I received a mail from Google a couple of days back on their Privacy Policy, because I use a lot of services offered by Google. I am sure you too would have received one such email with the subject reading, “Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service” because you too would be using some or, the other service from Google.

Google has become a part of every internet users daily life, given the range of services they offer.

So what does this change in privacy policy and terms of service mean for me and you?

The email  looked very impressive, more so the beginning which said that they are now consolidating all the policies across all the various services they offer so that there is only a single policy.

But that is not where the story ends. There is a lot more to it. What was there in the overview sent as part of the email and available at their website was only the good things. There were a few other things as well that were of more importance to me and you.

Impact of Google’s Privacy Policy Change

A change in privacy policy is certain to impact the user. If there is one thing that is negative about the internet it is about the privacy intrusion. Since you share a lot of information on the internet while you surf,your privacy is always at risk.

Though all websites follow stringent measures to keep your information private, there can still be loopholes.

Things that you should note regarding the change in Google’s privacy policy are -

• Google will now use the information that you provide while using their services both explicit and implicit, for the purposes of understanding your tastes and choices and provide better services to you in the future.
• In addition to the information that you explicitly provide them they will also collect information from your usage of their services. This includes device information, log information, location information etc.
• Google will keep these information across the many servers that they have around the globe.

Is this alarming?

Though it is not alarming, it still needs attention. Storing and using your personal information could mean that your information is readily available if somebody needs it. I trust Google to keep this secure, yet there is always that element of fear; what if it falls into the wrong hands.

It is hence that this change in privacy policy has a severe impact of the users.

Is there something you can do about it?

Probably not too much, if you cannot do without using Google.

Read the complete changes to the privacy policy here.

The managed services model is ideal for small to medium companies who do not have the capacity for in-house IT departments, who also wish to enjoy the high level of skill, experience and expertise that comes with an outsourced solution.

Primary Benefits of Managed IT Services

There are five primary benefits of managed IT services, which ensure a cost effective, integrated solution to meet any and every IT challenge within the company. These benefits include the following:

1. Cost effective – as most managed services plans have a fixed rate depending on the specific requirements within the company, there are no hidden prices or high call out fees to worry about. This makes it easy to budget for IT needs, while still enjoying a full range of services such as networking, server management, basic IT and any other requirements that your company may have.
2. Skilled technicians – compared to many in-house IT specialists, managed IT services technicians have a wide range of skills and received constant training to improve their skill sets. Rather than generic engineers who are able to perform most tasks at a basic or even intermediate level, managed IT companies employ specialists across a wide range of fields. This ensures that the right person will be able available for the job, which in turn improves systems and processes greatly.
3. Increase productivity – in companies that do not have a full IT department, the role of computer related tasks is usually left to the person who has a fair amount of computer skills. Often, this person performs IT tasks in addition to their designated tasks, which can result in a lack of productivity. Managed IT services ensure a greater level of productivity by handling all aspects of IT needs professionally on an outsourced basis, leaving the designated computer person to focus on their primary job roles.
4. Improved computer health – for computers to run at their optimal level, they need to be well maintained. This prevents small issues from becoming huge disasters. Regular tasks such as anti-virus protection, network management and server management aids to improve systems across the company, which in turn decreases downtime and helps to save money through expensive problem solving that comes when issues are not dealt with quickly.
5. Hardware and software needs – not only can your outsourced IT company procure software and hardware requirements that are needed for your company, but they can also get these at discounted rates. This ensures that all computer requirements are kept up to date, while also saving additional money.

In this way, managed IT services offers a full range of services that offer great benefit to companies of all sizes and natures, for more effective systems throughout the company.

Operating an online business can be a great way to bring in money and retain the freedom of working from home. Though your business might not occupy a corporate space and onboard hundreds of employees, it will still accrue expenses that are tax deductible.

An online business owner might rarely see his/her clientele in person, especially in the case of out-of-state customers, but allowances still apply.

It is extremely important that you keep a track of all these deductible expenses because you would not want to pay extra tax when you can claim an exemption for it and thus give away your hard earned money.

Deductible expenses for online business owners

Here are five deductible expenses that online business owners might overlook.

Computer Equipment

While it’s no surprise that you can deduct the cost of a computer for an online business, keep in mind that computer accessories are also part of the deal. Whether you need monitors and desktop systems or a laptop and a spare laptop battery, it all applies.

Remember to include expenses like the purchase of memory sticks, rewritable CDs, and even batteries for a mouse. Keeping track of myriad expenses in your online business can be time consuming but you’ll be glad you did when it’s time to fill out tax forms.

Email Service

While most of your business will likely be conducted through your website or online store, especially if you’re operating a crafting business through a site like Etsy, being able to stay in touch with customers is paramount.

Online businesses that use an Internet service like EarthLink will be able to deduct its cost when it comes to tax time. The IRS defines business expenses as “ordinary and necessary” and email certainly qualifies. The permissible expense might encourage online business owners to use “plus” versions of ordinarily-free email services, like Yahoo! Mail, as well.

Online business Shopping Cart Service

Online business owners can use any number of shopping cart services, including PayPal, Google Checkout, or Americart, for their businesses. These services will come in handy for persons who are operating a business on their own – that is, independently of a site with its own cart service.

Allowable deductions will also apply to the supplies used to mail out products, including padded envelopes and postage.

Internet Ad Service

Promoting your online business will obviously help bring in more clientele, so don’t forget to deduct the cost of a pay-per-click service like Google Adwords. The cost of advertising your online business in a print publication, like your city’s daily newspaper, is also applicable, as are ads that run in conference programs or on billboards.

Software

Though you may only turn to its services when you are offline, you can still deduct the cost of administrative supplies, like bookkeeping software. Using a program like Quicken can help keep expenses in order and make tax time easier by helping you prepare and export necessary information.

Business costs might start out inexpensive – a box of pens, for example – but they can quickly add up. While you probably won’t be furnishing your office with mahogany desks and silk curtains, your online business is not that different from any other company.

Your needs as an online business owner will be a bit different than others but you will still benefit from deducting the expenses that help you keep things running smoothly.

Did you hear about Google Buzz?

If not, then it is time to read about it. Just type “Google Buzz” at Google search and you will get a list of websites related to an about Google Buzz.

It is not a new phenomenon. But as always and whatever Google has been known for, they have changed the buzz word in the market. It was Twitter until sometime back, but it is Google Buzz now or, so it seems.

What is Google Buzz?

That statement above would have given you a jist of what, this new thing on the internet could be. This is a new service that Google has launched. It is similar to the micro-blogging service that Twitter has but with a huge and welcome difference. Buzz does not have a character or, word limit to its service. So if you had always felt that you were tied down by the limit that Twitter put up there, then Google Buzz is for you.

If you are still looking for a definition for Buzz, then this is what Google has to say -

Google Buzz is a new way to share updates, photos, videos and more, and start conversations about the things you find interesting.

You can see from the above definition that this new service gives you an option of sharing anything including photos and videos.

This service was launched about a couple of days back and it already has a good number of users according to Google and it is growing. Looking at the way Twitter has grown over the past year or, so, it is sure that Google Buzz too, will grow in popularity.

Google Buzz is available as an add-on on your Gmail account. So if you do not have a Gmail account, you can create one and enjoy this service straight out of your email. What’s more, it even gives you an option of using it straight from your iPhone.

Features in Buzz -

Though Google is writing about introducing a lot of features in the day to come, the initial features with Buzz itself is worth noting. I am absolutely amazed with the service. These are the features -

• Automatic friends lists – All friends who you have emailed in Gmail are added automatically. There is quite a bit of uproar about the privacy violations because of this feature, but I did not find it to be a problem, because you have an option of turning it off.
• “Rich fast sharing” combines sources like Picasa and Twitter into a single feed, and it includes full-sized photo browsing.
• Public and private sharing – You can swap between family and friends and decide if you want to keep a Buzz private or, public.
• Inbox integration (instead of emailing you with updates, like Facebook might, Buzz features emails that update dynamically with all Buzz thread content.
• “Recommended Buzz” puts friend-of-friend content into your stream, even if you’re not acquainted. Recommendations learn over time with your feedback.

Almost all of these features are welcome feature. Though it will take some time for us to get used to all of this and learn everything about Google Buzz, the present feeling is one of excitement.

You can check out the  below video to know more about Google Buzz. Join me at Buzz by following me.

• Automatic friends lists (friends are added automatically who you have emailed on Gmail)
• “Rich fast sharing” combines sources like Picasa and Twitter into a single feed, and it includes full-sized photo browsing.
• Public and private sharing (swap between family and friends).
• Inbox integration (instead of emailing you with updates, like Facebook might, Buzz features emails that update dynamically with all Buzz thread content, like the photo viewer we mentioned above).
• “Recommended Buzz” puts friend-of-friend content into your stream, even if you’re not acquainted. Recommendations learn over time with your feedback.

This is called SideWiki.

After the first 2 – 3 days of using it I feel that it is inspired by the latest phenomenon on the internet – Micro Blogging.

Twitter is today the hottest topic on the internet and it has redefined what Micro Blogging is. But with its extensive publicity and usage, Twitter has become more of a spamming tool than anything else. By this I do not mean that it has become a complete waste of time. Though most of the messages that you get at Twitter are more of spam, there are quite a few informative messages as well. There are also a lot of people and Organizations that are doing a lot of business through Twitter. (Check out Dell’s Sales Figures)

In the days to come, SideWiki is going to another such talking point.

What is SideWiki?

This is how Google explains everything about SideWiki -

Google Sidewiki is a browser sidebar that enables you to contribute and read helpful information alongside any web page. It is available as a feature in Google Toolbar.

You can read more about it here at Google help pages.

I was pretty excited with this new tool from Google. In a layman’s language, SideWiki is a tool that gives you an option of writing about any website that you are browsing, or, any specific content on the pages that you are browsing.

If you are wondering how this will help you, then let me tell you that I too was thinking on the same lines when I first saw this. After a bit of playing around with it, I could figure out a few very helpful things with this.

Voicing your opinion -

Quite often we come across websites that you feel like leaving a feedback on. But a lot of these websites do not give you an option of doing this. If this is a blog and the feedback or, comment that you want to post is negative, then be prepared to be moderated out by the blogger. In all such situations, you are frustrated at the fact that you cannot write that feedback or, comment and neither are you able to share it with your friends and other like-minded readers.

SideWiki now resolves this problem for you. Now you can write anything that you want about any website that you are reading or, for that matter any part of the content in the website.

Easy sharing of your comments -

A lot of times after I had commented on a blog or, a website, I have felt the need to post that same comment onto my Twitter account. I have always wanted to share the information with others. But there was no option for that. After I started using SideWiki, I got to see that this tool gave me and option of sharing the comment that I had written, with my Twitter friends, Facebook friends etc. It was a one click sharing and I loved it.

SideWiki was an interesting change for me. I loved the new tool from Google and am still researching more and more useful things with it.

You can check it out if you have installed the latest toolbar from Google.

Don’t forget to leave your comments about this new tool.

I have been following these blogs since the time I came into Internet Marketing and these blogs have been the source of knowledge, inspiration, motivation and everything for me. These blogs not just help you in your blogging but also in everything that you do in Internet Marketing.

The reason that these blogs have been on top for the past 2 years is, the quality of content they have been producing. Their count of RSS subscribers keep on increasing and I can see a trickle of traffic from the comments that I make on these blogs.

The major ones among these blogs are -

1. Shoemoney.com
2. Problogger.net
3. Copyblogger.com
4. Carlocab.com
5. Entrepreneurs-journey.com

All of these blogs have been excellent in the information that they have been providing and hence they are not in any order.

When there are so many successful blogs and you are following a few of them, you tend to make these bloggers your ideals. Then, how would it feel when a guest post of yours is accepted at one of these blogs.

It is a sense of achievement and content that you experience. It gives you a good feeling that you content is of good quality and is being accepted in such high-ranking blogs. It gives you the courage and motivation to keep going and keep posting to your blogs.

One of my guest post has been accepted at Carlocab.com and is published. This post was on “how to keep going and make the most of your unproductive days”. You can read that post here.

Photograph courtesy Steve Woods

Did this happen to any of you out there?

It was shocking to see that my website lost the pagerank that it had gained in the past 2 months, all of a sudden. I had worked quite hard to get the pagerank up there and suddenly when you see that you have lost it, it is quite heart-breaking.

It seems Google is busy working on some tweaks and tricks. A few days back we saw quite a few changes – that too, drastic ones, being applied to Adsense. In fact these changes helped my income from Adsense go up from about $3.00 per day to about $35.00 per day from one website.

When I am crying for my pagerank, I should also say that one of my other websites which is focussed on a particular niche suddenly gained 2 pageranks in the past week or, so. So if there is sorrow on one side, there is joy as well on the other.

Similar is the case with online businesses. Every sorrow that you face today will come with joy that is multiple folds tomorrow. All that is required is “Keep working – hard and harder”.

But don’t start working, hardly.

Be persistent and keep providing quality content to your readers and visitors and you can make a really good business online.

Photograph courtesy MrGoose.

Make money online tips are galore on the internet. But how many of them are actually true and in praticality help an internet marketer would probably return a negative response. My blog would not want to be one of those thousands out there suggesting things that never work. We would talk things that are practical in making money on the internet. We would, throughout the life of this blog, be discussing tips that would actually help you make money on the internet.