Archive for February 2nd, 2010
Have you ever been on a Web site and needed more information about a product or service, but didn’t have time to wait your turn in the phone cue to speak to a customer service agent? If you are like me, the answer is yes.
I stay on the phone a lot as it is. Even though I have two ears I can only hold one phone conversation at a time effectively. So when companies have Web chat on their site, it makes my life a lot easier. I can virtually hold two conversations at once – one on the phone and one via Web chat. It makes me more productive. It helps me keep the plates spinning. And it causes me to be more loyal to the company who offered me this convenience.
Read the rest of my article on the Davinci Virtual blog.
February 2nd, 2010
Looks like Regus heard our cries… The serviced office behemoth just launched a sweepstakes in Chicago. If you’ll recall, last week we posed some ponderings about whether or not Regus would expand its contests beyond Manhattan and Phoenix. Hey, Windy City office users, you can thank us later…
Here’s the deal: Regus is offering Chicago companies the chance to go rent-free for an entire year with its “Win and Office Sweepstakes.” (I’m not sure if that’s a typo in the marketing materials or not. In the New York contest they call it Win an Office… Regus, are you listening?) In any case, Windy City entrepreneurs can enter for a chance to win a free year of serviced office space at any one of Regus’ 28 Chicagoland locations.
“Regus prides itself on understanding its clients’ needs,” says Jeff Doughman, central region vice president for Regus. “Our Chicago-area business centers are tailored to fit every type of business and with this contest we are continuing our ongoing support of Windy City businesses.”
Read the rest of my story on aBetterOffice.com.
February 2nd, 2010
Google may not be winning over the multitudes with its Nexus One “superphone,” but the search giant is gaining ground in the 21st century browser wars. Google’s Chrome browser grabbed market share in January from its key rivals, Microsoft 
’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox.
According to NetApps, Chrome finished January strong, with a 5.2 percent market share. Although a 0.6 percent gain may not immediately rattle the dominance of well-entrenched players like IE and Firefox, it does show a steady flow of users to the youngest player in the browser market.
Overall, Google has doubled its market share, and in January saw the second-largest gain since rolling out the browser in September 2008. Google has already surpassed Apple’s Safari in the browser wars, making it the third-most-used browser.
Read the rest of my story on TopTechNews.
February 2nd, 2010
Facebook and Twitter users are under attack by cybercriminals — and the incidents are rising, Sophos says in its its 2010 Security Threat Report released Monday. In the past 12 months, Sophos says, cybercriminals have focused more attacks on social-network users. Spam and malware are leading the charge.
Fifty-seven percent of users surveyed reported getting spammed via social-networking sites — an increase of 70.6 percent from 2008. And 36 percent say they have been sent malware via social-networking sites, a 69.8 percent increase.
“Computer users are spending more time on social networks, sharing sensitive and valuable personal information, and hackers have sniffed out where the money is to be made,” said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant for Sophos. “The dramatic rise in attacks in the last year tells us that social networks and their millions of users have to do more to protect themselves from organized cybercrime or risk falling prey to identity-theft schemes, scams and malware attacks.”
Read the rest of my story on CIO Today.
February 2nd, 2010
Google on Thursday launched a click-to-call feature for its mobile advertisements. The new function works with the iPhone, Android-based devices, and other smartphones. The AdWords function lets consumers call a vendor by clicking on a link that displays the phone number rather than clicking through to a web site and searching for the number.
“Sometimes when you’re searching for a local business on your mobile device, you’re not looking for their web site, but rather to connect by phone,” said Surojit Chatterjee, product manager for Google’s mobile-ads team. “After searching for a restaurant, you might want to call and make a reservation. Or after searching for a video store, you might want to find out if they have the video you want.”
Read the rest of my story on Yahoo News.
February 2nd, 2010
