Google Docs - An Essential Blogging Tool?

In managing my blog one of the tools I rely on is Google Docs. In this article I provide an introduction to Google Docs and explain its advantages to those running an blog.

What is Google Docs?

Google Docs is best summarized as a completely web-based, simplified, free version of Microsoft Office. It provides basic functionality such as word-processing, spreadsheets and presentations. The fact that it is an online service gives it a number of advantages, but there are also one or two disadvantages you need to be aware of.

Web-based service

The fact that Google Docs is an online service has a great advantage, you can work on a document from anywhere you have Internet access and a browser. This is more convenient than it sounds. For example, I have several computers and, using OpenOffice, I might create a Word-compatible document on, say, my desktop computer. If I am then on the road I don't have access to that document from my laptop as the document might still be on my desktop computer's hard-drive.

There are ways to transfer between computers, and one technique I used in the past was to email the document to Hotmail. This ensured that I could access the document from any of my computers and it was backed-up by Microsoft. This wasn't convenient though as I ended up having several versions of the document on different computers and keeping track of the current version proved difficult. Google Docs solves this problem as all the documents you create are hosted by Google. You can access your documents from any computer that has a browser and Internet access.

Summary

I would say I am addicted to Google Docs and find it to be an essential part of running my blog - it is one of the main reasons I use Blogger. It is convenient, easy to use and being able to store your documents (and publish them) on the web is a huge advantage. I no longer have to transfer documents between computers or worry about issues such as versioning. It is very easy to be able to export the documents to a local file, such as a PDF. So far, I have found Google Docs to be invaluable.

Google Docs can be found at http://docs.google.com

Tony Bedford first started blogging in March 2000. Tony currently maintains a free guide to more profitable blogging at http://the-business-of-blogging.blogspot.com

What NOT To Do Using Pay Per Click Campaigns

I see a lot of experts recommending that new online entrepreneurs use pay-per-click programs as a traffic building source to generate profits for their new online businesses. Unfortunately, what they fail to mention is the potential costs involved. Many new online business owners underestimate the potential traffic if they are new to pay-per-click programs and wind up paying much more money than they had planned on. This is particularly true if they are unfamiliar with PPC.

Others who are new to the program choose a very general search term in order to maximize the number of clicks. They mistakenly think that more clicks will automatically mean more money. Unfortunately, this is not true. In order to make money using PPC programs, you need TARGETED clicks. You have to use a very narrow focus to concentrate on people who are likely to need the products that you are offering.

If you focus on the word "ebooks" in your campaign, you will get tons of clicks from people who are looking for free ebooks, but you probably won't get many buyers for your "ebook maker" product. This campaign will be doomed to failure. But unfortunately, many new entrepreneurs hear about the PPC hype and jump right in without doing the necessary research.

So, if you are new to the Internet marketing business. Do your research before committing yourself to any type of program. Make sure that you can afford the 'worst case scenario.' If you are using PPC programs, narrow your focus. Be aware that a higher number of clicks does not necessarily mean a higher amount of profit, but it WILL mean a higher cost. And sometimes it means a much higher cost. So do your research. Your online business doesn't have to begin making profits in 2 minutes; it's okay if it takes a little longer.

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Do Good CAPTCHAs Really Have To Be Unfriendly? An Expert Explains

For those of you who are not familiar with the term, a CAPTCHA is a feature on many user populated websites, such as Myspace with the purpose of blocking automated programs from spamming its users and for overall security. Here is how it works:

A user is required to enter a random letter and number password into a form before being able to submit information, log in, etc. This password is essentially given directly to the user in an image, rather than in text form, so that an automated program cannot detect the characters. The password the form field expects is the same as that shown on the image, but this sometimes causes problems.

Jeff Atwood at the Coding Horrors blog discusses whether CAPTCHAs are dead. This follows a news report that scalpers probably beat the CAPTCHAs at Ticketmaster.

Jeff links to a Chinese site that sells CAPTCHA decoders. The site quotes different prices for breaking different CAPTCHAs. An eBay decoder, for example, is being sold for $4000 and claims 70% accuracy.

What caught my attention were the unbreakable CAPTCHAs in the list. The Yahoo CAPTCHA is listed as unbreakable. That isn't surprising. Most of us can barely get it right ourselves.

Consider a Yahoo CAPTCHA. Sometimes you cannot tell the difference between a G or a 6? And the way that letters are often skewed, the difference bewteen certain uppercase and lowercase letters is virtually unrecognizable?

Contrast that with a Google CAPTCHA also listed as unbreakable. The Google image is clean and legible. Most of us have no difficulty getting it right. Google demonstrates that effective CAPTCHAs don't have to be unfriendly to users.

I am curious to learn which CAPTCHA libraries generate strong, yet user friendly challenges.