Monthly Archives: August 2010

Google Voice gets an upgrade!

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Google-Voice-2561

I’m sure many of you are already using Google Voice for your desktop. If you’re not, simply put — it lets users make and receive calls via their Gmail interface.

Well, hold the phones! (all pun intended)…this week Google Voice is being integrated right into the browser via Gmail! And lemme tell ya, the quality is really impressive (certainly comparable to Skype if not better).

Google Voice Demo

All you have to do, is download the Google Talk plugin for your browser and you’ll be able to make calls to any U.S. or Canadian phone number, directly from Gmail! (you can also use it internationally for a super low per minute charge)

I can’t tell you how beneficial I’ve seen this tool be for friends and associates that have issues like weird cell reception and the like.  Most importantly though…it’s FREE!!

Check out the video above for more information about how to use this great tool.

Have a great weekend everyone!

All the best,

jay_signature_email

Jay Kubassek

Security 101

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Internet security is currently as hot, if not THE hottest topic in technology today. Between the Wikileaks fiasco, congressional hearings with Facebook, and everything in between, web security is tip of the tongue in the tech community (and poised to emerge as the next big thing in service-oriented web commerce in my opinion, just watch.)

Cyber-crime is something that ignores age, gender, geography and any other distinguishing factor of the web user. Security situations like: identity theft, email hacking and the like, usually occur as a result of the individual’s habits, and an unawareness of risk.

As entrepreneurs, we are lucky enough to be free from the feudal-like “ball and chain” of cubicles and office hours. We’re free to work wherever we like, whenever we like.  And now, with the increased availability of high speed Wi-fi everywhere (kudos to you Starbucks) it’s now easier than ever to set up shop for the day just about anywhere.

AVG, who provides free Anti-virus software (similar to Norton), has an incredible research team that looks into fascinating geographic patterns of cyber-crime, as well as providing tips and tools to help keep your personal web security ahead of the curve…Or at least in step with it!

Here’s a couple of quick tips to keep yourself protected:

1. Remove sensitive data if possible and back it up before you leave for travel.
2. When using another computer make sure you disengage the option to “remember your passwords” or to “keep me logged in”
3. Be sure to NEVER store any passwords or login details when using public machines. Never.
4. Clear the cookies after being connected to a public network. And a general rule, once a week.
5. If you’re not using a Mac (which you should :) be sure to keep your anti-virus (Norton, AVG et. al) software up to date. Also PC check the Windows Update site for critical updates. (IMPORTANT)
6. If you are using a DSL or cable internet connection, be sure and install a firewall. ZoneAlarm is good – and free!

All the best,

jay_signature_email

Jay Kubassek

Small Victories…

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Ambition:

Screen shot 2010-08-20 at 3.15.22 PMAmbition. An entrepreneur’s best friend, and often, fiercest enemy.

Ambition fuels our passions. Ambition is the source of sleepless nights, and joyous celebrations. It blinds us at times — lights our path during others.

It’s the end of the week, and one cannot help but take inventory of what has been accomplished. Did I get the garage organized? Did I update my Twitter page? Did I follow up with the leads I was supposed to? Did I run 10 miles?

We live in a world where the pace of our lives seems to increase everyday. There is always more to do, and seemingly less time to do it in. It can feel at times like we are stuck on a treadmill, chasing after that dangling carrot. A nibble here, a nibble there. But…always just a touch out of reach.

Well my friends, trust me, you are not alone! Every entrepreneur, regardless of their success, deals with this everyday. But the key is, at least as I’ve found in my progression a entrepreneur, is to cherish the process. Cherish the small victories. The steps FORWARD.

One of the oldest, and most cliche sayings in the world is: “ROME wasn’t built in a day.” It’s one of the oldest because…well because it’s TRUE!!!

Peaks and Valleys are natural aspects in the life of an entrepreneur. But those who flourish are not those who become discouraged by what has been left undone, but instead, those who celebrate the small victories of what HAS BEEN DONE. The progression, the journey.

“It doesn’t matter if you try and try and try again, and fail. It does matter if you try and fail, and fail to try again”- Charles Kettering

Have a great weekend everyone. Oh yeah…and celebrate a little. You DESERVE IT.

All my best,

jay_signature_email

The Bootstrapped Entrepreneur

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So…you’re driving down the highway on the way from….wherever, and it hits you!

Boooom! Booyah! Kerplow!

The Golden moment! Divine inspiration! THIS is the idea you’ve been waiting for! It’s absolute genius! No one else (at least as far as you know) is doing this exact same thing.

NO ONE!! Muhaaa haaaa!!! “Honey were goin shoppin! I’ve got a million dollar idea!”

Well that idea very well may be worth a million dollars, but for all would-be entrepreneurs, it often feels like you NEED a million dollars to MAKE a million dollars. With the economy still in recovery, the impetus to pioneer on your own, stake your own claim, and launch a business can be a frightening prospect, and seemingly insurmountably expensive.

I will be the first to say that is ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. Successful businesses are started everyday with nothing more than passion and an idea. A great article today in the Wall St. Journal profiled three entrepreneurs who started their businesses with less than a couple hundred bucks!

Click here for the full article.


“The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings” – David Weinbaum

All the best,

jay_signature_email

Jay Kubassek

Entrepreneur State of Mind…The New Dork

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First of all…my goodness this song is hilarious! (I’m a straight sucker for spoofs of any kind to be honest) But…what’s truly amazing is just how TRUE it all is!

It hit me that the song is sort of less an Anthem, and more the celebration of a Blueprint, right? A Blueprint that is being perpetually redefined and transformed by everything from new modes of access and funding, to better models of launch execution and revenue sharing.

New intersections of creativity and commerce are revealed daily. Ideas are created, supported, funded and realized. What will you do with the intersections of YOUR creativity?

By the way, the last line was definitely my favorite:

“….This goes out to all my people starting businesses, DOING WHAT YOU LOVE!!!”

All the best,

jay_signature_email

Jay Kubassek