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As you may know I am a great fan of Ken Evoy of SiteSell. His clear thinking and especially his way of transferring those ideas to the people around him is mindboggling. Ken likes to shake up things and get you to look deeper than before.

This time Ken set forth a direct attack on the blogging craze.

Blog or Build? With Site Build It!…
You Actually Do Both Automatically.
Beyond That, Is Full Blogging Right For You?

Should You Full Blog? For Most Small Business People…
“Full-Blogging” Is the Wrong Choice To Build a Business
Blogging. Everyone’s doing it.

And that is a financial mistake for most small businesses. Few make much money at blogging because it is usually the wrong way to grow an online business. That’s important if you want your Web venture to be more than just a hobby (”an activity or interest pursued for pleasure and not primarily for income”).

What is blogging, exactly? Well, after you strip away all the hoopla…

Blogging is merely a different way to build a Web site. Its content is organized by the date/time of its “posts,” which are what blogs call “Web pages” (even the word “posts” suggests time-sensitivity).

The points he makes are well thought out.

Of course his statements have caused a stir in the blogging world. Rosalind Gardner got all angry and wrote what I consider to be a less well thought out response:

http://www.netprofitstoday.com/blog/blogging-is-a-massive-mistake-huh/

Andy Beard takes a much more balanced route and admits he has learned a lot from Ken and understands his point.

http://andybeard.eu/2008/04/ken-evoy-attacks-blogging-wordpress.html

I think the main point Ken is making is that for the average business a full blog is simply too much work for the actual results it will produce. Taking the long time view will make the blogging posts of little value.

Some are talking about the technical aspect of blogging vs. building. SBI is not really a technical solution it is a marketing strategy along with a handful of tools to support the growth.

For me - as a technical thinker and doer - I chose to create this one blog to link all my sites and to have a place where I can express my views on a number of things - small and large.

My recommendation:

Choose WordPress if you are willing to spend more time and cost or are willing to take on the steeper learning curve. You will have to learn about the more technical sites of hosting like upgrading the software and handling technical challenges. Outsource these things and the cost goes even higher.

Choose SBI if you want to drive your business safely to a set goal. My SBI sites are the core of my strategy of building an “online empire” (sorry if that sounds like a used phrase).

In the end it is all a matter of delivering value to your customer and making the world a little better.

Popularity: 25% [?]

SPOT is the World’s first satellite messenger. It is the only gadget of its kind that uses the GPS system to get its position and send a message with the location along with your name by satellite and make it available on the internet via email and Google Maps or just a plain SMS message.

You can use SPOT simply to let others know where you are or if you need help.

Unlike an ordinary GPS system that only receives signals and calculates position, the SPOT uses two types of satellite systems. One to determine the location and the other to send along predefined messages to those you want to get it.

SPOT’s Satellite Messenger boasts up to 1 year battery life, it has global coverage and the ability to track your position using Google Maps, along with 9-1-1 alerting for real emergencies. The bright orange handheld device is water- temperature -and shock-proof. SPOT even floats!

Send a signal even in areas with no cell phone coverage. SPOT uses 100% satellite technology, so you don’t have to worry about land based communication. SPOT covers virtually all of North America, Europe, and Australia, most of South America, northern Africa and northeastern Asia, and hundreds or thousands of miles offshore of these areas.

Satellite technology allows SPOT to work around the world - even where cell phones don’t. Using SPOT requires a subscription service that costs about $10 pr. month. Additional services and options available.

SPOT GPS Emergency gadget.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Icelandic truckers have been active in protesting the rising cost of fuel as well as recent EU laws on truck drivers rest time. They started earlier this month and have used their big vehicles to close roads. The police have been mild until now.

Last Monday the protests got violent when the police started using more aggressive riot tactics. This time the police came in force with shields and batons to beat the protesters - and they used gas. 21 where arrested and a few had to visit the hospital.

Here is a video from the action.

Hilary Whiteman from CNN called me up for an interview and you can read the full story here:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/24/iceland.fuel/

Popularity: 21% [?]

Buying a laptop has just got a lot easier. The new BANS site: Laptop-Computer-Buy.com brings you convenient access to a huge selection of new and used laptops. Everything from cheap old things to the shiny new models with all the bells and whistles.

Don’t let a misguided salesman tell you what you need. Make up your own mind and find the right laptop here:

Laptop-Computer-Buy.com is the newest member of my series of BANS - Make Your Own Niche Store sites. You should be able to find all major laptop notebook brands and all the needed laptop accessories at prices you can afford:

• Cheap Laptop
• Laptop Computers
•   Acer Laptops
•   Dell Laptops
•   HP Compaq Laptops
•   Lenovo Laptops
•   Toshiba Laptops
• Laptop Deals
• Laptop Notebooks
•   Gaming Laptops
•   Notebook Computers
•   Pink Laptop
•   Thinkpad T60
• New Laptop
• Used Laptop Computers
• Wireless Laptop
• Laptop Accessories

Popularity: 17% [?]

I was working on 4×4Sale.net and wanted to give an easy access to all 4×4 trucks within a particular US state. I needed a zip code within the state to make searching possible through the BANS system. Since I couldn’t find a single source for this I went through the trouble of collecting this information myself.

Here is the result and please don’t hesitate to link to this page to help others in similar situations.

List of all US states, their capitals and a ZIP code within the capital:

Nice blogs about Zip codes:

100 Top Foreclosure Zip Codes and Cities
The 25 Coolest Free Websites for Non-Techies
Profit Week: Using Zip Codes To Improve Profit

Popularity: 21% [?]