Years ago, the concept of getting a free domain name with your web hosting was like a shot in the dark. The deals were out there, but they were few and far between. Now, though, it almost seems like a foolish move to buy web hosting that does not include a free domain name for the life of the account, because so many reputable companies are offering them along with their web hosting plans.

I’ve helped hundreds of women put their home crafting businesses online and the first step is always walking them through choosing just the right host for their individual needs. However, one thing I generally recommend for all of them is to look for a deal where their main domain name will be free with the life of their account. Web Hosting Geeks has a website that reviews and rates nearly every web hosting company you can imagine and they have an entire page devoted to those that offer free domain names. The Web Hosting Geeks site is a great first stop if you are shopping around for a host, by the way.

Of course, you need to look at a lot of different parameters when choosing the right host. You want to look at price, reputation, genuine customer reviews, how long they have been in business, and if they offer the features you need for your website or network of websites. It’s a process that I suggest you take a solid month to research. And of course, you can always shoot me an e-mail if you want my opinion on what will work for you.

I’ve talked about Dragon Naturally Speaking in this blog before. It’s that cool software that allows you hands-free typing, because it takes your voice and outputs text. It’s handy (pun, get it?) for a number of reasons, including my own favorite – a remedy for the fact that I think a whole lot faster than I accurately type.

With that in mind, I’d like to welcome an article about Dragon Naturally Speaking written by Guest Blogger, Brett Bumeter. He will tell you how you can Type at $150 Words Per Minute for $99!

The above video is not the typical Dragon NaturallySpeaking video. It was created by a blogger named Heather from British Columbia. She writes a blog called Boating in Beautiful British Columbia.

In the video that she has created, she talks about Dragon NaturallySpeaking. She talks about using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. In fact in the video, she is using Dragon NaturallySpeaking while she’s talking about it but you don’t quite realize that until the video is about halfway done.

The thing that’s REALLY interesting about this video, is not the fact that Heather is using the software and it’s not the fact the software works for her so much as HOW she chooses to use it. She took Dragon NaturallySpeaking and sat down with her father who is 95 years old. She spent a few minutes with him getting the software tuned to his voice so that the computer recognizes his sentences and words. Then she’s lets her father tell some of his great stories to the computer which transcribes everything that he says.

You can tell just by watching the video and listening to her father that he really does have some interesting stories to tell. I have a feeling that I could probably listen to the stories myself quite a bit, enjoying them immensely. And that too is not really the cool thing about this video. Although I’d love to hear her father tells more stories, the COOL THING is that she’s using Dragon NaturallySpeaking to capture a piece of her family’s oral tradition.

I can think of hundreds of different stories that my family has shared with me over the years that have not been documented. Our family is slowly losing some of those great stories and unfortunately, as we are losing some of our family members. We survivors don’t know all of the stories ourselves that our parents or grandparents or our great grandparents knew. But this video shows that you can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to help capture some of those great stories that your parents and grandparents and great grandparents have probably told you dozens of times.

It’s something that we don’t always think about, but in a lot of ways those stories are some of the most cherished memories that we will walk away with from our family. And the sad thing is that our family cannot Be with us forever, but their memories can live on and this is where Dragon NaturallySpeaking really shows us its value. It’s true for $99 you can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking and you can type 150 words a minute. That’s a pretty good value for the software. It’s not too expensive and the benefit is tangible.

Now, you can get a useful tool at any computer store or Home Depot or Lowes, and if you don’t know how to use it well, then it really doesn’t matter what you pay for it. It is a waste of money.

Heather shows us a great way to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to capture some of the most valuable information and stories from her father that she might ever be able to record not only for herself but for her daughter and her grandchildren someday and great-grandchildren and many other branches of the family even.

So that’s just another great reason why they Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a pretty cool piece of software. $99 could help you capture your family history easily and even make it indexable too, so that you can search it from your computer. That’s just amazing.

My name Brett Bumeter, and I write about Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I’ve been writing reviews about it for almost 2 years now. You could say that I’m sold on the software, and I hope that this article and this video helps show you the value of using it as well.

Sincerely,
Brett Bumeter
Softduit Media
www.softduit.com

PS this article is about 630 words long and it took me five minutes to write and another minute or two to edit with Dragon Naturally Speaking 10. Even with editing time that’s close to 100 words per minute!

I have a mailing list that is associated with one of my websites. It has nearly 3000 members and question that is asked most frequently is how to go about choosing the right webhost for both personal and small business websites.

Generally I have the time to chat back and forth with the asker to find about a little more about their needs, expectations, and level of website experience. Different hosting options are right for different people and situations.

I always tell people to stop first and think about things like how much you want to spend monthly or annually, what features you need (like a shopping cart), and the reputation of the company you eventually end up using. For the most part, you can get excellent, reliable hosting for anywhere from $5 to $10 a month. Often times, it’s one of the smallest investments of your online business monetarily speaking, but making sure you are with the right web host for your needs can make or break how profitable your venture is in the end.

In fact, just because your friend recommends a host they have done well with, that does not actually mean the same host will fit your needs. Word of mouth is indeed important, but you cannot go on personal recommendations alone.

When I do not have time to do the whole back-and-forth with someone in order to walk them through choosing the right host, I will send them to a webhosting blog or other site that has a wealth of articles discussing the very same issues I would myself point out to the person.

Web Hosting Geeks is one such site. They have a good deal of informative articles, several categories of company ratings, and more webmaster resources than you can shake a stick at – virtually speaking, of course. If you’ve got any questions at all about how to choose your web host, I urge you to check out Web Hosting Geeks, read some of their articles, get involved in discussions, and basically ensure that you are making an informed decision before you settle on a host.

I love blogging. I love the format mostly. The idea is to be able to regularly feed your readers fresh articles that feature your opinions, or some great new information, or maybe a useful tutorial. Your content is ideally always being updated and that, by nature, makes your blog “sticky” (as in, it compels people to keep returning to your site over and over).

Sometimes I wish I could just sit back and speak my thoughts and have them delivered to the readers without the burden of typing. I am, you see, not the quickest or most accurate typist. Thought I have been using some form of a keyboard for over 30 years and type articles, proposals, technical pieces, and tutorials every day – I have somehow managed to never get faster, and only a little bit more accurate.

That holdup in between my thinking speed and my typing speed generally results in missed ideas. When I talk, I am a lot more creative and detailed. My mind moves so quickly that when I am typing out my thoughts, I tend to lag behind to the point that I actually lose details and phrasing in the process.

Just like doing dictation, Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Preferred brings your speaking into written form, complete with paragraphing and punctuation – all without the need to actually type using your fingers. The software actually takes the sound of your voice and translates that into 150 words per minute. I cannot seem to break 40-50 words per minute when I am typing traditionally. For me, that means I will be able to blog more spontaneously. In fact, I can even use Dragon Naturally Speaking rather like a secretary, allowing me to put my brainstorming sessions right into a word processing format right away instead of jotting thought onto scrap paper and transcribing them later. When I do that, I never seem to get the full blossom of my ideas in the end result.Is typing as fast as I think a reality? It is if I use Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard or Preferred. For more specs and details about the software, you can refernce the NY Times Review of DNS10.

I cannot seem to get off of Facebook some nights! It’s sucks you in like a black hole.

The interactive qualities of the site are so simple and quick. It is easy to keep track of hundreds of people at a time, just by looking at your own profile page. Plus, with my 20th HS reunion coming up, tons of my classmates are signing up on Facebook where we have found a great central place to keep in touch. I’m back in touch with so many people and it feels great.

Still, it’s nuts that I am even up this late and it’s all because of Facebook. I should at least learn how to put together an app for the site so I can make some money off the thing.

Websites like Facebook and Ikariam might be a serious threat to my tight schedule, but for the most part I find that there is so much about the internet that actually helps me make MORE time for myself and my daughter than ever before.

Not only do I order checks online and avoid another trip the lobby of my bank, but I upload pictures taken on my digital camera and have Christmas cards printed online and sent to the house – therefore avoiding the need to make an appointment at the photo studio and the local print shop. I renew my driver’s license and car registration online and pass on those annoying waits at the DMV. I order most of my textbooks online and not only save what generally amounts to 75%, but also avoid the lines and the college bookstores.

Last year I used Vista Print, the online printing resource, for a fair number of the gifts I gave for Christmas. What I did was design amazing layouts for photo calendars and then uploaded the files, ordered the calendars and sat back and waited for them to be delivered. I did a unique set of designs for each person who received a calendar, and made one for myself to boot. I’m particularly fond of Vita Print’s consistent quality, so I also use them every year to order Christmas postcards.

Plus, Vita Print always offers coupons and codes for free merchandise, which is good for even returning customers. Basically, you can take advantage of their deals as often as you like. For example, right now you can use Checks25 for 25% off checks or PC50 for 50 free oversized postcards (GREAT for Christmas cards).

How about someone making a web browser that works well with all websites first? I have Internet Explorer, Opera, and Firefox loaded onto my computer and I have all three open at most times. Why? Some sites won’t work with some browsers, some work better in particular browsers. It’s a hit or miss sort of game and I find it annoying.

And that is why I am not going to be one of the dupes who downloads Google’s Chrome browser.

Plus, it is oddly suspicious that Chrome is released right after Microsoft gives us Internet Explorer 8. Explorers’ newest upgrades include more ways for you to cloak your online preferences as well as a shield that will make it harder for Google and other marketing networks to figure out which ads are most likely to appeal to which individuals. In a word, it is giving us more privacy.

Google is not a fan of Privacy.

Google wants a piece of the web browser action and to me, it looks like they are going to make a grab for it without actually giving us a truly compelling reason for why we need yet another browser. The official Google blog calls Chrome “a fresh take”. So, is that like all the ambiguous “change” Barack Obama has been talking about? A lot of talk about newness without solid evidence of anything new actually happening?

One of the more exciting aspects of Chrome is the New Tab Page, but that is simply just Opera’s Speed Dial. Yawn. It’s not anything new at all. In fact, if you look around Chrome, you will see that they use a LOT of Opera’s features.

Thanks, but no thanks. I think I will stay with Opera as my main browser. Just because Google wants a piece of the action does not mean they have done anything to actually deserve it.

I have a website that offers free hair bow instructions and overt the course of the five years I have had the site, I have worked with countless women to help them get their small businesses up and running. Granted, I cannot be there physically, but I often help walk people though getting their crafting business online so they can begin selling to an international client base.

It’s always exciting to see even one more mom discover a way to stay home with their children at the same time that they are able to help provide financially for their family. And, it’s thrilling to hear a success story when someone realizes the craft items they love to make for a hobby can actually turn a tidy profit.

Choosing a web host is one of the first steps in getting your website online. It will be something you do independently of choosing a business name, a domain name, or even the design of your website. The hosting account is what you will buy so that your website has space on a server to store your site’s pages and files.

You need to find an affordable host that has a long-running good reputation, reliable uptime, and above all – fantastic customer support. A lot of what made me choose the host I personally use is the fact that the customer support folks are located right here in the United States and are available day and night. I cannot tell you how many times I have called or chatted with support in the middle of the night on a weekend.

One great place to begin is by looking at a site that offers hosting rating and review articles. WebHostingRating.com has tons of reviews, overviews, and articles. You can sort reviews by category (Windows hosting, dedicated hosting, reseller hosting, etc.) or rating level. It gives you an easy way to compare several hosting companies and see things like monthly fees and bonus features in all on one page, side-by-side.

Feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions about choosing a host. In the meantime, take a look at the site I linked. They are a good springboard for your decision.

I know you hear the same commercials that I hear. There are people telling us all of the time that making money online is as easy as admitting the desire to do so. People attest to the fact that you can make thousands of dollars a week with just a few hours of work a day.

I am here to tell you that there is indeed a lot of money to be made online, but the people who are successful spend a LOT of time making their small business opportunity work for them. I’ve heard of people who admit to being online 20 hours a day!

I make a modest amount of money online, with very little time spent. Most of my income is passive and I put the gears in motion over a year ago. I maintain my websites, keep things fresh, make sure I am not breaking any rules, play on the “up and up”, etc. However, I am certainly not sitting on a bed of hundred dollar bills, tossing them in the air, awash in wealth. No, I would say that annually I bring in as much as someone who works a decent part-time retail job.

If you have the time to invest in getting your websites established, putting money-making systems into place, and continually building your knowledge, then you can indeed make enough money online to actually work from home. So, here is my encouragement for those of you who want to invest the time:

• Find some great webmaster forums and read everything you can that is written by those who are successful.
• Don’t be afraid to test out programs and ad networks. Discard what is not working and keep looking for what does.
• Design and re-design your website until you find the look that works for you. Layout, navigation, colors, etc can sometimes make or break the perceived credibility of your site.
• Don’t recreate the wheel. If there are 100,000 other sites offering information on Hannah Montana or Ford Mustangs, keep looking for a niche topic until you find something that is mostly unexplored. Being unique on the internet is a HUGE commodity.
• Learn what it takes to get to the top of the search engines for the keywords you desire. However, make sure you do it the right way. Don’t; break any rules, because all that will due is get you blacklisted in the search engines in the end.
• And, above all, be patient and understand that money is not going to start flowing into your pockets overnight, or maybe not even in a week or a month or a year. My biggest earning website took about two years to start earning good money.

Marketing a small business is so much more affordable now than it was even 10 years ago. Most people have access to an array of affordable graphic design programs and you can even upload your designs online and have all of your marketing materials printed and sent to you – all without leaving your home.

Most of the people I working closely with in mentoring right now are building at-home crafting businesses. To save on budgeting, they design their own logos, business cards, flyers, banners, and brochures and have them printed at Vista Print. There is just simply no reason to use the local copy or printing shop in your area, which generally tends to be more expensive anyway.

I’ve used Vita Print to have business cards, postcards, Christmas cards, and photo calendars printed and I can attest to the high and consistent quality of the printing. Plus, they always have great coupon codes for free products that are not just limited to new customers. You can use one each time you order. For example, if you want to Make your own brochures, you can use the code FreeBrochures08 to receive 25 free brochures (just pay shipping).

Even if you cannot design your own stuff, Vita Print offers literally hundreds and hundreds of designs that you can choose and customize.

I know a lot of my readers find their way here, because they are part of an elite community of at-home crafters looking to begin their own businesses. Due to that, I like to offer input from time to time about the importance of establishing your online identity.

Domain names are the first step on setting up your website. You have to get your hands on a great domain name that reflects either the name or the nature of your business, before you can go about putting your website files online with your webhost.

The internet grows exponentially each year and as time goes on,. It seems like there are less and less available domain names. If you find that the domain name you want is available, register it now – even if you are not ready to put your site online. That same domain name could be gone by the time you actually feel ready to use it. Snap it up now and it’s yours for as long as you pay the registration fees for it.

GoDaddy.com is the world’s leading domain name registrar. They also offer web hosting, site creation tools, and e-commerce and security solutions. On top of their solid reputation for on-target customer service, they offer very low prices – especially compared to other companies with similarly good reputations. Plus, right now you can use the coupon code BLOGGER799 to get your .COM domain for just $7.99 at GoDaddy.com. And yes, .COM is still the best choice for your domain’s small business – as opposed to .net, etc.

So, if you have a domain name in mind and find out that it is available – buy it today!

Your blog says an awful lot about you. That’s why it’s not only important to make sure you write articles in a way that reflects your style and thoughts, but also that your blog visually represents who you are ands what you want to say. You need to have just the right theme.

I use Wordpress and when I set up a new bog I spend quite literally hours looking for the right style for my blog. I look at themes, tinker around with small changes, consider the colors and layout. I put a lot of time into how my blogs look.

Like Wordpress itself, most of the best Wordpress templates are free. That’s always a huge plus, yes? Topwpthemes.com has a collection of some of the most clever, modern, exciting themes available today. Not only do they give you access to more themes than you could ever want, there is also a step-by-step installation guide (complete with pictures for those of you who are more visually inclined).

Some of the more polished looking templates are by an artist called Zinruss. I’m impressed with the clarity of the designs, the logical layouts, and the clean lines. I can wholeheartedly say, check them out.

A lot of people say that all you need to know when shopping around for something is that you “get what you pay for.” I happen to disagree. When it comes to web hosting, the most expensive is not always the best. It’s a mixed bag and looking at price is only one of the factors you should consider when you are looking for a web host.

First of all, take your time. Look around, read, ask questions, use search engines to dig up old and current forums discussing any of the web hosting companies you are considering. Listening to the actual customers reviews about their service experiences is the best thing you can do. See what people have to say about uptime, customer support and response, usability of the site, and billing practices.

I have a budget in mind, as well. I want to get a good deal as much as anyone else. I used a lot of web hosting review sites to start my research. Some gave honest reviews and allowed customer input. Others were simply portals for the sites to make commissions. The Web Hosting Geeks site, for example, is a great starting point. You can look at the table of hosts and just eyeball what they each offer in terms of price and overall benefits. You will quickly see that finding a free domain forever and the ability to host unlimited domains is becoming pretty common – I made sure that was something that was a part of the host I chose.

Additionally, I did research to make sure the host I chose was located here in the US and had customer service people I could understand and who were available anytime of the day or not. That was just some thing that was important to me and it ended up ruling out several companies.

In the end, my research paid off. I have been with my current host for over a year, added on many domains and called the poor guys on many a Saturday night. Downtime is generally never more that a minute and in general, I’ve been thrilled. Thanks to my research, I feel confident.

The teaser headline on CNN’s website said, “Firefox fans celebrate release of new browser.” I remember wrinkling up my nose. What an image that conjured for me. Are there people out there on the internet so thoroughly devoid of a real life that they actually CELEBRATE the new version of an internet browser being released? Did users actually put on party hats, blow up balloons, and bake elaborate cakes? Maybe there is a faction that exchanged greeting cards or even those who got together and went out to see strippers last night to express their glee.

Maybe these are the same people who wait in line for days for the newest versions of Apple’s iPhone, just so they can pay significantly more money than other people will pay for even better products only a couple of weeks later?

Apparently Firefox 3 had 1.6 million downloads by last evening. Firefox’s Web site says there are about 9,000 copies of the free web browser being downloaded every minute.

OK, that’s fine. It’s a decent browser. I happen to like Opera better, but whatever floats you boat, you know?

While I like geeks as much as the next person, this next tidbit of info actually soured my stomach: Firefox are allegedly trying to set a world record for most software downloads in a 24-hour period.

What? Who cares? Really, WHO cares? In a world where everyone seems to want instant fame, is this really the coolest thing someone can find to be known for? Most software downloads? Ew.

I am finding my cup of green tea more exciting that a new Firefox version, but that’s just me. I actually have a pretty full like that does not involve placing my rear end in the computer chair

Two of my dear friends just got married. Then, they promptly decided to move into a new town home. So, even though all of the people that came to the wedding had copies of the wedding invitation and envelopes with their old address on them, now they need to send out cards letting everyone know about their brand, new address. They could just pick up a couple of packs of the “We’ve Moved” cards at the card store.

Or, they could go completely customized and make a lasting impression.

I suggested they just order postcards from Vista Print. Many times you can get products like postcards and business cards completely free. All you pay is shipping. Plus, the quality is always fantastic. I have had business cards done by Vita Print, as well as Christmas cards, sticky notes, and several other items. Last Christmas, I had several calendars made up with family photos. They were so amazing that I went back and had one made for me. I trust the quality and know that whatever I order is going to arrive quickly.

So, my friends have hired me to do the design of their cards. After I’m done, I will just upload the file over at Vista Print’s website and let my friends take over ordering.