Computer Support Blog

Gift giving is often a stressful experience for the giver and disappointing for the person receiving the gift.  No matter how well someone knows a friend or family member, there will always be times when that person chooses an awkward, inappropriate or just plain bad gift.  Jifiti is a cool product that uses mobile technology to try to get rid of this problem.  Jifiti makes a mobile application that facilitates gift giving for both givers and receivers.  Jifiti works with Facebook to help friends give each other items that they actually want.  Users can add gifts from any store or vendor to their wish list.   They can add potential gifts either through e-commerce websites or by taking a picture of the gift in a physical store.  The Jifiti app will recognize the gift from the image and label it appropriately in the wish list.  Other users can then browse friends’ wish lists in order to find gifts that their friends actually want.  Then, when people find gifts they want to give, they can simply click the gifting button on Jifiti app.  Jifiti charges the giver and sends a voucher to the giftee immediately.  Each voucher is instantly retrievable through any online or in-store vendor with whom Jifiti partners.  This process removes a lot of hassle from gift giving experience and ensures that users receive items they actually desire.  If the Jifiti app doesn’t work properly, users can always contact smartphone tech support. Read more »

The name Hallmark Cards is virtually synonymous with greeting cards, much the way people refer to MP3 players as iPods or inline skates as Rollerblades.  To its credit in the rapidly changing world, Hallmark Cards has worked very hard to keep with the times and it has a robust online presence.  The physical greeting card manufacturer effectively competes against many online digital greeting card sites and Hallmark Cards continues to innovate.  Seeing the intense interest in mobile computing among many of its fans, Hallmark Cards has released the Hallmark Go Cards application! Read more »

More often than not, when the mainstream media discusses the tech sector and the businesspeople within it, they convey information about executives who make hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars each year.  There is another side to the tech sector, though, and that is the charitable side.  There are many executives in the tech sector who, upon seeing the profound influence technology may have on one’s quality of life, become inspired to spread technology to the underprivileged.  Millie Liggins has seen just how great IT can improve a company and in her spare time, the works to spread technology through the World Computer Exchange! Read more »

Virtually anyone with a real talent not directly related to their field of employment who has friends will be told “you should do that professionally!”  While friends mean well by such compliments, they seldom realize that starting a business is a huge task, often involves a skill set entirely different from the skill or product that their friends love, and they are asking their friend to take something they love doing and become dependent upon it for income.  Very few people have the wherewithal to go through with such an endeavor.  However, Julie Degnan not only made a business out of her hobby, she had all the business skills to make it a success! Read more »

Style and fashion can be a tough sell using the Internet.  The Internet is great for presenting images of cutting-edge styles and connecting users to sales points, but many style shoppers have discovered that products hardly seem as glamorous as the digitally touched-up images they saw online make them look.  Fashion shoppers frequently find that colors are not as precisely rendered on their computer monitors, resulting in negative shopping experiences that can leave them out of the current trend.  But one woman has found a very effective way to synergize online shopping, social networks and the in-person shopping experience.  That business visionary is Jessica Herrin! Read more »

At last week’s Google I/O conference, many new products were introduced, not all of them ready for the marketplace just yet.  Most of the products were very much to be expected from the search giant who now seems to have its hands in everything.  Google, through its Android operating system has become more associated with gadgets in recent years, instead of just being considered an Internet software/search pioneer.  As a result, the fact that the I/O conference was used to generate enthusiasm (and preorders) for new products like Google Glass and Nexus devices was predictable.  What was truly audacious was the way Google declared war on Amazon and the Apple iTunes store by unveiling a new shopping platform: Google Play Store. Read more »

The challenge many advertisers and brands continue to have is connecting with customers, especially new customers, utilizing the Internet.  Many Internet-savvy potential customers already use ad blocking software or, because of the prevalence of ads around the Internet, mentally block out all but the most inspired Internet ads.  With social networking, the challenge of connecting advertisers and potential clients is still one that experts in the industry are figuring out.  Trying to crack the formula to utilize the power of social networking for business purposes is what Josh Emert is involved with now and with GoChime, he may be on the right track! Read more »

Social networking is, truly, one of the benefits of the Internet that were not entirely conceived when the World Wide Web was first being conceived as a communications tool.  The reality, however, is that human beings are social animals and Internet social networking allows people to connect in ways they never were able to before.  The result is that the Internet is now home to massive social networks like Facebook, Myspace, and Google+, and obscure, theme-based social networks like the artist community Elftown.  What is fascinating to see is how sites that begin as one type of website, like a sale’s site, can quickly turn into a social networking hub.  That is what happened with Ju-Ju-Be.com. Read more »

One of the most important aspects of a sales-driven business is the ability to reach out to your customers.  Having an interface for customers and vendors is especially important on Internet sales sites, notably online sites that are essentially a platform for vendors who are not directly connected to the site, like eBay and Amazon Stores.  For the art sales website Etsy, the community aspect is exceptionally important.  Artists and those who buy art tend to naturally form communities to discuss art – both the creation and acquisition of art.  That makes Vanessa Bertozzi’s role at Etsy a very important one. Read more »

With so many great ideas in the tech sector, wooing venture capitalists for your start-up can be a full-time job.  Every idea that is pitched to a venture capitalist is competing for the resources and attention of investors; it can be hard to set your website, app, or web-based service apart in order to get funded.  Funding means the difference between having an idea and having a business.  So, when the venture capital specialists at August Capital put money into a company, it is an endorsement of the quality of the idea being presented.  With August Capital leading the three million dollar investment in DITTO, DITTO must be doing something right! Read more »