Wordpress has been great to me. I just upgraded and it only took two clicks… No… seriously.

Before I used Wordpress, open source applications took forever to configure, install, and customize… wordpress completely changed that.

If you need a recommendation for a blogging platform, I give my unstinting support to Wordpress. Roxane Martino (sister) just released a new WP blog…

Does anyone else use Wordpress? If so, let me know… if not… why not?

PS… iProv can design, install, customize, and configure your WP Blog

      

Google’s OpenSocial is exciting. I talk a lot about “integration of applications” being the future of software; OpenSocial is proving my point.

OpenSocial is a set of common API’s which will allow developers to write applications that leverage a number of different functions from participating web sites…

Good usage of an API can be seen at FORECLOSEDmaps.com. FORECLOSEDmaps.com uses Yahoo Maps… the way we’re able to use Yahoo Maps is by utilizing the Yahoo Maps API. If we decided to switch to Google Maps, we would have to register with a different vendor and re-write all of the code… Long story short… its a pain to use multiple API’s

OpenSocial will allow developers to quickly leverage mutliple sites using 1 API!!!

There are a ton of articles about it and everyone is really excited but the API isn’t publicly available yet… I can’t wait… I’m going to make something cool… I don’t know what… but something cool.

My Predictions

1. As I stated (and its been proven) with the facebook platform, there are going to be a lot of new applications developed.
2. The first (not necessarily the best) applications developed will see a flurry of users and will quickly go from thousands-of-users to hundreds-of-thousands.
3. Acquisitions of the most popular applications
4. You will see many new integration applications… that is… applications that allow you access to many of your favorite web sites from a central location (Facebook, myspace, linkedin… all from one location)
5. People will become more transparent and data will become more seamless. Now that developers can easily marry your information across different platforms you will be able to connect a linkedin profile with a facebook profile.

      

Yes… I know… I spend as much on phones as most people spend on cars… Every time that I start looking there is a review that promises me that some phone will solve all my problems… and each time, I’m dissapointed.

My last phone (the blackjack) was actually working perfect for me… it sync’d with my calendar, contacts, etc… It had email access… it had internet access… a full keyboard… played mp3s… took pictures… came with 2 batteries!!!

So, when I read all the fantastic reviews about the iPhone, I was pumped… I bought one and to my dissapointment, I’m still not happy… I actually want my money back and I want to go back to the blackjack… Here is what I hate…

1. Not a full keyboard… I have to look at my phone as I text
2. When I place it on my chin, it always puts people on hold
3. The internet is NOT faster
4. You can’t bulk delete from your emails
5. No third party applications
6. It has to sync with iTunes… I hate itunes

      

GrandCentral.com is a phone project brought to you by Google… free of charge.

My GrandCentral.com phone number is: 501-859-6035. You can call me now or you can even click the “call me” link on my page.

I’ve recently started using it and I’m really impressed. It make screening phone calls (something I do a lot) easier. Here’s the short version… Once you sign up, GrandCentral.com assigns you a phone number. When someone calls your phone number it immediately asks you who you are and why you’re calling… it then starts ringing… you can play any ring back… it also gives you a list of funny ring back options.

I told GrandCentral.com my “real” number and GrandCentral.com then calls my cell phone when I get a phone call from 501-859-6035… I pick it up and it says “X is calling.” I then have the option to answer it by pressing “1″, ignore it by pressing “4.” If I press “4″ to ignore, I can listen to the message that they leave… if I feel like answering while they’re talking, I can press “*” to pickup immediately… while they’re leaving a message! I can see a list of calls that I recieved on any day… and

It records the conversations and allows online access to voice mail. I can change my “real” cell phone at any time and just redirect where GrandCentral.com calls me from… I can switch phones while I’m on a call… I can immediately block unwanted calls (telemarketers hear a “disconnected” ring)…

Its pretty cool and worth taking a look at… if you’re interested, call me and ask me for a private beta invitation (I have a few left).

PS… I think this will be heavily used with the Google Phone. As a matter of fact, my prediction is that it won’t be network specific (like the iPhone, which only works with AT&T)… it will work across any network because the features are independent of the network you’re on…

      

Okay… here is a free business idea.

I want a recruiting system, that allows potential employees to submit their resume, allows our guys to sort through those resumes, search the resumes and store the resumes. Thats it… really simple… I want it to look good and run fast.

We have a recruiting system now but I’m not really happy with it. Its slow, complicated and not user friendly.

The Free Idea (lets call it XYZ.com)

What would be really nice is if XYZ.com was a job web application like monster.com. But, XYZ.com created an API which my web site could use to allow John Doe to submit a resume for my position. Then, using their API, I could view, search, and store any resume submitted through my web site.

When John Doe submitted his resume, although he sent it to my company, it was actually stored at XYZ.com. XYZ.com, as a service, offers companies the ability to search through the “global resume database” for a small fee.

After John Doe submits his resume to my company, he can now easily submit his resume to other companies that use XYZ.com.

The Revenue Model
XYZ.com is basically a monster.com… it gains revenue by companies paying them money to search through resumes and post jobs.

What Makes XYZ.com Different
What makes XYZ.com different is their ability to obtain a vast number of applicants… its viral marketing… its distributed networking… its pushing “the work” onto other people.

The application is given away but the data is saved. It is inherently integrated into a business with no need to change the way business is done. People and businesses hate change… the requires NO CHANGE.

Conclusion
Do you like the idea? Good… me too… As a business owner, I would use it because it would allow me a cheap way to obtain a recruiting system… I’d be your first customer

If you like it enough, higher iProv to write the software.

Or email me and lets do it together as a joint venture

Call me, we’ll do the development

      

One of my non-techy friends introduced me to something pretty cool a few months ago.

Did you know that you can send a text message to Google at 46645 (which spells “googl”) and it will return to you a list of things….

the main thing I use it for is when I’m looking for a phone number. I can text “Pizza, 72211″ and Google will instantly reply with the phone number and address to pizza places near 72211. Alternatively, I text “Pizza Hut, 72211″ I will receive the phone number and address of the pizza hut.

This is a broader search and returns more information than the traditionall “*411″… and it’s cheaper! It only costs you a text message.

For more information, check out Google’s SMS help page.

      

Continued education has always been a concern of mine. I’m sure my sister has gotten tired of me preaching about constantly keeping up with the now by reading blogs, books and up-to-date magazines, as this is just as valuable (if not, sometimes, more so) than actual class time. However, I recently decided to further my knowledge of the business world by enrolling in UALR’s Bowen School of Law. Being a local business owner, I plan to parlay my legal knowledge into a smarter, more productively run company to contribute to the economic development of the Little Rock area and eventually impact our state-run agencies in a way that will bring powerful and positive change.

Being in an executive position, I have run across my fair share of fighting politics, red tape, and threats of legal action. Because of these, I have a great desire to make changes in our legal policies that will be advantageous and fair to fellow business owners. Business ownership is tough and I want to wholly understand my rights as a businessperson and use my knowledge as ammunition against the war that is entrepreneurship. Being a part of the process for legal change, which will be nothing but positive for economic development for this state, is of utmost importance to me. Not only can I make a difference for my company, but I could possibly do a world of good for companies all over the state and, if I’m really good, the country.

I have many interests and hobbies. One that I have pursued for the past three years has been real estate. I sometimes feel I am lacking the legal knowledge necessary to owning property and having tenants. Recently, I was in small claims court with one of my tenants (an unfortunate reality of being a landlord). And while I don’t think that anything could have gone any differently had I had more knowledge of the law, it was all so fascinating that I started to wonder what, as a property owner, did I not have the appropriate knowledge of to make a difference in my real estate owning experience? Questions like these come up every day for me. I want to have a greater understanding of the law for so many various aspects of my life.

A law degree comes with a certain degree of credibility. And while I do not intend on using my degree to change careers, I do wish to make legal change. Change in business and in the state and change in my everyday life. Knowing the law and working hard to empower myself to actually make change is my passion. I want to impact Arkansas. I want to learn about Arkansas law. I want to empower myself and for the time being, this is the greatest way I know how.

      

This week I was able to show someone the power of RSS… If you don’t know what RSS is, or if you know what it is but don’t know why its so cool… check out the wiki for RSS it or try using an RSS reader like Bloglines.

      

So, we’ve purchased a new apartment complex in Jacksonville, AR. It’s 46 units and is currently full (no discounts given to facebook-friends). It should be a good deal. I’m 100% confident that we bought it at a great price, the cash flow projections look good, the management is solid, and the occupancy rate is high.

We’re doing a good job at aligning our properties such that they are relatively close, the management is getting better as screening tenants, contractors are more understanding of our terms, and most of the properties have similar goals.

With any organization there is a “culture” that everyone buys into… that includes the owners, contactors, employees, management and even the tenants/customers. If you can’t get everyone to buy into the culture, you either have to change the culture or change the people.

The guys at the top typically define the culture… the guys at the bottom have to buy into the culture… if you’re at the bottom and you want to change the culture, you get repromanded… thats why turnover is so much higher at the bottom…. thats why you hear of so many employees that “just didn’t work out.”

If you want to change culture, the guys at the top have to change… and I mean they have to be replaced. Changing people is too hard to do.

      

I haven’t written in a while and its for good reason. I’ve been soooo busy lately.

Ok… not a good reason… but a reason. I’ll update everyone in a longer post but the skinny is this (in no specific order):

• A new hobby of fishing
• A new hobby of water sports
• Purchased a new apartment complex (bigger is better)
• iProv is BUSY
• Started Law School
• A new girlfriend (not so new)