I was stunned to read this morning from the Washington Post that as of February 1st, Netscape will cease to exist in the sense that AOL/Time Warner will no longer support the ‘original’ browser with updated security patches.
Yes, the software itself will still be available for download, but at your peril it seems.
I mentioned this to someone today and he mentioned, ’So, should I care?’ Well certainly the world will not crumble under such news, but you have to stop and think that at one time this was the premiere browser. It was thought that Microsoft would be too late getting into the Internet business. At first it seemed that Netscape would win the game, but then with MS integrating everything into it’s software, the once-giant browser quietly faded into obscurity.
I remembered the first browsers I ever used was Mosaic (along with Gopher and Archie), but I completely forgot that it changed it’s name to Netscape. Wow. With all the eye candy out there it was hard to imagine that everything at one time was text-based and no graphics. I even remember having a hard copy of the Internet Yellow Pages long before Yahoo came into existence.
I recently received my first copy of Website Magazine and found an ad for Survey PopUps. I thought I would give it a try (being a free service helps), so here is a question that I posted on my website.
External Link Here: If you are a small business owner or home office warrior, have you ever considered using a Virtual Assistant to help streamline your business?
This is really a very simplistic poll, which is great for posing quick questions to users and could potentially prompt returning visitors. However, it does have its drawbacks. For one, it does not allow for multiple questions and according to the terms of service is used for ‘entertainment purposes only.’ The results are not scientific and some users might be able in one way or another be able to vote more than once. They have a basic set of color schemes, none of which fully complements my site. But looking at the HTML snippet that you insert into your page, you should be able to change the colors if you have the HTML-tweaking know-how. I have not tried this yet, but will in near future if I find the service to be useful. You have the option of directly inserting into a page, IFRAME, or as a separate link. However my biggest frustration right now is the fact that I cannot get the survey posted on this blog and had to refer using the link option instead. I just posted this survey tonight. It will be interesting to see how much of a response I will get in the next few days.
My main interest really is to find out how many people know about Virtual Assistance. A ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer lets me know that folks do have some knowledge of what Virtual Assistance is about. Those that do use VAs, bless you! Virtual Assistants relies on clients such as yourselves to get the word out about our valuable services! Small Business owners know that the best marketing results come from referrals. Those that respond to the last answer tells me that we as an industry need to get the word out.
The article from the New York Times in my mind, to a certain extent, stresses the need corporate america to wake up and smell the flextime. Be it compressed hours, reduced hours, job-sharing, or telecommuting, studies are showing that workers who have flextime options and utilize it are more likely to to engage in a lifestyle of exercise, healthful eating, and better sleep.
Administrative Assistants in these times are more savvy technology-wise than 25 years ago (Anyone out there remember the IBM Selectric?). Slowwwwwly the corporate world is embracing in allowing flextime for their administrative assistants and other support staff. Especially useful, for example, if their colleagues are located in Europe and with a 5 – 6 hour time difference. Allow an administrative assistant to come in an hour or two earlier, international businesses are more in synch and more productive. The AA leaves an hour or two sooner, has the benefit of being home with their children after school and has less of a hassle in dealing with commuting. Of course my personal favorite option prior to changing my career and becoming a Virtual Assistant is the telecommuting option. For the ‘old-school’ manager it can be a nerve-wracking experience. A level of trust and productivity is expected from their assistant in the office. Do they have the strength to ‘let go’ in allowing their assistants work from home even for a couple of hours a week and still get the same amount of productivity? With a set of ground rules, goals, and technology protocols (VPN [or Virtual Private Network], email, IMs, telephone communication, etc.), a manager will have a much happier and productive assistant.
Now what about small businesses? Small business owners by necessity are much more hands-on and (rightfully so) have the need to control every aspect of their company. However there does come a time when some aspects can be better handled by an experienced administrative assistant. What? You do not have an administrative assistant, you say? Not a problem. Consider a Virtual Assistant and Remote Admin Services can help!
This will likely be my last post until the New Year. Until then, be joyful, keep safe, and I look forward in posting & doing business with you in 2008.
At last! We have arrived at Part 4 of a 4-part series of 100 Reasons To Use A Virtual Assistant. Again, I must thank Tina Hilton of Clerical Advantage for this amazing list.
If you need a recap, here are the first three parts:
As a bit of advice, I would bookmark the entire series for future reference. Your small business may be running smoothly now, but what can you do to make it more efficient? Is there something in the list that you never thought of using a Virtual Assistant? Perhaps you are reminded of a task that you need done. If you have never tried a Virtual Assistant, now is the time to consider giving it a go.
When I am ‘off-duty’ from my Virtual Assistance business, I like to tinker with my Mac (I use a Lenovo ThinkPad, mostly). I never really played with the pre-installed photo programs, but this evening tried Photo Booth and I am hooked! Takes great pictures of you via the web cam and has some great on-the-fly effects.Best Picture of The Night: Those who have Macs, go out there and have fun!
There was a brief discussion regarding scams of late and it was suggested that some form of database should be created so when a Virtual Assistant has any suspicions of a possible scam to check the group and see if there is a pattern or duplicate email.
Bless the owners of the forum that they created a sub-forum for users to post their received scam letters. So far there are only two listings, and my oh my! Mr. Todd Mayer seems to be rather popular today. Let us hope others who kept their old emails will be good enough to add to the list.
Membership is required and I think one has to do an ‘x’ number of posts in order to view this forum. A small inconvenience perhaps, but well worth it and get a chance to network with other fellow VAs.
That advantages to being a Virtual Assistant or even a home office warrior is that we do not necessarily have to travel much. However, the below notice is great news to bear in mind.
IRS Announces 2008 Standard Mileage Rates; Rate for Business Miles Set at 50.5 Cents per Mile
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2008 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (including vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
50.5 cents per mile for business miles driven;
19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes; and
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.
The new rate for business miles compares to a rate of 48.5 cents per mile for 2007. The new rate for medical and moving purposes compares to 20 cents in 2007. The rate for miles driven in service of charitable organizations has remained the same.
The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile; the standard rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs as determined by the same study. Runzheimer International, an independent contractor, conducted the study for the IRS.
The mileage rate for charitable miles is set by law.
A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS), after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle, for any vehicle used for hire or for more than four vehicles used simultaneously. Revenue Procedure 2007-70 contains additional information on these standard mileage rates.
My, what a busy month of dealing with queries (some not so legit), and client needs! Thank goodness I have my XM Radio channels to keep me in the holiday spirit! I also highly recommend Garrison Keillor’s Pretty Good Jokes CDs.
Here is part 3 of the 4-part series of 100 ways to utilize a Virtual Assistant.
Received the below email from a company called Prime Solutions Limited. How wonderful, my first international query!
Sent: Sun 12/02/07 11:47 AM To: alfredlombado@yahoo.com
Hello, my name is Todd Mayer . I run a consultancy
firm here with registered address 6353 Cronin Street,
SE15 6JJ.
A client of mine who is due to arrive in the United
States in few weeks time is interested in your
virtual services. Can you tell me a little more about
your mode of operation?
If interested, please reply
Thanks
Todd Mayer
Then I took a closer look at the address. The name in the email address did not match Todd Mayer. I did an address check on Google and thankfully found that from another blog this appears to be a scam given the numerous responses for that article.
Time to begin to keep a file folder of all scam notices for future reference.
