Six reasons iPad is a productivity tool
http://blogs.computerworld.com/16776/six_reasons_ipad_is_a_productivity_tool

There’s a lot of folks who say the iPad isn’t proper competition for netbooks because it isn’t a ‘productivity tool’. They’re all wrong. Take the visual arts, for example, and you’ll find a growing army of examples of artists using the Apple device to create stunning pieces of art, here’s six stories to illustrate this. Clearly this illustrates why netbook sales have cramped up and why Apple’s iPad is such a success, because it unlocks imagination for users, developers, old and new media.

(via Instapaper)

I have to say that I am also using the iPad to maintain numerous websites and blogs. This post for example was sent from my iPad.

Some of the ways I use my iPad are:

1. Keep up to date on industry news (not productivity, but very convenient)

2. Brainstorming and mindmapping ideas

3. Taking notes at meetings which automatically sync to my desktop computer.

4. Managing projects

5. Sketching ideas for websites and layouts for staff and outsourcers

6. Updating multiple websites and blogs.

7. Working with documents and spreadsheets while away from the iMac. Documents are stored on Google Docs or in Dropbox.

I am even more productive now that I have the iPad compared to using a normal laptop because it is more convenient and portable with excellent battery life. 

Three Ways to Create a Better Performing Website (Using One Sneaky Tactic)
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/create-a-better-performing-website-using-one-sneaky-tactic

In case you’ve not come across the concept before, it’s probably best exemplified by the site Start Panic – just hit the ‘Let’s start!’ button to watch it trawl through your browser history, and start listing sites that even you forgot you’d visited.
 
StartPanic uses Javascript to do the dirty work, but it’s also possible to do this completely using CSS, and without Javascript. (There’s advice about implementing the technical side of this in a popular post by Niall Kennedy.)
 
I wanted to show how you can use this to help your website perform better – let’s begin with the least controversial, and work on from there

(via Instapaper)

Great ideas when thinking outside the box. Just shows you how advanced internet marketing can be and what is possible. 

American Express Study Finds Consumers Seek Out Negative Opinions
http://www.revenews.com/barrysilverstein/american-express-study-finds-consumers-seek-out-negative-opinions/

The good news is that, contrary to a commonly held belief, customers will talk more about a positive experience with a company than a negative one. Three-quarters of respondents said they are very likely to speak positively about a company after a good service experience, while 59 percent said they are very likely to speak negatively about a company after poor service.

But here’s the bad news companies need to consider: nearly half (48 percent) of respondents report always or often using an online posting or blog to get others’ opinions about a company’s customer service reputation. What are they looking for? Negative opinions.

According to American Express’ survey over half of respondents (57 percent) say they believe more in negative reviews than positive ones on blogs, and 48 percent believe more in negative reviews on social networking sites. Jim Bush, Executive Vice President, World Service for American Express, explains:

(via Instapaper)

I personally search for any negative reviews – bad service, missing orders, etc – before ordering from a company for the first time. I know many of the positive reviews might be true but then again so many affiliates will write positive reviews just to get the sale. 

Wake up to an Apple planet, PC world
http://blogs.computerworld.com/16593/wake_up_to_an_apple_planet_pc_world

Driven by the iPad and iPhone, Apple is the world’s leading personal computer maker — but this isn’t reflected in so-called market share studies from the likes of Gartner or IDC.

An outrageous claim? It isn’t. It is a statement of fact.

This is because at present neither Gartner nor IDC include iPad sales within their PC data calculations — even though they will include figures detailing netbook sales.

They’ve decided — at least for the time being — that Apple’s tablet doesn’t qualify as a netbook, even though many of us acquiring an iPad are doing so in order to use it as a netbook.

Indeed, that’s precisely why some corporate and business users are opting for iPad.

…

That truth is that Apple leads the PC industry, delivering quarter after quarter of Mac marketshare growth for the last 13 straight quarters. iPhone has set the standard for what a smartphone should be, and iPad has eaten the netbook market.

With cloud computing — the real thing — just around the corner, then devices such as an iPhone are peers to any desktop,when apps and files are held in the cloud.

This is the new PC world. And it is an Apple planet.

Get used to it.

(via Instapaper)

Some interesting reading about the current status of the PC and Apple market share. I do agree that the ipad should be included if netbooks are. I for one actually got an ipad to replace a full Macbook Pro. In fact, I now use the iPad even more than I used my Macbook because of battery life and portability.