The major objective of most bloggers is to attract and retain readers. For most of the year, I have used Entrecard as a mean to increase my traffic.

Traffic statistics show that Entrecard works. It yields 300 to 500 visitors daily to my blog, which is great. Even if most of these visitors spend only seconds on the site, a fraction of them would link back to their own blog and comment, which is good.

That said, and like most systems, benefiting from Entrecard requires to spend a fair amount of time promoting Entrecard (“dropping”). A “fair amount of time” means between one and two hours a day, seven days a week, which is a lot.

All things considered, I have decided to leave the Entrecard community early next week. It will enable me to post more often and focus more on the content.

I want to thank the bloggers I have met through Entrecard and also the company’s founders for making sure the vast majority of their members would provide with real content, something I found really unique for a Blog directory.

Farewell to my fellow Entrecarders!

Personal | 9 Comments »

While in the bus this morning, I could not help but notice a headline on a newspaper someone was reading, reporting that Goldman Sachs chiefs would not get their bonuses this year.

I did not know these people were still talking about their bonus. So what’s next; a special bonus to the CEOs of GM and Ford to thank them for their hard work and vision? [Read the entire post].

Business, Personal | 2 Comments »

That’s it. The dark years of the Bush Administration are getting to an end. In January, we will finally have a driver in the driver’s seat!

First and foremost, it is good news for US small businesses. What we need is a wealthy economy, not an economy geared exclusively towards the wealthy. President-elect Obama’s vision goes beyond tax cuts to stimulate the economy, and that is good.

Regarding the impact on outsourcing, it is important to differentiate between the various industries. As NASSCOM rightfully noted, “when Obama was referring to outsourcing in context of migration of jobs, he was mostly referring to the manufacturing sector. Information Technology is different, since there is a shortage of talents in the USA. By providing US companies with much needed resources at affordable cost, offshore destinations can contribute to the growth of US economy.”

Yes, we can!

Business, China | 6 Comments »

I spend a fair amount of time on line, browsing the news, and reading various blogs. Also, being an Entrecarder, I come across a lot of great blogs every day, which I would love to read and digg.

That said, I just cannot dedicate enough quality time during the day to read these articles. I usually send them to my Google Reader, to further consideration at a quieter time.

Problem is I do not have much free time indeed, and when I finally manage to access my Greader, I am frustrated to find a whole lot of posts there, way too many for me to catch up.

I just found an interesting post called “10 scripts to muscle up your Google Reader”, which provides great tips on how to optimize the use of Google Reader. My favorite is the “Greader to Twitter”, a feature that sends a reader post to twitter.

A must read for those of us who spend a lot of time reading on the Internet, a population that includes the Entrecarders.

Technical | 2 Comments »

I usually use this blog to promote IT outsourcing to SMBs.

While outsourcing makes total sense indeed, the decision to outsource should never be made lightly, as it can yield to a very unpleasant experience. My observation though is that the various failures result from the same few causes, which I listed below as the 10 reasons not to outsource: [Read more].

Business | 6 Comments »

A vast majority of SMBs are either contemplating offshoring part of their IT, or have already done so, often to India or China.

An outsourcing provider focusing on SMBs, I am always trying to refine our market segmentation.

I would classify SMBs looking to outsourcing their development / maintenance into 3 different categories, each of them yielding to very different results: [Read more].

Business | 7 Comments »

The Business Week article by Stephen baker titled “Managing by The Numbers” is a must read.

The article describes how IBM, the world leader in outsourcing services with almost 400,000 employees worldwide, is introducing mathematical models to help assemble the teams best suited for a job, manage employees’ time, etc.

[Read the entire post].

Business | 5 Comments »

I am trying to keep as little private data as possible on my computer. I managed to convince myself that they are much safer on a secure server than on my personal computer, which can be stolen or crash at any time.

I have therefore been contemplating for a while going for an online version of Quicken to manage my personal expenses.

So I was delighted to listen to this interview of Marc Hedlund, co-founder and CEO of Wesabe, and online management system for personal finances.

In addition of the expected secure online features to track expenses vs. budget, Marc gives few examples of super-cool features.

I like the one that enables Wesabe users to use Twitter to directly update their own accounts while buying a coffee at Starbucks!

Wesabe is certainly a company to watch, and their product a solution worth trying.

A more complete interview is accessible on the HyveUp WEB site.

Remi
www.outsourcing-vsc.com

Business | 5 Comments »