The Power of Retail

Definitely an interesting idea here. Rod Farthing, a part-time professor has launched an independent mobile service called Farthing Mobile a few weeks back after being tired with the kind of service he was getting. At present he has a total subscription of 8 people, so far only friends and family members. Farthing decided he would start his own network, or what is called a MVNO, a mobile virtual network operator, that transmits calls on an existing wireless network. He could be called the leader in this do-it-yourself cell phone network system. The system is powered by Sonopia which is offering people and groups to set up their own personalized wireless service for free.

No need to worry about back-room details, like billing and customer support Reliable hosting solutions with 24×7x365 support – Visit HostMySite.com, for the service. Sonopia handles all that. Prices for the service plans are competitive with name-brand providers. An added bonus: Sonopia pays virtual network founders 3 percent to 8 percent — depending on the number of subscribers — of their service’s monthly revenue.

I’m no coder, but am getting quite intrigued by the world of coding and web developing. I’ve done some basic code work but nothing even close to what all is going on these days. One of the best places to learn about programming, interact and share ideas with other programmers is Dream.In.Code, a community which has more than 25,000 members at present. Established 6 years ago, the site has developed into the foremost site for all things web programming.

At Dream.In.Code, I found super tutorials and resources, and even some code snippets all for free. You do need to become a member to participate and once that is complete, you will be able to take part in discussions. I’ve been keenly following the topic on promoting a website, and have even been able to put in place some of the recommendations, such as using Stumble Upon a a way to market a site. I like the forums, which are informative, friendly and cover a wide range of topics.

Wal-Mart is to sell Dell computers in over 3,500 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. Dell relied only on its direct-to-consumer format to make sales earlier, although it has been experimenting with kiosk type sales centers in some malls. The company saw a decline in revenue from %15.2 billion to $14.4 billion. Analysts say that while the Dell decision to sell its computers in a store are surprising, it is the reality of how the PC market has been growing. The challenge now will be for Dell to provide good customer service, for which it has been criticized for in the past few years. The company will be selling only two desktop computer models, as exclusive packages for Wal-Mart customers, both of which will be priced under $700.

Dell will have its own free-standing product displays in Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman says. Dell already sells a broad range of its products through SamsClub.com, but will not offer any products through Walmart.com, the spokeswoman adds.

The weekend is finally here. Time to recover from an extremely hectic week and get set for another hectic one coming up. Boy, work is just not easing up since Feb this year. And that’s good I guess, no actually it is good, no guessing at all. It has turned me into a bit of a workaholic though, and I wonder if I will ever be able to back track from that. I do hope I will, since it’s something that I never in a million years would have thought myself to become. Ah well, each day brings new revelations to each of us!

Ah, the power of a vacation to soothe, to sort out and to get rid of all problems! It’s really the best cure in the world. And just imagine if you could take an extended vacation, live in a home or a condo in a place such as Orlando for a while, golf a lot, see some shows in the evening, laze on the beach and basically rejuvenate the mind and the body. With the number of hours most people work these days, vacation time should be increased so we could spend time at an Orlando vacation rental and while away the time. Everyone used to work regular 8am-5pm shifts at one time, but now that is a real rarity and just about everyone is putting in overtime, so it’s only fair that the amount of vacation time be increase as well.

Social shopping is really making online retailers sit up and take notice. The concept of social shopping is a combination of social networking and shopping. A new type of shopper is emerging, someone who is looking to interact more with other customers, these shoppers are being called “social gatherer” different from the “solo hunter” that most online shoppers were earlier and online merchants are focusing on how to attract more of these shoppers.

Social shoppers don’t usually have a list from which they shop, they are looking more for an experience and a connection to a retailer, and once this is established they will purchase products from them. According to research firm Gartner, the difference between the two is the intention, as a solo hunter will come prepared to buy an item and will just buy that item, while social gatherers will look for what they originally came for but might spend their money on something entirely different.

Time for a little vacation dreaming!! Our last vacation was to a beachy place, so this time I think we should try out a different type of vacation. Since we always prefer to stay in vacation rentals such as apartments or houses rather than hotels to get an authentic feel of a place, I found a cabin at Crowsnest Pass in the mountains of Southern Alberta in Canada, which seems just the perfect place for a vacation. On our vacation last year, we rented a vehicle and explored the coast from Washington DC to Maine via Long Island and returned via Connecticut in a 21 day fun filled experience. We stayed in a variety of places along the way, with friends and family, at hotels, and bed and breakfasts and created a vacation that we will remember for a long time.

A design company in Australia has launched a website called SitePoint, where companies can have design contests and access creative web designers. Say, a company is looking for a new logo, so they give their basic requirements of the wording, the colors, file format etc and selects a prize and an end date. Designers can submit their ideas on the site, which will be visible to everyone and from where the contest holder will select the best design. Minor changes and adjustments can be requested. Springwise reports that while the system is not for everyone, as some people might think it devalues their profession, but it is a way that is picking up steam, especially for smaller businesses who cannot afford to hire a design team.

Both clients and designers seem to like the concept: SitePoint’s design contests boast over 2,000 designers who submit on average 420 designs a day, and over USD 80,000 is offered as prize money each month. Businesses pay SitePoint a USD 20 listing fee and set their own prizes, which must be higher than the minimum dollar amount specified by SitePoint for each design category.

Planning events is big business and the industry is growing at a fast pace to keep up with the increasing number of companies using entertainment events as a routine part of their marketing plan to build buzz around brands. One of the leading players in the business is Innovative Entertainment, a San Francisco based event planning company that specializes in creating unique events. The company represents some of the most well known entertainers in the industry and has carved a niche for itself in the special events industry. This San Francisco event planning company has worked with major corporations to create one-of-a-kind events across the world, including corporate and social events. Their website is a great place to get an idea of just how big they are and who they represent, including everyone from Jay Leno to Bonnie Raitt and many more.

Wal-Mart has decided to pull its designer clothing line that it launched a year ago. The designer clothing line by Mark Eisen has been taken out of over 3,000 Wal-Mart stores, as the company tries to clear its stocks of unsold items. Design executive Mark Eisen was earlier with AnnTaylor Stores and created a line for women under the label George.

Edited to add: Just saw that The Wall Street Journal linked to this article. Read their article here.