By: Co-Editor, RB:

“I’ve never let my school interfere with my education.” Was once very rightly said by Mr. Mark Twain. There is a huge difference between education and quality education. Schools educate you, but experience polishes it with quality.

We have previously covered another education website out of India called NalandaU.com.
Now comes another called iWillStudy.com. Launched on February 5, 2010 out of Mumbai, iWillStudy.com promotes “Quality Education” in various engineering colleges in India. IWillStudy.com conducts seminars and workshops in various colleges, and thereby connects students with corporate veterans who share their experiences and knowledge-base.

Their business orientation is towards bridging the gap between the ‘engineers’ and the ’smart engineers’. And for this particular task, they believe, they have an authentic speakers composition that includes- three IIT alumni and industry people, and some other master engineers of their respective fields, some having worked with Google and Yahoo.
Read More >>

By: Co-Editor, RB:

While many bloggers toil in anonymity, hoping to gain traction and maybe some Google ad money, I found an online magazine that is more aggressive in its marketplace approach.

Smidge Magazine, which was started August 1st, 2009, and based in Ohio, is dedicated in bringing the reader, a fun and enjoyable reading experience.

They provide subscriptions that start monthly at $1.99. Their content changes on a monthly basis and they cover topics from family issues to a 365-day movie blog. The site also has forums and music integrated though the site.

Holly Sodeman runs the magazine and her goal is to presenting a user friendly, helpful monthly online magazine.

The magazine touches on the following topics; Children (the magazine touches upon “the good, the bad and the ugly” of raising children); Education (the magazine will focus on how to enhance our student’s minds and succeed in things that they do and helping students get the right education and getting through the school years and beyond. It will also focus on adults going back to college and the affordability of college in this financial crisis); Environment (How we can enhance this planet we live on); Family Issues (the inner workings and dynamic of family, step parenting, in-laws, mothers and fathers); Finances (we will talk about getting into a 401k, investing, trying to survive in the slump economy); Pets (fun loving dogs, cats, fish and other animals, finding the right pet, living with them); Home Maintenance (gardening, painting, getting a home and more); Fertility Issues (what to do when it happens, what to do if a miracle happens, and all the attendant emotions); Marriage (the ups and downs of marriage, divorce, weddings etc.); the Movie Blog (must be a member) reviewing a movie a day for the next 365 days; Recipes; Single Life (parenting, dating tips, single parent dating tips and much more, when to let the bum go or know when you have a keeper); Work (Starting up businesses, working from the lowliest job to the highest, the dynamics of the work environment with other employees and bosses. How to stay sane in an insane environment) Health (Depression, postpartum depression, mental health, stress and dealing with stress, making a better you, the dreaded exercise, eating healthier, feeding children healthier and family and tips on how to when you are busy busy.)
Read More >>

By: Co-Editor, RB:

We have covered several sites that are engaged in so-called “crowdsourcing”.

Crowdsourcing is a word that describes the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group of people or community, through an “open call” to a large group of people (a crowd) asking for contributions.
The term has become popular with businesses, authors, and journalists as shorthand for the trend of leveraging the mass collaboration enabled by Web 2.0 technologies to achieve business goals.

For example, a startup we featured in February called 99designs.com is the largest marketplace for crowdsourced graphic design.

Now comes a company that can be described as “consumer crowdsourcing” or “crowdbuying”.
Read More >>

By Co-Editor, RB:

There are over 150,000 apps now available from the App Store at Apple.com. Many of the apps are buggy or just plain dumb. However I have found one that is phone and works very well.

It was created by a resident of Hawaii and can be reviewed at iFaceLaugh.com

iFacelaugh.com specializes in the conception of unique and compelling iPhone applications and is the brainchild of John Blossom who resides in Hawaii. John is always ready to exchange facelaughs or play a round of Laugh-a-Laugh at iFacelaugh@com. His goal is to unite the world through laughter.

They way it works is that Imbeds recorded laughs – or other sounds – into photos that go off when touched. You can create, collect and send “facelaughs” to family and friends. It can be a very uplifting experience as you touch the faces of loved ones and hear their laughs or words whenever you need to.

You can play all facelaughs at once (like a crowd of your favorite people) or in any combination you choose just by touching thumbnails.

The best part in my opinion is the bonus of a great laugh imitation game called Laugh-a-Laugh that allows you to compete with others in the room or on-line. It is fun and challenging.
Read More >>

By: Co-Editor, Bobby B:

Want to find a dance partner near you? Want to find a workout partner near you? Want to find a tennis partner?

A new website called CribSocial.com can help you. This Bay Area startup, which was launched in November of 2009, provides a platform where people with similar interests can connect and socialize offline through activities in their neighborhood.

While many social websites such as Facebook and MySpace are mostly viewed as indoor activities that are enjoyed alone in your house or apartment, CribSocial.com encourages offline interaction, indeed that is the entire point of the site.

It’s free service which allows people to create and participate in social activities in many different categories such as dancing, hanging out, sports, education etc. People can look for a dance partner, hiking groups or simply someone interesting to hang out with. Besides the individual activities users can also create social groups that meet regularly as well as one time special events such as a sports event or music concerts.
Read More >>

By: Co-Editor, Bobby B:

I have some entrepreneurs named Daniel and Alicia Adams whose leap of faith into the United States economy is extremely interesting.

In 2006 Daniel and Alicia Adams, former business professionals based in Germany, saw this country not for the decaying economy, but for the prospect of starting the north eastern United States largest Suri alpaca farm.

Alpaca farming is not a get-rich quick business, but the Adams’ have created a two-fold business. Daniel turns a serious profit by careful breeding and selling of the Accoyo bloodlines while Alicia started a blossoming manufacturing business selling women’s apparel, baby clothes, and homegoods using the luxurious, super-fine fibers collected from their own alpaca herd. Although their entrepreneurship presents its challenges and struggles every day, it has continued to increase revenues without any major setbacks.

Besides breeding for excellence in conformation, fleece and character, one of our main goals is to preserve the pure Accoyo bloodlines in the United States, and also to introduce them into our colored breeding program to further enhance the fiber quality of the company’s colored herd.
Read More >>

By:  Co-Editor, RS:

As the decade came to a close, I took a small amount of time to reflect on another year of my life and how the business world has changed. For one reason or another, I started to think about various businesses that used to be in my neck of the woods on Long Island, New York.

One of the things I  started to realize is that despite all of the advances in technology its impact on business over the last 10-15 years,  the overall effect  has not been good for the entrepreneur or the small business owner.

Can you imagine if you wanted to open a hardware store in the suburbs of any large or small city? Good luck. You will never be able to compete with the likes of The Home Depot. How about opening an office supply business? Once again, good luck, as Staples or Office Depot buys in such bulk that one cannot possibly compete on  pricing or  national advertising.

My recollection of the beginnings of this trend of  “Big Business”  domination ruining it for entrepreneurs, started in the mid to late 1980’s. It seemed that on every corner of the universe you were able to find a neighborhood video store. Then in the late 1980’s after Wayne Huizenga acquired the Blockbuster name, we started to see these mega-video stores all over the place. There were times you could find numerous Blockbuster stores within a few miles of each other. This phenomenon  crushed the small mom and pop video retailer as everyone enjoyed the variety that Blockbuster could offer the consumer due to its ability to carry more inventory.
Read More >>

By: Co-Editor, Bobby B:

Today, I will discuss a site that can be an extreme help to our readers and small businesses and startups everywhere. The site is called docstoc.com.

Docstoc.com is the premier online community and marketplace to find and share professional documents. Docstoc provides the platform to upload and share documents, and serves as a vast repository of free and for purchase legal, business, financial, technical, and educational documents that can be easily searched, previewed and downloaded.

Docstoc, Inc was founded by Jason Nazar and Alon Shwartz. Its product was subsequently launched to the public in November 2007. It is backed by the venture capital firm Rustic Canyon. They founders also received funding from the co-founders/investors in MySpace, LowerMyBills.com, Mp3.com, PriceGrabber and Baidu. The company is located in Santa Monica, California.

Docstoc also provides technology through various APIs and Widgets to help facilitate the sharing and promotion of documents across the web. The site has popularized the use of embedding documents throughout the blogosphere and mainstream media.
Read More >>

By: Co-Editor, Bobby B:

As my readers know, this space does not focus solely (or even primarily) on gadgets or the latest technology craze. We focus on startups and issues affecting startups and small business. However, I was recently tipped of to the latest offering from Skullcandy.com. The company that recently launched new earbuds, and based on the fervor in which people espouse the “coolness” of Skullcandy’s other products, this interested me.

As an iPhone user and a user of many things Apple, I am consistently intrigued with how other users defend and protect their mode of headphone (be it earpuds, noise cancellers, etc.). Moreover, the type of headphone (or earbud) one uses can apparently say something about one’s style. Skullcandy has been wildly successful reaching that market.

Skullcandy is a privately held company based in Park City, Utah. Skullcandy designs headphones, mp3 player watches, audio accessories and other audio-enabled lifestyle products, such as backpacks with built-in speakers and iPod controls. Skullcandy also collaborates with select brands to integrate its audio technology into products from snow helmets to outerwear, apparel, packs and bags. Skullcandy gear is sold worldwide through top retailers, specialty outlets.
Read More >>

By: Co-Editor, Bobby B:

Professionals and students alike can now leave the laptop behind and share files securely thanks to Sayabit.com. The service is a free links-based file storage web service, which shortens and redirects long URLs while providing web and click analytics.

Launching in beta in October of 2009, Sayabit.com also allows users to upload and share images, documents and videos securely for real-time conversion into trackable URLs.

Small businesses and individuals now have an affordable solution for secure virtual storage and it is in the “cloud”. Sayabit.com, pronounced “Say A Bit” also acts as a new and free virtual filing cabinet and personal organizer that gives users a new mode to manage and access files anytime, anywhere, whether it is a PC or mobile device.

Serial entrepreneur Ken Huang, also the co-founder of Webnotes Inc., is on a mission to offer solutions that enhance life beyond the screen and bring people back together in the real world.

Sayabit.com is powered by SayagleTM, a Cambridge, Massachusetts start-up, which is planning its beta launch of a first of kind location-based social networking marketplace later on in the first quarter of this year. Sayabit.com is a stand-alone product that integrates seamlessly with Sayagle to enhance its mission of giving people access to important information beyond the screen.
Read More >>