Going Beyond

Sometimes we need to try new things and go beyond what has worked for us in the past. Of course we are recommending calculated risks rather than blind leaps of faith. For instance, if Facebook and Google ads are no longer giving you the desired results or those approaches have never produced desired results...perhaps it would be a great idea to try Groupon, Living Social or Four Square.
First do your homework: ask around to see who has had any experience with any of these services. Do not stop there, go online and gather as much useful information as you can. See if a site like Lifehacker has a how-to guide. Once you know how everything works and what are the potential risks then start as small as you can. As your confidence grows and if you see desirable results take things to the next level or try a new strategy.

The Fine Print

How to get an iPhone 4S for free:

1. Refer any person or company to us and you immediately qualify for a free iPhone 4S.
2. You will receive an Apple gift card for the full value (including taxes) of a 16GB, 32GB or 64GB iPhone 4S bought with a 2 year agreement with any of the carriers. Model paid for will depend on the project you refer to us. Delivery of the gift card will take place immediately after the contract with the referred party is signed.
3. We give the iPhone, you are responsible for all monthly charges and regular fees.

Exclusions:
* Special offers such as the $500 logo & business card are not eligible for the iPhone 4S promotion

$500 Logo & Business Card Design Promo

This is what we offer:
• Two design concepts and three rounds of revision at no extra cost.
• 1000 high quality printed business cards delivered within ten business days after design completion.

We would not be who we are without you.

Proud to be part of the growing group of the crazy ones.

HP = Yawn + Fail

It's still too early to know whats going to happen with WebOS, however, what we have heard does not give us any reassurance of its survival or success. This is sad because after iOS, WebOS is probably the best crafted mobile OS.
Unfortunately, Palm and HP seem to have paired a great OS with even greater potential to be a contender with hardware that both times left a lot to be desired.

All that WebOS could be...

We wish Amazon bought it and turn it into a winner. There you have it, that's what we really wish. This might never come to pass. However, this is what we think HP, if it were to keep WebOS under its roof could do:

Be the alternative OS

Capitalize on the fear Android's licensees must be feeling. Offer all interested OEMs an irresistible deal. Make the current version free for a year.Not just undercut Windows Phone 7 pricing, but offer the best of all worlds. Allow potential licensees the ability to sell services (default search, mail, etc) to the highest bidder. Allow certified and install-at-your-own-risk apps. Invest in the continuos development of the platform.

Beyond mobile

Turn WebOS into an all-in-one OS (phone, tablet and desktop) and other dreams...but who are we kidding? HP will never do be able to pull it off because it lacks vision and the drive to be the great company it once was.

How to Tackle Google

Those who compete with Google are unlikely to succeed until they emulate what Google has done, not against money losing products, but rather take the fight to Google's main (or sole) profit source: search.

There are several examples to follow Firefox vs EI, Wikipedia vs all encyclopedias

First, let's see how Google operates. The Mountain View company has a core business: advertising. The only business that makes money therefore is ad-supported search. Google uses money from its cash cow to give away over forty different products. It is worth pointing out that the undisputed search leader functions like a utility/monopoly and as such has it has abysmal customer service and invests as little as it can on search due to its lack of competition.
If FaceBook got into the search business Google would put a lot more money in search R&D. Luckily for the Mountain View giant this is not the case.

While Apple, Microsoft and others fight Google on different fronts what we suggest is to take a page from Google's playbook and create an ad-free search engine modeled after Mozilla and Webkit. Yes, make search not just open, but also free of ads, free of the need of tracking users' every online move.

Surviving without ads or selling users to advertisers...

First, Apple could simply do what it did with Webkit, buy a promising search startup turn it into a nonprofit organization like Mozilla and provide it with enough funds to strive for five years. Then, users could make donations as they currently do for Wikipedia. In other words, Users could become members and pay an annual fee and not have to deal with ads and privacy issues.

This organization could fulfill the promise that Diaspora was supposed to in the social networking realm.

Apple could give it a huge boost by making it the default iOS/ OS X search engine. OEMs could participate in a profit sharing program which would be better than accepting a lump sum from Microsoft or Google. All the profit would be invested on improving search. The two goals would be: to be the best search engine on earth and to protect its users' privacy by not storing or tracking any information.