Last Friday, the New York Times published an article covering new services being provided by Amazon’s Web Services. Amazon will begin granting small business access to their massive distribution centers around the country. Having become the masters in online order fulfillment, Amazon has decided to begin providing components of their existing infrastructure for a small fee. This is an addition to their existing system that was already enabling start up web ventures to reduce the growing pains that typical internet start-ups experience. When I met the Chief Technology Officer of Amazon at the Future of Web Apps conference earlier this year in London, he was heavily promoting the S3 services.

For those that are unaware of S3 or don’t understand the efficiencies gained by using the service, let me tell you, it can be a lifesaver. For example, start-ups that are fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to experience the Techcrunch or Digg effects (getting a massive onslaught of traffic from being posted on Techcrunch or having a popular Digg article) can also have their sites crashed from the sheer volume of visitors. As your site gains popularity, you can experience significant scaling issues (as Twitter is currently experiencing). Thanks to Amazon, many of those issues can be temporarily avoided by taking advantage of the S3 services.

Now, thanks to the new services that Amazon plans on providing, even the non-tech saavy individual can benefit from Amazon’s economies of scale. Although there are gains though, there is still a downside. As the article highlights:

Sellers are effectively paying to ship their goods twice. But the program is aimed at small online retailers who have filled up the space in their basements and attics but want to avoid buying and managing their own warehouses.

One has to wonder though if this is a good sign that Amazon has begun granting access to small businesses. Amazon is under the pressure of stockholders to produce consistent revenue growth, but as that begins to slow (although that wasn’t the case last quarter) Amazon has been forced to look in new places for revenue. Their target market? Small businesses. I wonder if this is a single occurence, or if it is a trend that will become more common as technology companies try to find new sources of revenue.

Jason Calacanis has posted an article about how to linkbait him. This is my interpretation:

1. Let everyone know that I am great by telling them my exceptional bio
2. Follow up my bio with words such as “The King”, “Almighty”, or “The Blogging Jesus”
3. Once you are done giving me all the praise that I deserve along with a picture of you worshiping me, I request that you display a history of posts that you enjoyed. I assume that you have read all of my posts on my blog, right?
4. Go TP the houses of anyone that has ever talked crap about me. Also put them on your blacklist, and never read their blogs. Additionally, post a list on your blog naming each of them individually under the sub-heading “Devil Worshippers”
5. Since you already have my best quotes ever engraved in plaques all over your bedroom, pick a few of them and add those to your post. Nothing makes me feel better than hearing my own gospel.
6. Post a picture of me that makes me look beautiful. I know that I’m beautiful as it is, but let’s be honest, we all have a few bad pictures of ourselves. Since you already have beautiful pictures of me hanging on your shrine, why not take out your digital camera, snap a shot of one of them and add it to the post. I like seeing my beautiful face.
7. Talk about the days when we hung out (even if we didn’t). I like to know that I have tons of real friends that I’ve built true relationships with, just like you ….. RIGHT???
8. If you are going to flame me … you better do it politely. Try something such as “I believe that Mr. Calacanis was wrong when he said … but I still think he is the most incredible person in the world anyways. Wow! I can’t believe I’m saying this but I am in love with Jason Calacanis.” Something along those lines.
9. Since you are already stalking me … why not link to the various locations that you are stalking me from. I have a flickr, digg, and del.icio.us account that all need some link love. I have a picture of this concrete that I think is exceptionally artistic. I call it “The One Tone Masterpiece”. Try linking to that or something. Damn, I’m a genius.
10. Finally, send me a gift on my birthday. Actually, while you are at it, send me a gift every other weekend. Sometimes I have a really hard week and I really appreciate your support.
11. Did I say finally? Whatever. You should also fly out to visit me at some point during the next 6 months and worship the ground that I’m standing on. Not just at that moment, but for a full 8-hour work day.

If you follow the simple steps outlined above, I’ll post a link on my blog for you.

One after the other the big tech companies have come out with record breaking profits. Apple, Google, Amazon, and now Microsoft have smashed earnings sending stocks soaring. Apple for the first time broke the $100 per share threshold and Amazon’s stock has gone up a whopping 40% since Tuesday. Microsoft is already up 5% today which isn’t bad for a stock that has been dwindling since the beginning of the year. All of this growth in the tech industry makes me wonder how long this can go on for. The other lesson learned from all of this is that it is acceptable for tech companies (primarily Google and Microsoft) to release products that aren’t complete. Google has left Gmail in beta since its inception and Microsoft released an operating system that had significant flaws. Yet still both companies continue to experience rapid growth, not bad.

Many have predicted that the current tech boom that we’re experiencing is going to come to a halt once Google misses or meets estimates. I’m not quite sure that I fully agree with that given that Google, Microsoft, and even Apple are all sitting on fairly hefty sums of cash. Either way, now is a great time to be in the tech industry.

I was fortunate enough to grab a preview copy of Seth Godin’s new book “The Dip” thanks to Allison Sweet and Will Weisser at Penguin Books. The book discusses how quitting is something that successful people know when to do. Ultimately, the book is filled with a few motivational anecdotes rather than scientific research, but it makes for a good quick read. So what is “The Dip”?

The Dip is that low moment after you begin trying to reach a goal when it seems like nothing is moving forward. It is the primary hurdle that you need to get over in order to reach success. Getting through the dip is what separates the exceptional from the mediocre. Seth Godin suggests that the only way to get across the dip is by picking the right goals and then obsessing or hyper-focusing on the task at hand. Successful people also know how to pick the right things to focus on and what not to focus on or quit at. Seth suggests that most people are stuck in a rut (the Dip) and don’t know when to quit. He continues on to use a lot of analogies ultimately explaining the same thing. If you want to succeed then pick the right goal and persevere. Don’t diversify across a variety of goals. Rather, pick one and focus. Those that stick with it experience exceptional success, while others meander in mediocrity. If you want a book to fill a couple of hours of your time, then check out “The Dip”.

According to a report released yesterday by ScanSafe, 80 percent of blogs contain “offensive” content. While this is a fairly subjective analysis, it does paint an image of blogs having much less journalistic integrity for the most part. I’m not quite sure that this really is a revelation, and additionally who care about cursing on blogs? While there are plenty of blogs that overuse curse words, a strategically placed F-bomb might be exactly what’s needed sometimes. It creates controversy for the reader and unless your readers are made up of a bunch of elementary school kids it probably isn’t a word that has gone unheard by your readers. So keep your cursing to a minimum, but once in a while feel free to let loose. We all do sometimes.

Over the course of the past year and a half I have attempted to refine my skills at networking, a skill which is not inherited by all. During this time I have learned many lessons about effective networking. The start of this began with reading “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferazzi. This book highlights all of the key attributes of a successful connector. Connectors are not the overly aggressive guy that you meet at an event who is running around handing out his (or her) business card to everyone and their mother. Connectors are the people that actually create meaningful relationships with others. A few successful traits that I’ve learned recently are listed below. While this is not a comprehensive list, it does cover many of the important aspects.

1. Start blogging - Blogging has magnified my reach in ways unimagined. By letting people know about your blog, you enable yourself to spend more time listening to what others have to say when meeting them while stilling maintaining your voice. When you follow-up with people include a link to your blog to increase the likelihood that the individual will check it out. Your blog helps to illustrate that you are an expert in your field. If you want to magnify your reach significantly, then I highly suggest creating a blog. There is nothing else like it. Through responding to people that comment on your blog, overtime you can build new relationships with people that share similar interests.
2. Get involved - You have to be a participant in your community if you plan on meeting other people. By attending networking events, fundraisers, volunteer events, etc, you are increasing your visibility and increasing the likelihood of meeting other interesting people. Make sure that the majority of events you attend, you actually have an interest in. If you are interested in the event, then most likely you will find people that you are interested in as well. Once you’ve become active try out hosting an event. It provides great experience in understanding the amount of effort that it takes to organize an event as well as a great opportunity to connect with more people.
3. Finding the “on-switch” - When you walk into a room, you need to have a presence. This presence can be effectively turned on and turned off. Presence is created a number of ways, but primarily by standing straight and looking around the room when you walk in. Additional characteristics include smiling and having a positive charisma. The are all things that can be learned, but none of these things can be falsified easily. Through practice, you will eventually find your “on-switch”.
4. How can I help you, not how can you help me - Connecting is about helping other people. The second that you start trying to figure out how they can help you is the moment that you have stopped genuinely connecting. Connecting is about actually building relationships. This comes through being a good friend to others. Friends are there for support and encouragement, not for manipulation.
5. Set goals - This is a habit that I often overlook. When you connect with people, there should be a reason. While spending time meeting people for the fun of it can be a good lesson in personal communication skills, you should set goals for people that you are trying to meet.
6. Follow-up - This is one of the most important habits of successful connectors. If you don’t follow-up then it’s as if you never met the person. Always follow-up, and follow-up soon after you meet the person.
7. Be genuinely interested in others - Genuine interest cannot be falsified. Wanting to connect with others is ultimately being a good friend. Real relationships are formed through connecting. When you attend events, look to build a few genuine relationships rather than a bunch of false ones. Don’t be that guy (or girl) running around the event, furiously passing out business cards. That person is not interested in others as much as they are in them self. If you don’t want to build strong bonds with new people, then do not aspire to becoming a great connector.

Today we are announcing the details for the first ever Tech Cocktail DC. The event was founded in Chicago by Eric Olson and Frank Gruber. Both Frank and myself will be hosting the event at MCCXXIII, located at 1223 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC. The event will take place Thursday, May 17, 2007 from 6:30 to 9:00 PM. The event is going to be limited so you need to sign up soon if you plan on attending. The event is free to attend and there will be free beverages as well so you must be 21. If you are interested in coming to meet local DC tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and fellow business professionals interested in technology then go sign up at http://techcocktaildc1.eventbrite.com. The event will be limited to the number of attendees so registration is on a first come first serve basis. If you want to read more about the event you can view it on the Tech Cocktail website. Past Tech Cocktail events in the founding city (Chicago) filled up rapidly so hurry up and signup! I hope to see you there!

When I was 19 I started a business called Musical Revolution. The aim was to sell independent music online, similar to what CDBaby has succeeded with. Long story short, the business changed paths (resulting in Frusic) and the website ceased to exist. While I shouldn’t have let the domain expire, I always enjoyed having access to the history of my site via the Wayback Machine. Now someone had the great idea to purchase my domain as a business opportunity, most likely hoping that I would want to buy my domain name back. If you go check out the site as it exists today, you can see the lovely landing page. Also, the company that snatched up the domain had the great idea to add a robots.txt file that effectively prevents the Wayback Machine from archiving the site. While business-wise it was a smart move on their part, it’s definitely annoying. I want my history back!

Cause and effect? Probably. WebMD hasn’t made any significant changes in years, and then comes along Revolution Health who launched their beta over 3 months ago and has made a significant number of changes in the meantime. Most notable for Revolution Health’s website is their combination of social media and valuable health information. Revolution Health is also a leader in the development world when it comes to Ruby on Rails. If you take a look at some of the videos featured on their blog, there are some pretty slick features that have been added. Drag and drop capabilities have been added for placing custom modules on the homepage as well as your own custom health pages. Revolution is positioned to go head on with WebMD, and at the current rate they will surely end up the victor unless WebMD rapidly adopts a new strategy. While it is an exciting time for the health care industry on the web, The New York Times highlights that it will take years for Revolution to become the dominant brand in the industry.

Joshua Porter has posted about how the blog is your resume (in reference to Adam Darowski’s post). This is completely true. While I don’t have my personal resume posted here, I do have ongoing work that illustrates my knowledge of the web industry. In his book “Never Eat Alone, ” Keith Ferrazzi discusses using a newsletter as a way of keeping people up to date on what’s going on in your life as well as offer free valuable information that may help them in any way. Writing a newsletter is still useful, but blogs can be even more effective for promotional purposes. Your blog helps forge relationships whereas newsletters, emails, and phone calls help maintain relationships. How can you use your blog to promote yourself more effectively? Well, here are 5 things that I think will help you:

1. Have a clean & unique design - Frequently, resumes and blogs are a dime a dozen. People you standard formatting that doesn’t really stand out from the cloud. Conversely, just like with resumes, if you make your blog too abstract, it typically won’t benefit you (unless of course you are an abstract artist).
2. Have a targeted about page - If you are looking to gain something from your blog (a job perhaps?), you want to tell your visitors what you are looking for. Whatever your occupation or passion may be, state it on your about page. This page is where you are marketing yourself to the world, so speak out and be clear about what you want.
3. Write about issues related to your industry - If you work for an organization supporting immigrant rights, and that is your passion, it probably isn’t best to talk about new technology. By discussing your industry, you are making yourself an expert and thus people will see you as one. Talk about issues related to your industry and you will eventually become an expert.
4. Provide valuable resources to your readers - This is more about sticking to your topic. When you provide links via your blog roll or del.icio.us links, it is always best that the links you provide are relevant to the topic you are discussing. Providing contrasting topics doesn’t benefit your reader.
5. Keep it professional - This is huge. If you are looking to get work from your blog, then you better keep it professional. I see many people that talk about relevant issues and then toss in something about the various extracurricular activities that they are participating in (parting, drinking, etc.). Unless your blog is specifically about your crazy personal experiences, I’d suggest keeping away from personal issues. In marketing (both personal and commercial) image is everything.

When you go out and meet people at professional events, make sure that your blog is on your business card and tell people to check it out. They will then see that you truly are knowledgeable in your field. Also, remember to post frequently. Blogging is just like working out. If you don’t do it on a regular basis, chances are you aren’t going to do it at all. Also, you won’t receive a lot of offers if you aren’t posting frequently. Blogging is a habit that pays off, but you have to be persistent.

Last night I had the opportunity to attend my first Washington, D.C. Blogger Meetup. It was a great experience and I met a lot of passionate D.C. bloggers. One of the more interesting bloggers that I had the chance to speak with was Abi Jones of HeatEatReview.com. Abi and her writers post reviews of frozen dinners. It’s a pretty quirky topic to be covering. I also had the opportunity to speak with Ross Karchner who covers D.C. technology and media news and events. If you want a quick way to meet a few people that share some common interests, then I highly recommend checking out some of your local meetups. There are a variety of options covering a vast array of topics with everything from spiritual topics to people passionate about blogging. Check it out!

Over the past few days I’ve been thinking about Rohit Bhargava’s “5 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO)”. While it was published last August, it still can be utilized today and will continue to have an impact into the future. My conclusion from the post? Social Media Optimization means being a good community participant. By producing valuable content that others can easily consume and promote you will become better optimized. The most important step in SMO is to help promote others and participate in the conversation. This can be done by linking to sources in your articles as well as commenting on interesting posts on other people’s blogs. It is as simple as that.

The same rules exist outside of the digital world. When you tell a joke that your friend told you, you should probably state where you obtained the joke from. A better example would be spreading rumors. You always need to say where you obtained your information. Well in the blogosphere the same thing goes. Pay respect to those that inform you and drop a link. Continue to be a part of the community on an ongoing basis. By participating in conversation on other people’s blogs, you show that you care about what they write as well as show that you have something useful to add to the conversation. Later, when people are looking for interesting dialogue, they will come visit your site.