Ugh!!’s Greymatter Honeypot

I found a website for a company called Fast-Teks who focus on computer repair, training, recovery and support. It’s an interesting model that is built around having technicians all around the country who had the tools and ability to support individuals and small businesses. They offer a range of services including:

• Troubleshooting
• Virus, Worm, Spyware Removal
• DSL and Cable Modem Setup
• Wireless Networking
• Data Back-Up & Recovery
• QuickBooks Experts
• Software Training
• Web Development
• Virtual Support

It’s worth keeping in mind if you need help with your IT and are looking for local support.

It’s also a model that would translate well to the UK market I think. I wonder if they offer their franchise opportunities on a global basis.

Well, it’s been interesting to see how the blog has been evolving over the last few months. The big changes started happening when I got some comments from a couple of people that my blog was suffering from tehamtic inconsistency issues. This was compounded when I asked Google what it would categorise my site as, and the result came back as “Misc”

From that point forth, I decided to start up a number of different blogs each focused on a particular niche. It means that each blog only gets a few posts a week, but that’s probably a good thing, as content stays on the front page for longer (lower churn). Here are some of my blogs in case you’re looking for something to read:

• MBA Geek: I try to keep my pure business posts here. Based on my current employment in the Isle of Man I’m doing more “enabling” work than actual technology, so there’s been some interesting things to post about.
• A bit of this and a bit of that: My personal blog, which contains a real variety of stuff, mostly personal and my family, my diet, holidays and lots more
• The Joke Shop: Pretty much all my jokes go here. It’s pretty busy I must say
• WordPress Guru: My Wordpress exploits go mostly here, though I do put some more mainstream ones on this one. Might turn this into a WordPress consultancy one day .. who knows!
• AskOwen: If someone asks me a technical question, say about automated OS recovery, then I use it for a way to store the question and it’s answer.

I have another couple of blogs but those are the main ones. But the net effect is that taking those topics out has allowed this blog to mature into something that’s a bit more me. Ok, it’s still very varied and rich, but hopefully it’s a bit more consistent. What do you think? Do you enjoy reading it?

Someone sent me a link to a great service called Twitt(url)y that lets you find out what’s fun and interesting. It’s a great service that looks at what URLs people are talking about and rates them based on how many people are talking about it. So, for example if someone launches a viral campaign about a diet pill called Orovo. If enough people start talking about the link and about the campaign then the link will start getting ranked higher and higher in Twitturly until it gets to the top of the front page.

It’s an interesting concept, that of using “the masses” to help decide what is interesting and what isn’t. It very much depends on the group of people doing the voting. Twitter still has a high percentage of technical users, so a subject like live video casting solutions is more likely to get traction than, say what happened last night on EastEnders. Still, as the Twitter population spreads to other segments we’ll see more mainstream subjects enter the list and the list get more comprehensive.

I’ve been using my Azor blade for a week now and I’ve been very pleased with the results. It gives a close shave which is in the same ball park as the Gilette Fusion I used to use before. The main selling point of the Azor though is the length of time the blade stays sharp, so I’m trying to see if it stays sharp longer than my Fusion blades used to.

The only thing I didn’t like about the blade when I tried it was that I was used to a heavier handle and the balance felt wrong. However once you start shaving with it you hold it in a different way to normal blades and it feels natural and intuitive.

The blade I’m testing came complete with some King Of Shaves shaving gel and I must say I love it. The gel feels minty on the skin when you apply it and seems to leave a protective layer on the skin when you wash it off; which is very unlike anything I’ve ever used before. I’m sure part of the great result I’m getting from the Azor is thanks for the gel, but I’m still too happy with it to try experimenting with the blade and normal shaving foam.

I’ll keep you posted as the weeks go buy as to how long the blade lasts

I came across a great write-up in the FT today entitled: Doing Business in the Isle of Man. it’s an 8-page special report that takes a look at a number of different aspects of the Isle of Man, ranging from the recent turmoil in the Financial Markets, all the way to living and working on the Island. I think it’s a pretty positive piece and paints a great picture of the Isle of Man.

Read it here

I came across some great research into Social Networks carried out by Dynamic Markets on behalf of AT&T. They surveyed over 2,500 people from a variety of industries (from commissioning steel buildings to selling automated OS recovery packages) in 5 countries and here are some findings that they published:

Some things uncovered in the study include:

• 65% of employees surveyed say that social networking sites have made them and/or their colleagues more efficient
• 63% say they have enabled them and their colleagues to achieve things that would not otherwise have been possible
• 46% say they have sparked ideas and creativity for them personally
• External collaboration sites on the web and internal blogging sites (both 11%)

The Top 5 social networking tools being used as part of everyday working life are:

1. Companies’ own collaboration sites on intranets (39%)
2. Internal forums within the company (20%)
3. Company-produced video material shared on intranets (16%)
4. Online social networks, such as LinkedIn and Facebook (15%)

Good reading. You can find more information here

I’ve been collecting interesting links since my last Honeypost and I’m running out of space on my bookmark list .. so .. time to dump some more honey:

• World of Goo - If you like physicsish puzzle games
• 23 ways to increase your site traffic - Some great advice from TechBurgh
• Children and Retirement - I loved this joke
• The iPhone Ocarina - Crazy bunch blowing at their iPhones to make music
• My name is e - Excellent social networking gadget
• Fire your PR agency? - Strive’s take on whether companies REALLY need PR
• Instant Free Calendars - If you need an availability calendar for your website
• piZap - Having fun with your photos online

Hope you enjoyed this installment. Was that enough to distract you?