Journal Entries…the LedgersOnline blog

Well, I wouldn't call it a down-right blow to the search engine wars just yet, but it does appear that a few of ex-google wizards have developed their own internet search tool to overthrow the king.

Cuil, pronounced "cool", was officially launched today - July 28th , 2008. It is the brainchild of Anna Patterson, Tom Costello (her husband), Louis Monier and Russell Power. These engineering powers, each with very impressive accolades in their own right, have come together to create what appears to be a very viable option to the mainstream google empire. Though, as with any new product entering a cut-throat market such as this one, it remains to be seen whether or not Cuil will even come close to taking a bite out of google's share of the pie.

This Wednesday, April 9th LedgersOnline will be at the Earls restaurant in Whistler to present to members of the Canadian Home Builders Association Sea to Sky chapter.

In the last few months LedgersOnline has been able to help a number of firms in the contruction & development industry with their accounting and bookkeeping needs. We've been able to streamline all aspects of these firms financial systems whether it be implementing an accounts payable & receivable system, transfering employees to electronic payroll, or just producing cheques and invoices. LedgersOnline has helped these companies by minimizing their overall costs.

We wrote earlier this year about how users running older versions of QuickBooks would have to upgrade to the 2007 version if running Windows Vista.

Not only is QuickBooks 2008 Vista friendly, it is being called more robust and more user friendly than any of its predecessors. Intuit is calling it the biggest release in years.

This means the program needs higher system requirements. 1GB of disk space and at least a 1.2 GHz Pentium III with 1GB of RAM if running Vista - for XP or 2000, 500MHz Pentium II with recommended 512 MB RAM.

Whistler Labour Shortage For anyone who frequents one of North America’s premier ski destinations on a regular basis, it’s blatantly obvious there is something absent in Whistler. There is plenty of snow, plenty of scenery, plenty of tourists. So what’s missing?

Go into any local bar or restaurant and take a look around. Count the staff working, the service, or lack of. In the village and you will see signs up on many windows looking for help. There is a major labour shortage in Whistler and the problem is only getting worse. In fact, many employers are so desperate they are offering outrageous incentives to lure would-be employees to work for their establishment. Free season’s passes, free food, etc.

Testing out Plugoo, a tool that allows your website visitors to chat with you live. Let's see if this works!

http://www.myPlugoo.com/XF6JG9HV4P4M2RX

Yahoo! Search Marketing had a strong presence at the SOHO-SME Conference last week held in downtown Vancouver. Along with delivering the breakfast keynote, they had a large presence at the tradeshow along with delivering a short workshop on Search Engine Marketing 101.

Yahoo! Originally began offering the service after acquiring Overture Services Inc. (formerly Goto.com) for $1.7 billion, and now competes directly with Google Ad Words, a similar service which we have been using. While no one is disputing that Google is the #1 search engine (unofficial figures provided by Yahoo! cite that in Canada, Google owns 75% of internet searches while Yahoo! comes in at 15% followed by MSN at 10%). Yahoo!’s main point that they were trying to drive home was time spent. According to their reaserach, they find that users spend on average, 8 minutes on their search engine, while Google users spend 2 minutes on average. I’m not sure the exact parameters on which this is measured, but it would make sense if you consider that their home page is much more of a portal compared with Google’s homepage.

The SOHO/SME Business Conference and Expo is an event that brings business professionals together to connect with the latest in technology, products & services, and customer generation. In essence, it is a venue where small and medium-size companies can learn techniques, as well as network (pitch) their ideas, to further their growth and market share amongst their respective industry.

I recently attended this event in Vancouver to see for myself what was out there for the little guys. The event was filled with a line up of speakers, tradeshow exhibitors, and professional consultants ready to answer your questions. Each medium brought a different take in terms of what is vital to success and sustainability. However, if there was one theme or tool they all had in common as part of their secret to success it was the ever expanding use of multimedia technology. I listened to speaker Mike Agerbo of Getconnected TV talk about all the latest in tech gadgets for networking. More business communication is made via the use of online and portable technology. From the Blackberry to USB Memory sticks, these are no longer luxury gadgets, but necessities to running all facets of your operation. Being able to connect with your client by means of a hand-held device allows you, the president, manager, associate, sales person, to be accessible outside the office, thus increasing your productivity while saving you money. Heck, who would have thought it would be possible to join in on a video conference while grabbing a cup of coffee at your local espresso hang-out? And gone are the non-intuitive devices that take hours of use, and a degree in computer science, to master. Even the least tech savvy folks like myself can figure out how to use many of these doodads in mere minutes. The intimidation factor might still be there, but the learning curve is gentle.

I recently sat down with mortgage expert, Kathie Scott of Dominion Lending Centres to discuss the current situation in the real estate industry. Kathie gave me some great insight as to where the Canadian Housing Market is heading in the West, and what we can expect in terms of rates within the next year.

With the recent downturn in the US economy one can only presume our Canadian markets will follow. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case, at least not yet. With our Loonie at its strongest in over 3 decades and the national unemployment rate at its lowest since 1974, what does that mean to the average Canadian consumer? And will our booming housing market follow the same demise as that our neighbours to the South? The Canadian housing market is still pulling strong, despite predictions from the experts that we’ve reached a saturation point. The Lower Mainland boosts some of the fastest growing housing markets in Canada. From the Tri-Cities to the North Shore, sellers are getting their asking prices and even more. As far as lending is concerned, no longer are we finding the bargain-basement rates of 4.5% (or lower) that were being offered about 4 years ago. The big banks are offering up a 5-year fixed rate on a residential mortgage at 7.44% posted.

We are participating in the Mesh Conference in Toronto today and tomorrow (May 30 and 31st).

So what is Web2.0? For those who aren't familiar with the term, according to wikipedia, Web 2.0, refers to a perceived second generation of Web-based communities and hosted services such as social networking sites, wikis and folksonomies that facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. We are seeing the web dominated by sites such as YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, and Facebook, all of which fall into this definition. All of these sites are putting the power back into the hands of users, and away from big institutionalized sources. It allows us to all be "part of the conversation."

Microsoft and Google, two of the giants of the technology world, have begun a competition in a new market - accounting software.

Google recently partnered with Intuit, maker of QuickBooks to include links to Google's online marketing tools including Ad-Words and Maps. Microsoft responded with a new web based accounting product: Microsoft Office Accounting Professional.

Click here for a full review.