If you host small online meetings or conferences, teach online or have any need to share content but don’t want to pay high prices, then you should check out the latest desktop sharing tool – Mikogo.

Mikago lets you share any screen content or application over the Internet with up to 10 users simultaneously. And it’s free for both commercial and private use! Here are some of the applications:

• Web conferences
• Online meetings
• Product demonstrations
• Web presentations
• Remote support
• Team projects
• Webinars

Mikogo comes from BeamYourScreen, who offers a number of Web collaboration solutions. Most of BeamYourScreen’s products are not free – they offer more sophisticated features like   a greater number of participants (up to 25), an HTML viewer and live customer support. The free version is great for small, simple applications. All of Mikogo’s features work on a Windows platform – a number will also run on a MAC platform.

Here’s how Mikogo works:

1. The organizer initiates a phone conference.
2. The organizer starts a Mikogo session,  gets a unique 9-digit session ID from the Mikogo server, and distributes the session ID to the participants.
3. Participants open their Internet browser, go to www.mikogo.com, and click on “Join Session”. No installations or registrations required for the participants. They simply join the session by  entering the session ID.
4. A connection is instantly established, and the participants can view the organizer’s screen in real time via the Mikogo viewer window.

Download it here and give the application a try. It’s cool, it’s free and it’s available in several languages.

When you become self employed there are things that you will need to handle that before were handled by your employer, health insurance being one of them.  In the corporate world, typically Human Resources handles the paperwork, provides information on how the plans worked and the coverage and you could call them if you had any questions.  Now that you’re self employed, you are the one who will be in charge of handling that aspect of your business. When you begin to research different policies, it is vital that you do your homework and don’t sign up for the first policy you find. Most importantly, ask questions, you will find that there is a lot of confusion out there that comes along with health insurance. To help you get started, below are some types of insurance that may best fit your situation.

Major Medical

This is the type of insurance that you may have had when you were with an employer.  It covers a wide variety of medical treatments, prescriptions, and hospital stays.  This plan is flexible as well by choosing the deductibles and amounts that suit you best.

Point of Service

Point of Service insurance or POS for short is where the patient chooses a primary physician and would have all care done with that physician.  If you should have to see another doctor for a service that your primary physician doesn’t handle you would need to have them refer you or it may not be covered.

Limited Benefits Plans

This type of insurance covers only certain types of care this is so that you can keep your costs low but still have some types of coverage.  These plans differ by state in the amounts and coverage’s that are minimally required. 

Hospital Only Plans

This plan is exactly like its name implies, it only covers if you are hospitalized.  This plan would only be a good idea if you had the means to cover expenses for regular checkups or lab work that is done out patient.

These are just a couple of examples of the types of insurances that are out there for the self employed.  Start with checking out the plans that may be available through your car or home insurance or check and see if the group or organization you belong to offers benefits, you may be surprised.

When it comes to online communication, it’s just as important as offline communication, if not more important. Oftentimes when speaking to someone in an online atmosphere, they can take things the wrong way, simply because they cannot hear your voice or see your face. Because of this, it is vital that you get your message across right the first time because you might not get another chance, especially if you offend someone. Here are a few guidelines to follow when you are speaking to someone online; have it be through email or IM.

• It is typically considered rude and impolite to talk IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE THIS. It is commonly referred to as shouting. Shouting = rude. Instead, you can emphasize words using bold or italics but if at all possible stay away from all caps.
•  Make sure you check your spelling and grammar before sending out emails and IMs. Most IM and email programs these days have a spell check function. Be sure to turn it on, this will allow you to look professional. It will also keep people from getting confused by sloppy typing. 
• Make sure when you send an email, that you use a signature file. Email programs and sites like Gmail and Hotmail have an option for this. It will allow you to “attach” it to the bottom of all your emails you send out. This email signature will contain your name, business name, phone number, URL, etc. Whatever you want. There are two points to this. First is to introduce who you are and possibly what you want. Second is to possibly promote your website or business. 
• Make your email subjects text as concise as possible. Keep it short and to the point.. Oftentimes when people read or receive an email that is incredibly long, especially when it comes to a partnership, sale, email sales letter or newsletter, if it’s too long, they will just delete it. Remember to always enter a subject, if you leave it blank it has a greater chance of being filtered into spam or just deleted. 
• Always use the best customer service skills possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s through an email program or if you have a support desk. Don’t make your clients, customers or prospects wait more than two days at a time for an answer. If you get a lot of people that email you once, email you twice and email you three times in a very minimal amount of time – set up an auto responder. Gmail has one of these and it is quite frankly, very useful. It tells people, okay, I got your email, and I will get back to you soon. It shows you care and it puts them at ease. 

By using these few guidelines, your business will run smoother, and people will be able to communicate with you on a clearer level. Communication is such a HUGE aspect in the online world. Use these guidelines as you will, when you want and customize them for your businesses.

Some people would suggest you just don’t text and drive at all, but some of you are obsessed with texting! You know who you are! If you have an smartphone you can download this free application called DriveSafe.ly.  Phones that work with this app are Blackberry, iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile.

This app has a ton of features designed to keep you and your family safe car accidents. One of the main features is the ability to read and answer texts. The texts, when you receive them, will actually be read out loud to you. When you wish to reply you simply talk, send, and that’s it. This is going to cut down on accidents in a BIG way.

The activation is simple, it’s a one-step process, you can also add an optional auto-responder in case you do not want to or cannot answer the phone, and its 100% hands-free, absolutely no need to touch the phone while driving. The text and read and send to reply options are all real-time. There are other apps as well to listen to emails while driving which is superb for those of you who need to be on top of your business at all times, even in the car!

While a webinar is a great way to get clients to buy what you are selling or to use your services, you can also use them for other aspects as well such as product presentations, live demos, how to topics, tech talk, and social meetings.  Webinars can be utilized for a variety of tactics. While this is a really nice way to increase sales, you will still have to put some marketing behind it. But, as with most other things online you have about one hundred ways of going about this.

 You can either put it on a website and blog about it, you can get someone to do article marketing for you, post links on your website domains, contact various people you know and customers. Many people are using social media like Twitter and Facebook to promote as well.  Make sure if you do post it on Twitter, Facebook and those other social sites, that you make the account from which you are posting the link relevant TO the webinar,this will allow you to target your audience.

• Get Free Turn-by-Turn GPS on an iPhone: When Google originally brought turn-by-turn GPS to the android phone, iPhone users were envious to say the least! In March, iPhone users gained their own app that allowed turn-by-turn GPS abilities courtesy of none other than MapQuest. You also have turn-by-turn with voice if you are an iPhone user with the MapQuest 4 Mobile app.
• Communicate with everyone using Fring: If you love Social sites like Myspace, Google Talk, AIM, and Twitter, you are going to love this app! It allows you to use the application as a hub which allows you to talk and use ONE place for all your Social sites rather than having to visit and use each one individually. HUGE time saver. Fring is available for iPhone, Android, and Nokia devices.
•  Find Wi-Fi in Your Area: Apple might have cut wifi stumblers out of their own App store, but you can still turn to a variety of wifi directories, in this case JiWire’s Wi-Fi Finder. This Wifi finder has well over 280,000 hotspots in its directory!
• Compare Prices With ShopSavvy: You can find an array of APPS available that can turn your phone into a bar code scanner, but one of the best apps I have seen thus far that always allows you to do a price comparison is ShopSavvy. You can use these either at local stores or at stores online. You can also set up wish lists as well based on the prices of the scanned items. Pretty cool!
•  Slip Away With Fake-A-Call: Sometimes when you are on the phone and having an awkward phone convo with someone, you just WISH someone would call in on the other line and interrupt. Well, now there is no more wishing with Fake-A-Call. This is a free app that lets you schedule or create a fake phone call. Just a fun little app to use.

 Some of these apps available, besides the ones above, are for fun. Others are a little more serious – great for travel or business people. Either way, if you don’t use apps, you are definitely not getting the most out of your phone! Most all of the apps available are 100% free. Even if you find one you really like and its paid, chances are someone else offers the same thing for free so make sure you check different ones out.

When presenting interesting and relevant material, seminar presenters may tend to use many technical terms, speak fast and with enthusiasm or cover a great deal of material. These are all reasons why seminar attendees would be interested in purchasing a teleseminar’s transcript. Whether the transcript is used for reference or as a guide to share with co-workers, many are willing to pay for the convenience of this most accurate form of note taking.

If planning on writing a book, with information relevant to the teleseminar, a transcript of the seminar would be an excellent addition. This bonus material is a great marketing tool and can be used to promote the book plus the “free” bonus. When advertised to the appropriate audience, combining the book launch with other teleseminars can help cross-promote both mediums and allow for greater book and teleseminar sales.

Another idea for seminar transcripts is to include them in a promotional package. If offering a service, adding the teleseminar’s transcript allows persons ordering or registering for your product or service to gain full access to the missed event. Because the entire seminar is transcribed, it allows buyers to read the transcript in their own time and implement the given ideas or discussed thoughts at their own pace. Throughout the trial and error process, users can refer back to the seminar’s transcript to perfect and refine their techniques. Once satisfied, the transcript can be passed to another person or kept for long-term reference.

If you want to keep up with your competitors, but you simply do not have the time to go through all the aspects of competitive research you could  consider hiring someone to do it for you – someone like a virtual assistant.  This type of research can determine the varying aspects of  your competitors and compilng reports can help you to get more of a feel for others in your industry as well as the people you are essentially selling to. 

Doing this type of research is absolutely worth the time and investment. Knowing your competitors will essentially allow you to see where your strong suits are and what parts of your business you need to work on in order to beat your competitors and become a strong selling point in your industry.

Why we love it

OnlyWire gives you a Bookmark & Share button for your Web site or blog page that lets your visitors share your content with the world, simultaneously. You have options for both free and paid usage of Bookmark & Share. To have the Free button, all you have to do is keep the Bookmark & Share button placed prominently on the content/article sections of your website or blog. Just maintain that presence (OnlyWire checks) and make sure it is functional. That’s all that’s required!

You also have options to participate in special advertising from OnlyWire. All you have to do is visit their site and sign up.OnlyWire has developed 3.0 by getting user and client feedback through surveys and they also provide support for their users through blogs, Facebook, Twitter and email. They offer an iPhone app and they are also bringing API tools to your developers for integration into CMS environments.

If you are a blogger, developer, or manage your own fabulous Web site, take the hassle out of content distribution. Visit www.onlywire.com and get The Power of the Button™.  

Create a Niche

 Is there a certain part of your business that you are REALLY good at?  Highlight it with status updates and connect with individuals and businesses that are in that niche area.  For example, a business coach that specializes in small business and entrepreneurs wouldn’t connect with large business and corporate conglomerates that would be ineffective and waste of time. By focusing on the areas and individuals that are your target audience, you will be able to network and expand your contacts.

 Plan Out What Your Going to Say

Most social networking platforms let you do what’s called “scheduling” of your profile updates.  For example, you may create your updates for the week on Monday and then you can add them into a scheduler like Ping.Fm or Hootsuite . These schedulers will post them on the day that you indicate, that way if you get too busy, you will know that your profiles are still getting updated.

 Check Out Your Competition and then Create Partnerships with Them 

Sounds crazy, huh?  But it’s not.  Clearly we all can’t be everything for every client or customer.  Let’s say that you are a transcriptionist and you are too busy to help a customer with a project that they need ASAP, why not reach out to one of your competitors to see if they can help?  I know it sounds like the opposite of something that you would do but you may be surprised at how well these partnerships work. Referrals as well as knowing how your competitors operate can be beneficial in the long run.

 Learn What’s New

 Social media is one of those ever changing things that you need to stay on top of.  Make sure when you are working on your networking you also spend time on study about what’s new. New platforms pop up everyday and if you stay ahead of the game you will have the upper hand on the latest technology and your clients will appreciate that you are up to date.

 The most important step you can do though is every day take 20 minutes to work on your social networking.  Schedule it if you have to.  Put it on your calendar and set a timer.  Making time for it every day consistently will ensure that you are making the connections and fostering them.