chief US economist at Goldman Sachs (GS), tackled in a Nov. 11 commentary (no link available). Hatzius says the recent 3.5% GDP growth estimate (annualized) for the third quarter could overstate how much the economy expanded by as much as .5 to 2 percentage points. He gets there essentially by looking at how GDP growth historically tracks to the NFIB's Small Business Optimism Index.

From Hatzius's note:

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported on Tuesday that small business optimism edged up very modestly to 89.1 in October. While this is the highest level in a year, the index remains more than two standard deviations below its long-term average. The weakness of the NFIB [index] stands in stark contrast to other indicators such as the purchasing managers indexes published by the Institute for Supply Management, which have moved back to around their long-term averages, and real GDP, which grew an estimated 3.5% (annualized) in the third quarter. Small firms appear to be underperforming their larger peers, most likely because of differential access to credit.

I put together the rough chart below based on quarterly data from the NFIB's Optimism Index. Each line charts the group's measure of small business optimism (based on member surveys), starting in the first quarter of a recession and going through the end of that business cycle (i.e., when the next recession begins). I've used the NBER's business cycle dates, and I combined the double-dip recessions of the early 1980s. Click here for full image.

The red line tracks the index from Q4 of 2007, when the current downturn officially began. Though it's ticking up, the NFIB's optimism measure is way below where it has been at this point in any other business cycle since the index began in 1974. Despite the rally in the stock market and other hopeful signs, this measure of the small business sector doesn't show an incipient recovery. With small firms employing half of all private sector workers, their gloomy outlook contributes to the high unemployment rate. (In the last three months, 19% of small employers reduced headcount, compared to 8% that increased, according to the NFIB's November survey.)

If small companies are suffering more than large ones, there could be a discrepancy if data collection for small firms, especially proprietors, lags. Here's Hatzius's takeaway:

Our conclusion is that if small firms aren’t captured well in the advance GDP data, the economy may be growing less quickly than suggested by the recent official data. This would not only reconcile the GDP data with the NFIB survey, but would also go some way toward explaining why the unemployment rate has so far continued to increase at a considerable clip despite official GDP estimates that imply above-trend growth. If there is an error, it may eventually be corrected via revisions, although the process could take several years.

If this analysis is accurate, it clarifies the disconnect between big business and small business. That difference was less evident earlier in the downturn. Things looked pretty dismal for businesses of all sizes a year ago. At this stage, big businesses and small busineses appear to be facing different recoveries -- or lack of thereof.

Many of our readers have steered their companies through at least one downturn before. If you have, let us know -- is this one different? Are you less optimistic about growth? Why? Tell us in comments below, or on Twitter.

More analysis on this from Seeking Alpha, the Curious Capitalist, and the The Pragmatic Capitalist.