Fifth episode of The Force Field restored and re-released

Last year the CDN which hosted the first six original episodes of The Force Field went offline permanently, taking the episodes with it. As we just released The Force Field Premium Edition Volume 1 in The Force Field Podcast Store on another host, which consisted of the first six episodes remastered with extended content and no advertising, there was no immediate concern.

The original, free versions of the first six episodes of The Force Field have been remastered, restored and there were plans to re-release them online during the spring and summer of 2010. Early this year I re-released The Force Field Episode 1 – Pilot and uploaded it to another CDN which hosts our current episodes.

In March I re-released The Force Field Episode 2 – The VoIP Connection and made it available as well.

In April I re-released The Force Field Episode 3 – The Last Frontier and it is also available on The Force Field web portal.

In May I re-released The Force Field Episode 4 – Man in the Middle.

There were plans to release episodes 5 and 6 during the summer, however the project was delayed while the web portal underwent a complete overhaul.

Today I am pleased to announce the official re-release of The Force Field Episode 5 – Marketing Your Business. It is now available in its original listing on The Force Field Podcast Episodes page.

This episode features an interview with Paul Walters of LTA Computers. Paul and I and discuss various ideas for marketing a computer business locally around town on a shoestring budget.

The greatest challenge in any business is how to effectively market it. It is one thing to offer a great product or service, but to get the word out, to tell everyone about it, is another matter entirely. Paul will discuss what it takes to get the word out and effectively market his business in the local area.

If you are among those involved in discussions in the OnForce forums about marketing your computer business, you may find this episode of particular interest. Although the episode was originally recorded and released in 2006, the topic is still relevant today.

For those who remember the earlier days of OnForce, these episodes will be a trip down memory lane. For those who just started listening and are curious, it will be a trip back in time and a glimpse into the start of an experiment in podcasting that became a project dedicated to The Business of Tech. It is interesting to compare the early episodes and hear how the show has changed to become what it is today. If nothing else, it should at least be entertaining.

You can hear the episode at http://www.theforcefield.net/podcast/?p=15 or at Episode 5 – Marketing Your Business.

This is the fifth in a series of re-releases planned this year. Episode 6 is the final episode in the collection and is planned for re-release next month. I will post an announcement as each episode is released.

Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Episode 46 – Call That Girl’s Guide to Social Media

Today we are going to talk with a Service Provider who discovered the secrets of using social media to market her business and find out how her new step-by-step guide can help you successfully market your business as well.

TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10
Intro 1:17
Billboard :50

News and Comment segment 4:10

Adobe issued a security advisory for its Shockwave Player October 21.

Sponsor: Solve technical issues faster with GoToAssist Express. Try it FREE for 30 days.

Google announced plans to create stronger privacy controls last week.

Apple unveiled the new Macbook Air October 20..

Commercial Break 1:00
Get Great Web Hosting at GoDaddy.com and save 10%! Listen for the discount code in the show. GoDaddy.com 1:00

Intro to Topic 1:47
Today we are going to talk with Lisa Hendrickson, owner of a computer support and repair company called Call That Girl!, learn about her new eBook called Call That Girl’s Guide to Social Media and find out how you can use it as a guide to create and manage a successful marketing campaign for your business.

Interview with Lisa Hendrickson 21:59

Wrap up and Close :46

Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net!

©2010 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

 

 

Episode 46 – Call That Girl’s Guide to Social Media

Today we are going to talk with a Service Provider who discovered the secrets of using social media to market her business and find out how her new step-by-step guide can help you successfully market your business as well.

TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10
Intro 1:17
Billboard :50

News and Comment segment 4:10

Adobe issued a security advisory for its Shockwave Player October 21.

Sponsor: Solve technical issues faster with GoToAssist Express. Try it FREE for 30 days.

Google announced plans to create stronger privacy controls last week.

Apple unveiled the new Macbook Air October 20..

Commercial Break 1:00
Get Great Web Hosting at GoDaddy.com and save 10%! Listen for the discount code in the show. GoDaddy.com 1:00

Intro to Topic 1:47
Today we are going to talk with Lisa Hendrickson, owner of a computer support and repair company called Call That Girl!, learn about her new eBook called Call That Girl’s Guide to Social Media and find out how you can use it as a guide to create and manage a successful marketing campaign for your business.

Interview with Lisa Hendrickson 21:59

Wrap up and Close :46

Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net!

©2010 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

Chamber of Commerce Insight

I just thought that I would take a little time today to share a couple of my observations of late. I hope that everyone is staying busy with their computer repair services. I seem to have lately found some free and cheap advertising that has had an immediate payoff. I have been a Chamber of Commerce member for a couple of years now, and one of my competitors is even on the board of our local chamber. He is a nice guy and I try to buy parts from him when I can.

The point is, I askedRead More…

Read more:

TPN Weekly #75 with Rick Savoia – The Force Field: Inside The Force Field Web Portal

As most of you know, The Force Field Podcast is a member of The Tech Podcast Network, a  podcast network of family-friendly shows that cover just about every aspect of technology from the latest news, business and tutorials to digital photography, amateur radio and gaming.

The Tech Podcast Network has an official podcast of its own called TPN Weekly . This weekly podcast is hosted by various podcasters on the network who take turns producing and guest hosting the show.

This week I am the guest host. Here are the show notes for TPN Weekly #75 with Rick Savoia – The Force Field: Inside The Force Field Web Portal :

Greetings, everyone! I’m Rick Savoia, host of The Force Field, a podcast about the business of tech.

In this episode I would like to give you an update of what is happening inside The Force Field podcast and touch on topics we recently discussed on the show. I will also introduce you to The Force Field web portal and tell you how you can use it to find the resources you need to learn more about the business of tech.

Topics of discussion:

I will tell you about recent episodes of The Force Field podcast in which we learned how we can use social networks to market our businesses and how to buy into a franchise.

We will find out how to use The Force Field web portal to find the resources you need to start and manage a tech business.

If you want to know more about starting and managing a computer or IT service business, give The Force Field podcast a listen. Questions, comments or feedback? Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net, visit our forums or email comments(at)theforcefield.net.

Microsoft Adobe rumor – true or not, does it make sense?

“Now, we’re not ones to go ’round spreadin’ rumors…” That was the first line of a song from a comedy sketch on the old TV show “Hee Haw” and it just popped into my head. (watch it here). Rumors (or rumours, depending on your nationality) abound in the tech industry and are one of the reasons Wall Street can be a real rollercoaster track when it comes to tech stock, or any stock for that matter. This was especially true Thursday when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer met with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen in a secret meeting that afternoon. As soon as it started, the rumors began to fly.

It’s no secret Microsoft wants to compete in the mobile arena. So, naturally, the rumor that spread most rapidly across the net was the possibility Microsoft would “buy out” Adobe, presumably to position itself to more effectively compete in the mobile market against Apple.

Of course, both companies were mum about what was actually discussed during the meeting. But that did not stop speculation by both Wall Street and the media as to what it all meant. Some industry analysts seem to think the rumor, if true, would be a good thing for Microsoft, Adobe and their shareholders. Others are not so sure. However, it does leave some scratching their heads and thinking that such a buy out doesn’t seem make any sense at all. I can certainly understand why, because from some perspectives, it doesn’t.

On one hand, Microsoft is known for its operating systems, business software, games and other applications designed primarily for the desktop. It is what their licensing model is based on as well. That is how they built their empire; that is their domain. Sure, they had search and web-based platforms and services but it wasn’t their priority or expertise – and it showed. The desktop is what they do and for the most part they do it well. Their specialty is not mobile and not in the cloud.

The reason I think it would make sense is because Adobe does have products that are widely used in certain fields that can be used against comparable Apple products and Microsoft currently doesn’t really have anything to speak of in those markets to compete with.

Think beyond Acrobat, Flash and Shockwave. Microsoft FrontPage couldn’t compete with Dreamweaver, which is the application web developers around the world compare all other web design programs to. Photoshop is another obvious example and is one that, if Microsoft owned it, would give them better leverage in competition with Apple, particularly in the areas of graphic design and publishing.

If Microsoft owned Adobe Premiere, however, it would open up a whole new arena for them to compete with Apple. Microsoft primarily reigns in the business desktop market and really doesn’t have anything to speak of to compete with in the media industry, where Apple has dominated.

However, there is still something missing here. Such a rumor still doesn’t add up if we’re simply comparing Apples to Microsofts. This is why I don’t think Microsoft is really thinking about Apple here at all.

It’s Google.

Who is eating up Apple’s share of the mobile market now? Android. It happened very quickly too. It’s not an iPhone killer, of course, but it is now firmly entrenched in the mobile space – and that share is increasing.

Now that Google is doing TV and it’s going mobile as well, whose apps will be used to produce all that content and deliver it in a standard format to all the mobile devices and set top boxes emerging on the market? It may not be Apple, but unless they act quickly to buy their way into it or create something new, it certainly won’t be Microsoft.

Microsoft has already lost ground in the Search arena and Internet Explorer recently dropped below fifty percent market share for the first time. With a move to the cloud primarily controlled by Google as a backbone for current and future mobile devices such as phones, pads, netbooks, etc., Redmond needs to move fast or they are going to be left behind. Given that, a merge with or buy-out of Adobe would possibly make some sense.

But that’s only a rumor.

ACRBO Recommends “Powered by Nine” Online Backup and Recovery Platform

Los Angeles, Calif. – October 5, 2010 – Nine Technology, a leading provider of online backup and recovery platforms through channel resellers and managed service providers, today announced the Association of Computer Repair Business Owners has selected the “Powered by Nine” platform as a partner to Association members. The ACRBO chose to endorse the Nine Technology products after careful consideration of its members’ needs and after rigorous testing of the systemRead More…

Read more: