Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 31st, 2009
We waited over five years for the Jamaica Observer, the youngest of Jamaica’s two daily newspapers to upgrade and change the look and feel, navigational features and interactivity of their website. Its new site went live about 48 hrs ago.
What we now have is a site that is spacious, light and bright in its look and feel; well organised content that’s easy to see and get to; they’ve made smart space to accommodate advertising and video and in the age of sharing and social media tools, they’ve loaded up the site with more than 20 options. But still, they’ve not scored a touchdown in my mind, they’re still clutching the ball, toes just on the other side of the big win. Why?
Popularity: 10% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 28th, 2009
Cable Modem Internet Access Offers More Competitive Broadband Rates in the Caribbean; with DSL and Fixed Line Wireless Technology Prices Between 48% and 61% More Expensive. This is just one of the findings from a recent Signals Telecom Consulting study that covers South and Central America, and analyzes the pricing strategy of 56 broadband operators in 24 markets in the Caribbean Basin and Bermuda.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 27th, 2009

IS4WE.com “is a dedicated Caribbean search engine in every sense of the word.” Those were the emphatic words of Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah, the Ceo of this new Caribbean web startup. So I said ok, cool, explain that to me and in fact answer a few other questions too, I think my readers would love to know more. What follows is a question and answer between Ibrahim and myself. I’m always excited when I discover companies such as these, as it’s these minds and the ideas they spawn, that’ll continue to fuel the growth and success of the Global Caribbean Web.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 23rd, 2009
I am not a fan of Hi5.com at all,since signing up about a year ago, but hey that’s just me. They seem to be heading in the direction of reinvention. They’re going virtual. Read more. Because Facebook is the largest, fastest-growing network in the world, a big question is what other social networks are going to do to compete. Hi5, with approximately 60 million monthly unique visitors, is in the process of making itself an “immersive social environment” that includes virtual goods, avatars, games, instant messaging and a 3-D world geared at older teens worldwide. The company plans to make money off of virtual goods — not traditional online advertising. More
Popularity: 1% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 22nd, 2009
In September 2007 I could count on my right hand, the amount of Jamaican Facebook groups that existed. Fast forward to now, just over a year later and they are now numbering in the high hundreds and Caribbean people at home and abroad have been pouring online in tens of thousands, to make this an exciting development to watch.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 22nd, 2009
When I find an excellent post where you and I can learn something I simply have to share it. Neil Patel, a successful blogger and entrepreneur I respect alot wrote an instructional article on How to Raise VEnture Capital, so have a read. He starts with his experience of trying to raise venture capital, his success and failures and how you can get what you want. Read it here
Popularity: 2% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 21st, 2009
At precisely 12:01 p.m. EST, the White House Web site, the online bastion of the Bush administration for the past eight years, was updated to reflect President Barack Obama’s assumption of office. “The White House. President Barack Obama,” reads the top of the new home page, which went live even before Obama finished delivering his first speech. “Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. Change has come to America.”
Popularity: 2% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 19th, 2009
On blogs and on Facebook the debate rages still as to the tangible nature of the Obama effect. He has made it cool to care it seems – cool to care about who’s hurting from the US and Global economy, its missteps and miscreants; cool to care about the not so green effect that the ballooning remnants of our materiallisic tendencies have had on our planet. It is also becoming more cool to care about your next door neighbour down your street or those in the state, country or continent beside you, primarily because you now know a little bit more about who they are, thanks to the Internet. It has grown more cool to believe and volunteer especially since the multimillion person throng that is the Obama campaign volunteer network. They gave their money, time and ideas to help him become the 44th President of the United States of America.
So has their been a true shift in consciousness from greed to good as Oprah would like to put it, or is all this touchy feely sentiment just another Post 9/11 type I-am-my-brother’s-keeper until I feel more secure about my job,credit card debt and mortgage phase?
Trendwatching.com has just released their monthly briefing called Generation G, have a read and tell me what you think? Is all this caring and giving for real and for long or simply a case of misery loves company.
Related Stories
Jamaica’s Oprah on Facebook- Lisa O’Gilvie
Popularity: 1% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 19th, 2009
The number of websites dedicated to helping entrepreneurs is incredible: there are always new sites, to the point that it can be hard to keep track of them. However, I have a few favorites. There are some tools I absolutely rely on for everything from marketing to billing, some blogs I read constantly and a few resource sites that I consult for all sorts of small business issues.
If you are an entrepreneur of any kind, it doesn’t particularly matter where you are in the process. Whether you’re just starting out freelancing in your spare time or you have a thriving business and you’re looking to expand, there are always new resources that can help you along in the entrepreneurial process. These sites are a great starting point: they’re all good resources and you may not have explored all of them. More
Related Stories
1 on 1 with the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz
Popularity: unranked [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 16th, 2009
I’ve never been much of a gamer, Scrabulous aka Wordscraper and Pacman is as far as I go really, but I’ve got an itch for the Wii, that I believe I’ll definitely scratch. But it seems I’m just a toops late, since nearly 10.17 million Americans bought a Wii in 2008, according to The NPD Group, and there are more than 15 million Wii consoles in U.S. homes right now. Also in 2008, another 9.95 million bought the Nintendo DS portable system. Now while I’ll definitely find time for the mind mumba that is WordScraper, it looks like Wii could become king of my living room.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on January 16th, 2009
Ok, Ok, I’m on a social media kick here…but come on, you have to admit there is some pretty cool stuff happening out there. Take a read of this. The share of adult internet users who are involved in social networking online has more than quadrupled in the past four years in the U.S. In 2005, only 8% of adults had a social network profile. As of December 2008, that number was 35%. What motivates those in older generations to go online? Is it the opportunity to professionally network with their colleagues? The answer may surprise you. More
Popularity: unranked [?]