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<title>Broad Side of the Barn: Blog Posts</title>
<link>http://www.broadsideofthebarn.com</link>
<pubDate>2012-05-16</pubDate>
<description>List of Latest Blog Posts at Broad Side of the Barn</description>
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<isc:store_name><![CDATA[Broad Side of the Barn]]></isc:store_name>
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<title><![CDATA[Facebook Bringing Lists and Personalized News to a New Crowd ]]></title>
<link>http://www.broadsideofthebarn.com/Facebook-Bringing-Lists-and-Personalized-News-to-a-New-Crowd-_b_9.html</link>
<pubDate>2012-03-08</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Facebook Bringing Lists and Personalized News to a New Crowd  ]]></description>
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[Facebook Bringing Lists and Personalized News to a New Crowd ]]></content:encoded>
<isc:description><![CDATA[Mashable is reporting a new Facebook feature that takes a step towards providing a feed become something like a personalized newspaper. By grouping subscriptions by topic you can have selected news populate chosen lists. This isn't an earth shattering idea, Twitter has lists, and rss feeds already do this too. However, bring it to Facebook offers this type of service to a whole new crowd of users, making it an interesting development for Facebook.Facebook Interest Lists Turn Your Feed Into a Personalized NewspaperFacebook introduced a new tool Thursday that allows you to organize your newsfeed into a personalized newspaper.The feature, which will be rolled out to users in the coming weeks, lets you create and subscribe to topical feeds such as “Recipes” or “Fashion.” Under a list for “Sports,” for instance, you could add the public Facebook pages of all of your favorite teams, athletes, publications and pundits. ]]></isc:description>
<isc:productid><![CDATA[9]]></isc:productid>
<isc:author><![CDATA[Administrator]]></isc:author>
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<title><![CDATA['Google Play' Goes Toe to Toe with Apple]]></title>
<link>http://www.broadsideofthebarn.com/Google-Play-Goes-Toe-to-Toe-with-Apple_b_8.html</link>
<pubDate>2012-03-06</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Google Play Launches and Competes with Apple ]]></description>
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[Google Play Launches and Competes with Apple]]></content:encoded>
<isc:description><![CDATA[Google has just announced their new service 'Google Play.' A combination of media sources (music, movies, books and apps) Google is clearly challenging Apples online media supremacy. While this isn't likely to immediately knock out i-tunes and the like, Google's offering a decisive alternative. Android users will now have more than just Android Market, but a full media center. While Google's entry into social media has been less than compelling, this is definitely one to watch, as it is full of potential.From Google's Blog... Introducing Google Play: All your entertainment, anywhere you goStarting today, Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore will become part of Google Play. On your Android phone or tablet, we’ll be upgrading the Android Market app to the Google Play Store app over the coming days. Your videos, books and music apps (in countries where they are available) will also be upgraded to Google Play Movies, Google Play Books and Google Play Music apps. The music, movies, books and apps you’ve purchased will continue to be available to you through Google Play—simply log in with your Google account like always.To celebrate, we’ll be offering a different album, book, video rental and Android app at a special price each day for the next week in our “7 Days to Play” sale. In the U.S., today’s titles include the collection of top 40 hits Now That's What I Call Music 41, the popular game Where's My Water, the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and the movie Puncture for just 25 cents each. In addition, you'll find great collections of hip-hop, rock and country albums for $3.99 all week, detective novels from $2.99, some of our editorial team's favorite movies from 99 cents, and our favorite apps from 49 cents. ]]></isc:description>
<isc:productid><![CDATA[8]]></isc:productid>
<isc:author><![CDATA[Administrator]]></isc:author>
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<title><![CDATA[Ditch GoDaddy]]></title>
<link>http://www.broadsideofthebarn.com/Ditch-GoDaddy_b_6.html</link>
<pubDate>2012-02-23</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Time to ditch GoDaddy and pick another web registrar/service. ]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.broadsideofthebarn.com/Ditch-GoDaddy_b_6.html</guid>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Time to ditch GoDaddy and pick another web registrar/service.]]></content:encoded>
<isc:description><![CDATA[ If you follow the buzz on the internet you probably know that GoDaddy hasraised the ire of plenty of the internet's faithful. Their latest and mostdamaging transgression is supporting SOPA a poorly written lawopposing internet piracy. While opposing internet piracy is hardly a radicalstance, GoDaddy was in position to know that the specific law drawn up wouldcause huge headaches and potential legal problems for many reputable internetsites. Godaddy eventually withdrew it support for this law when customersstarted leaving in protest.This, however, isn't GoDaddy's only public relations blunder. The presidentof company trumpeting his 'big game' hunting, and a series of tasteless andtrashy commercials have left many web professionals looking for an alternative.While they are the most well know domain name registrar they are also likelythe most disliked as well.Yet my complaint about Godaddy is due to their customer service and businesspractices. I strongly recommend looking for another registrar like NetworkSolutions or NameCheap, because GoDaddy misleads its customers and bleeds moneyfrom them through their dubious practices. The most recent example Iencountered is of a client who purchased a domain and email service believingthey had also signed up for a hosting account. Technically they could 'host'their domain at GoDaddy, but it was a severely limited plan that only allowedfor a canned page to be 'hosted' at Godaddy, which left them without the actualservice they needed.My initial problem with GoDaddy is that I placed an order using their'speedy checkout' option. This wasn't a short cut through the order processlike it sounds, it was a sneaky way to get customers to sign up forauto-renewal for particular products. Obviously I hold responsibility in thismistake, I should have read over the fine print. However, Godaddy has made alot of money by misleading people into purchasing the wrong product. They also hold your credit card number, and you can only check out if youagree to let them hold this information on file. For most online businesses,this is a voluntary choice, not a prerequisite to ordering. GoDaddy is the lastcompany I trust to hold my credit card information, and I highly recommend notallowing them to store your information. At one time, GoDaddy was the only realcost effective choice for domain registration. That is no longer the case, andtaking your businesses elsewhere to a company that will treat you fairly is aprudent and wise decision. ]]></isc:description>
<isc:productid><![CDATA[6]]></isc:productid>
<isc:author><![CDATA[Administrator]]></isc:author>
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<title><![CDATA[Shopping Cart Scalability]]></title>
<link>http://www.broadsideofthebarn.com/Shopping-Cart-Scalability_b_3.html</link>
<pubDate>2011-05-11</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ 3DCart shopping cart software offers an excellent scalable solution. They do this on two fronts. ]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.broadsideofthebarn.com/Shopping-Cart-Scalability_b_3.html</guid>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[3DCart shopping cart software offers an excellent scalable solution. They do this on two fronts.]]></content:encoded>
<isc:description><![CDATA[In my last article I had a number of Miva complaints, one of them being that Miva has given up on the little guy starting an e-commerce business. However in fairness, there are a number of carts and e-commerce solutions that are not scalable. Some like Miva cater to the developer, in Miva's case a particular circle of Miva developers/programmers - others cater to newbies, creating a super simple application that lacks the ability to grow with the user and their store. Obviously, with the myriad of cart and e-commerce solutions out there, there is range to what is offered. Small and simple may work for some, but for those who are looking to grow, it is important to consider both what is needed now and what will be needed in the future. 3DCart shopping cart software offers an excellent scalable solution. They do this on two fronts. First, this is done via price. The entry-level plan is $19.99 a month. Then it steps up in price as more space, bandwidth, and features are needed. However, the real reason 3DCart is such a good choice for those looking for a scalable solution is that they cater to all levels of user. It is easy to use for beginners, as it has templates and easy interface for those new to e-commerce. However, it also allows users to directly edit the css and html. Furthermore, it allows easy editing of non-product and non-category pages. Other carts don't always allow this, and some that do, like Miva, make it far more difficult than necessary. Finally, 3DCart has an open API for developers to create custom applications via XML. This is important for a couple of different reasons. First, it means that developers are creating apps and plug-ins that can bring added functionality to your cart - some free, some for a price. Fortunately, 3DCart is feature rich so you may never need an add-on; however, the option is there. Secondly, while the individual user may not see themselves developing custom apps, it is an excellent option to have. The open API means there are plenty of programmers/developers who can help customize the cart if specific ordering/processing solutions are needed. This is something offered by serious e-commerce providers, and is generally overlooked by those catering to the beginner. So while 3DCart is highly competitive and scalable in terms of cost, it is vital to look beyond your current business needs to see what is also needed down the road. This is where 3DCart excels. ]]></isc:description>
<isc:productid><![CDATA[3]]></isc:productid>
<isc:author><![CDATA[kmorrison]]></isc:author>
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<title><![CDATA[3D Cart Outperforming Miva]]></title>
<link>http://www.broadsideofthebarn.com/3D-Cart-Outperforming-Miva_b_5.html</link>
<pubDate>2011-05-02</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[  ]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.broadsideofthebarn.com/3D-Cart-Outperforming-Miva_b_5.html</guid>
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<isc:description><![CDATA[3dCart Taking Over from Dated Cart Solutions like Miva I've been working in e-commerce for the last ten years. The first site I worked on used a simple asp script for ordering that quickly passed by the wayside. Then the switch was made to Miva 4. This was a definite step up. However, then Miva upgraded to version 5, and I then switched to a different cart. However, I came back recently to Miva 5 - unfortunately. Miva has some good ideas, but support for the product is terrible. Basic level support through your host varies and depends on your host. Anything above and beyond requires Miva's atrocious support. Also, Miva has traded in on its initial popularity as one of the most popular carts and basically trapped its users into using a handful of developers to make their site usable. This is because Miva uses its own language on the programming end. There are pluses and minuses to this language/system, the biggest minus being you have to learn a new language to work with Miva's back-end or hire someone who knows it. The second major problem with Miva is that it uses modules that the site owners have to purchase in addition to paying for their cart, to add functionality to their site. The premise isn't bad. However, unlike Miva 4, Miva 5 is barely usable without at least some modules. At this point they have simply fallen well behind the curve on what a cart should offer at its base level.While working on a less well known (non-Miva) cart, it became clear that we needed to change systems. This is when I came across the 3DCart Shopping Cart Software. It was well reviewed on a number of bulletin boards, and they offer a 15 day free trial for the user to see if it will work for them. I tried it - I love it. First off, importing and exporting is done using Excel based CSV files - ie. a spreadsheet. No need for XML or third party interpreters. Second, editing products is very easy, editing categories is fairly easy. It comes in with numerous built in templates that you can edit significantly if you are familiar with CSS and HTML. Even if you don't know HTML and CSS you can still make changes to graphics, colors, and fonts simply. Depending on what level of cart you use, mailing lists, reports, twitter and facebook updates, shopping engine feeds, and much more are built in at no extra charge. 3DCart offers a wide range of payment gateways that are easy to set up and use. Order processing is effective, feature rich, yet simple. Finally, for those using Miva or another popular shopping cart, 3dCart offers a conversion service for an easy switch over. In short 3dCart is very affordable, easy to use, and feature rich - good for newbies and experts alike. Right now if you sign up for 3dCart you get a fifteen day free trial. It is certainly worth trying out.Originally Published from Blogger... 3dCart Taking Over from Dated Cart Solutions like Miva ]]></isc:description>
<isc:productid><![CDATA[5]]></isc:productid>
<isc:author><![CDATA[kmorrison]]></isc:author>
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