It seems like most of the world has hopped on the bandwagon of the Smart Phone trend. Phone service providers are rarely offering products that do not include an internet package. Everywhere you turn people are on their mobile phones now, and they’re not just making phone calls. People are expecting their phones to be fully functional in every area, including conducting business. So that means that programmers have to keep up with mobile apps that will be useful and convenient to their customers. I have found a few that seem pretty handy when it comes to running your small business.

Here are some suggestions that you might want to try out:

WebEx – WebEx is an app that can be used to conduct your business meetings from your phone. Sometimes it is difficult for everyone to be in the same place all at once, and at times not everyone may be able to sit in front of their laptop or projector to have a video conference. But, everyone always has their phones handy, so this app allows you to host or join in on meetings when you can’t be at your desk. WebEx can be used via Android/iPhone/iPad.

Things— This is an awesome app that you can use to get all of your “things” done. The app allows you to be flexible and is great at helping you to manage your multi-tasking abilities. It works well with business and travel. Things can be used via iPhone/iPad.

Dropbox— This app is great for storing files, documents, pictures, presentations and much more. This is a cloud storage app that allows you to have easy access to all of your files from your mobile device and also has a great feature that syncs all of the files to your computer for you. There are versions of the Dropbox app that you can find for free. Dropbox can be used via Android/iPhone/iPad.

Evernote— If you ever need to jot down a quick note or have an idea you don’t want to forget, but you don’t have a pen and paper, then this app is great for you. You can use Evernote to take down quick notes, pictures and even audio files, which can always be handy for later on. Evernote can be used via Android/iPhone/iPad/BlackBerry.

Ringcentral— This app is helpful for when you are on the go. It allows you to check your messages from clients, and also call them using an 800 number (if your business has one) that way you are not being charged for making long distance calls when you are on the road. With this app you can bring your work everywhere. Ringcentral can be used via Android/iPhone/iPad.

Know of any other useful mobile apps to add to this list?  Let us know which apps you use to help run your business and your life better.

Celebrity websites are becoming more popular as technology advances. Fans are so invested in what their favorite stars are doing that they flock to any information that they can get; and what better place to go than to a celebrity’s personal website? Of course, celebrities do their fair share of Facebooking and Tweeting, however, personal celebrity websites are just as important. These websites give more background to what the stars are really about and are able to reach out to fans and let them know what’s happening next in the celeb’s life—and perhaps let fans know where they can go see the celebs in concert or when their next movie will be coming out. Personal websites are so important to celebrities, specifically for marketing purposes and growing a sturdy fan-base. Whether or not you want to love or hate a certain celebrity, hopefully it is not based upon the fact that they didn’t have a website for you to look at, but maybe it should be. Soon enough almost every celeb is going to have a website—how much effort being put into them is another question—and hopefully there will be more good than bad ones to take a peek at.

Top 5 Celebrities With Great Web Sites

1. Britney Spears
Link: http://www.britneyspears.com/

I don’t know how she does it, but after all of these years Miss Britney is still on top of the world. Not only is she still dishing out number one hits on the radio, but her website isn’t too shabby either. Although the layout hasn’t changed much over the past couple of years, there have been tweaks made where necessary, and that is what keeps fans coming back for more. The overall design of the page is pretty bubble-gum and popish but it is very welcoming and pleasant to look at. The social networks such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have also been added to the home-bar of the page, making it more easily accessible to visitors. The website also seems to be keeping up with her current material, which means that they are keeping their fans happy with the newest updates in Britney’s life.

2. Ellen DeGeneres
Link: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/

Although Ellen’s website may not be as funny as she is, it still brings in a lot of visitors. There is so much information that you can grab off of her website, and it’s not presented in a “system-overload” kind of way. There is a lot of scroll area you can browse through, but it’s all so entertaining. The best part is that the page loads quickly even with its multiple components—it has a multi-faceted personality, just like Ellen!

3. Katy Perry
Link: http://www.katyperry.com/home/

Katy Perry is an interesting character, on and off stage it seems, and so is her website. Don’t let the “buy now” buttons fool you or scare you away, because the website is pretty nice. The layout and color scheme is simple, but the background image is what gives the page  a cool vibe and gives that laid back approach to its visitors. The site also does a great job showcasing her music.

4. Taylor Swift
Link: http://www.taylorswift.com/

America’s sweetheart has a pretty sweet website. The design is really unique—it gives off a sort of antique feel with a modern twist—and its quite picturesque. The image at the very top of the page has a great design and it leaves you on the edge of your seat to see what else the website has in store for you below. Although it advertises for Taylor it is not overwhelming because it is so well incorporated with the layout of her site.

5. Miley Cyrus
Link: http://www.mileycyrus.com/

She can’t be tamed, and neither can her website. Although Miley Cyrus may be viewed as a good girl gone bad, she is still one of the top celebrities with the most fans and just so happens to have an appropriately sensual website. Hers is definitely one of my favorites to browse through because of its casually sophisticated design. It definitely gives off a relaxed ambiance where visitors can just come hang out with Miley and forget their worries for a while, which is most likely why it’s such a big hit. It also doesn’t have “BUY NOW” written on every inch of the screen which is definitely a plus!

It feels like people from my generation are the last of a dying breed – those who still use or make use of print.  Those of us who can still find “ink on our fingers,” so to speak. From news and advertising to everyday communication and commerce, it’s no secret that we have become a digitalized world of bloggers, e-vendors, and online media socialites.  For those of us that started out that way and who were born into the World Wide Web, well, the issue of what to do with all that paper that adds up over the years doesn’t even come about. So what about those people, whose livelihoods relied upon and were surrounded by the world of print?  How are they fairing in a world that runs along the digital highway and waits for no one?

The sad but true reality of the state of the print world is dismal. We’ve all read about the folding of major newspapers, magazines, and the demise of various other facets of the print world that have existed for almost a century. While many companies and technical savvy individuals have been able to keep up with the times and adopt the ways of the digital world or make that transition to the web, a small, yet important demographic still lags behind – that of the small business.

Small businesses, particularly successful, small businesses that have been around for years seem to have the most trouble with transitioning from print or pen and paper to the web.

Having worked with a number of clients that are small businesses looking to make this important transition, the following are just a few suggestions on how to properly make the leap from print to the web:

1. Setup a blog, a website or both. Whether you’re selling shoes are publicizing your latest book – creating a blog or website is key. For blogs, we suggest using Word Press. It’s much more flexible, you won’t have to advertise (like you have to advertise with blogger). With Word Press, you also have the option of setting up a content management system, which allows you to create multiple pages and an actual website with other pages. Making a website for your company allows for an endless amount of possibilities. You can start with a simple, 5 page web  site just to get your name out there, what you do and communicate with your target market faster and easier. Eventually, you can put more work into your site’s SEO and SEM for web advertising or setup e-commerce to start selling your products or services via the web.
2. Plan your Design. If you plan to use current publications or text there are a couple of things to consider when it comes to typography and images. When it comes to designing your website or blog, these two aspects of your web publication are the most important things to be aware of. The way something looks on paper will appear different on the computer screen. For this reason, you should familiarize yourself with how font type and size differentiate from print to digital. Also take into consideration various font colors and how they will appear best on whichever background you are looking to use on the web. Print best practices normally use a 10 or 11 point font. This size font is not legible on the web and should be increased to either 12 or 14 when using text on the web. Also consider using a sans-serif font as opposed to serif fonts – they are known to have a much higher readability level for most people viewing the text on a screen.It is also important to consider color and contrast of the text and its background when publishing on the web. For example – it is important to be careful to steer away from grey or light colored fonts that will be hard to read on a white background.Common problems with design transitions from print to web also include image size and dimension after compression. Things to consider are your images dpi (dots per inch), the document/image format – we recommend using either a JPEG or PNG.
3. Educate yourself on the best ways to market and advertise your website or blog. Things to consider are SEO, email marketing, RSS feeds or visitor/user subscriptions to any publications you might be offering the public.

The above are just a few of the significant things you should take into consideration when transitioning from print to web. While there is a great deal of information and things to watch out for during this process it has proven to be one that is well worth it. The best suggestion we can offer those of you looking to take the leap is to make use of the internet and all of the other information out there regarding this process.