Erich Stauffer

Blog

  • Now More Instant Video Downloads from Amazon.com

    Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO of Amazon.com has posted a special message to customers on his website:

    “Dear Customers, In just the last few weeks, we’ve added hundreds of movies to Prime instant videos, including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Notting Hill, Billy Elliot, Being John Malkovich, and Elizabeth. Coming soon, we’ll be adding over 2,000 more movies and TV shows, inlcluding Star Trek, The Tudors, Numb3rs, Frasier, and Cheers.”

    Most instant view movies are just $2.99 there are over 90,000 movies and TV shows to choose from, both new releases and classic favorites – all in the Amazon Instant Video store.

  • Gig Economy Allows Entrepreneurs to Start on a Dime

    Cloud Computing Lowering Barriers to Entry, Allowing the Gig Economy to Thrive

    Startups have traditionally been capital intensive ventures and most have had to wait until they got big to look big.  Not anymore. Web services in the cloud have made start-up costs not just affordable, but in some cases free, and they are the same software packages being used by major corporations. This puts any Tom, Dick, or Harry piecing work together from elance, odesk, and Amazon’s mechanical turk on par with popular startups like Color. As long as they are running WordPress and Google Apps, the world does not know the difference. And some Gigger’s as they are called are now starting their own business using the very tools they used to get jobs. Matthew Stibbe, a serial entrepreneur, combined cloud computing and long hallways to start his third business, Turbine: The Company Built With Elance.

    Enough time has passed for BestVendor to do a survey of 550 startup staffers — most in marketing and executive administration positions — on their favorite tools for email, accounting, web analytics, CRM, productivity, design, storage, payment processing, operations and so forth. Their answers, in aggregate, speak to the growing trend in startups moving toward predominately cloud-based operations, the most popular being Dropbox, Paypal, and Salesforce to name a few, although I was glad to see Square in the running. Google Apps, Google Analytics and Quickbooks each garnered a majority of the votes in the email, accounting and web analytics categories, respectively. Salesforce bested its CRM competition with 59% of respondents selecting it as the application of choice, and consumer-friendlyEvernote proved hot with startup-types, too, in the note-taking category. For netbook and MacBook Air users, utilizing cloud storage programs like Spotify and DropBox is key to maintaining enough disk space for maneuverability.

    Cloud computing is a relatively new model with lots of benefits and a few drawbacks. For example, it’s scalable, the provisioning cost is near zero, and you don’t need to hire a tech team, which saves money on payroll, benefits, space, insurance, supplies, and equipment, but with cloud computing, if the service or product you are using goes ‘down’, there is little to nothing you can do about it. You’re essentially trading control, security, and privacy for cheap, convenient, up most-of-the-time software running on hardware that you didn’t buy and will probably never see, let alone have to upgrade.

    The Gig Economy

    While a study by the Kauffman Foundation indicates startups create an average of 3-million jobs per year (about four times more than any other group), cloud computing and its reduced need for workers is creating a new economy. Sarah Horowitz, the executive director and founder of the Freelancers Union, says the employment picture in the U.S. is changing quickly. “People are working gigs now, but the BLS is tracking jobs. They’re two different things,” Horowitz explained to the LA Times. “We are really moving towards a gig economy.” The bureau of labor and statistics now tracks self employment (giggers) – and the number now stands at 14 million. And that number is set to grow. A Forrester Ressearch survey of small- to medium-size businesses found that 40% of businesses with 2 to 19 employees said using cloud service offerings was a “very high” or “high priority.” For medium-size businesses (20 to 1,000 employees), the figure was 25%.

  • INSBC – Indiana Backflow Classes

    The Indiana School of Backflow and Cross-Connections provides the best possible education on protecting the drinking water supply in Central Indiana. INSBC is certified by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management as a Training Provider for Backflow Prevention Assembly Testers and Cross-Connection Control Inspectors and by the Indiana Backflow Prevention Association to provide Continuing Education Units for Indiana Water Operators. Their classroom features a University of Southern California-modeled ‘Wet Lab’ for practice testing and hands-on learning. INSBC likes having a WordPress web site because it allows them to easily update their site.

    You can see the latest backflow certification classes here: http://www.insbc.org/certification-classes

  • PillowTalk Lingerie Boutique

     

     

    PillowTalk is a lingerie boutique located in Carmel, Indiana which specializes in couture lingerie, candles, and custom jewelry. Find out more about PillowTalk for all of your lingerie, candles, and gift needs by visiting http://www.pillowtalkboutique.com.

  • Ambiance Gardens – Greenwood Indiana Landscaping

    Ambiance Gardens - Greenwood Indiana Landscaping

    Ambiance GardensAmbiance Gardens is a landscaping company located in Greenwood, Indiana which specializes in water features such as pondless waterfalls and indoor fountains. Contact Ambiance Gardens for your landscaping or water feature needs at http://www.feeltheambiance.com.

  • Indianapolis Dentist

    Indianapolis Center for Implant and Cosmetic DentistryIndianapolis Center for Implant and Cosmetic Dentistry is a sedation dentist located in Indianapolis, Indiana which specializes in implant and cosmetic dentistry. Contact Indianapolis Center for Implant and Cosmetic Dentistry today for sedation dentistry at http://www.calmingfears.com.

  • Vermillion Christian Church

    Vermillion Christian Church

    Vermillion Christian ChurchVermillion Christian Church is located in Alexandria, Indiana which serves the Central Indiana area including Hamilton, Delaware, Tipton, and Howard counties. For more information, check out http://www.vermillionchristian.com.

    Update:

    Pendleton Indiana's Victory Chapel Christian Church

    Victory ChapelVictory Chapel is a Christian Church located in Pendleton, Indiana which serves the greater Pendleton community. Visit Victory Chapel’s website today for more information about http://www.victorychapel.tv.

  • Internet Marketing Major Players

    Here are my Internet Marketing heroes:

    • Ed Dale – Australian; started 30 day challenge; convinced Dan Raine to cash out all of his websites for millions
    • Dan Raine – British; runs Immediate Edge with help from Ed Dale; male yeast infection guy
    • Trey Smith – American; Internet marketer who recently started iOS app training business; friends with Ed Dale
    • Matt Carter – the other Australian; not associated with Ed Dale; runs most popular Internet marketing blog; the beta fish guy
    • Carey Bergeron – American; friends with Matt Carter; makes money from Adsense; runs Adsense Guild
    • Ryan Lee – American; known for being a millionaire Internet marketer; starts out promoting other products, then makes his own versions to sell
    • Greg Jacobs – Mage Monster, millionaire
    • Mark Ling – known for Traffic Travis
    • Andrew Hansen – online entrepreneur originally from Queensland, Australia – now living in London, known for his Affiliate Mini Site Strategy
    • Frank Kern – started out creating information products for pets (mostly dogs) and now trains Internet Marketers

    By the way, I just finished reading The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandingo. It’s pretty good.

  • June 2011 Interest and Exchange Rate Forecast

    The June 2011 RBS Interest & Exchange Rate Forecast (PDF) is out.

    Interest Rates

    The Bank of England did not raise rates in June, despite higher inflation due mostly to commodity prices. In order to curb inflation, their Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may raise interest rates, but it depends on the strength of demand in the United Kingdom.

    In the US, as quantitative easing (QE2) draws to an end, the Federal Reserve is turning to how and when it starts to tighten policy. The April minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting indicate that it has a preference to lead with interest rate hikes, which would curb inflation, rather than begin unwinding its quantitative easing program (though options for this were discussed). RBS expects the Fed to wait until the first half of 2012 before raising interest rates.

    The European Central Bank (ECB) left rates on hold at 1.25% in June, but by using the code word “strong vigilance” President Trichet signalled a second hike for the year at the next ECB meeting in July. With inflation at 2.7% in May and above the 2% ECB target for six consecutive months, the ECB Governing Council will justify an increase in interest rates despite signs of a slowdown in the euro area. ECB President Trichet suggested the establishment of an EU Ministry of Finance with veto rights over member states’ specific spending decisions as a first step towards closer fiscal union. While this will be of little help in the fight against the current sovereign debt crisis, it may be an issue to be tackled by Mario Draghi (Italy) in October, who has received the support of France, Germany and the ECB to succeed Trichet as President.

    Exchange Rates

    The euro plummeted from 1.49 against the USD to 1.40 in mid-May – a two month low, while GBP/EUR jumped to 1.15. But much of the lost ground was regained with an outline agreement for further financial aid to Greece (though the outline fails to address the long term issue regarding the sheer scale of Greece’s debt burden). Moreover, the hawkish ECB continues to provide support from a yield perspective, signalling a second rate hike in July, while all other central banks sit firmly on their hands. The long term impact of rising interest rates could prove euro negative if it disrupts the recovery in the periphery economies, but this factor has certainly been supportive in the short term. The relative attractiveness of sterling and the dollar has been hit by softening growth/interest rate expectations and jitters over the size of the debt overhang facing these regions. With macro data pointing towards a further slowdown in UK and US economic activity, growth expectations have also been scaled back. Moody’s warned the UK that 16 banks could face a downgrade to its credit rating if a further slowdown in growth put the government’s fiscal austerity plans in jeopardy. Meanwhile, US policymakers continue to bicker over an extension to the Federal debt ceiling and a long term deficit adjustment plan. GBP/USD has been range bound between 1.60-1.65 for the past month and we continue to expect it to remain at these levels which also look to be close to fair value. JPY has appreciated against the USD and is approaching levels south of the 80 mark which triggered multilateral currency intervention in March.