Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Have You Got Something to Sell?

I've been doing some research on online shopping carts and putting together or maintaining an online store.  Even though I've done some websites in the past, that is one thing that I've never had occasion to learn about or do anything with.

From the research I've done, it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out.  There are quite a few services out there, so the hard part is choosing between them.  Thankfully most of them offer a free trial, so it would be easy to try them out before making any kind of commitment or paying any fees.

It looks like, besides offering the shopping cart software, they provide a complete online store builder with everything from professional templates to make your store look great to customer registration and login.  And if you don't know anything about technology, they have experts to help you get everything set up and ready to go - so you can start selling whatever it is you're selling in no time.  What that means to me is that I wouldn't have to figure it all out for myself.  I could do what I know how to do and leave the details about how an online store works to the experts.

If you've got something to sell, what that means for you is that you can concentrate on your products and services while your online store brings in the customers and sales. There are different packages to choose from, so you can choose the right one for your products and needs, and upgrading is simple if or when your needs change.  And somebody is always there to answer your questions or help you out with the details.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Counting Words

Sometimes I need to know how many words I've typed into one of my posts.  There's a site that I usually use - Word Count Tool - but occasionally it won't load, like tonight.  So this is a list of alternatives.
  • Words Counter
  • Javascript Kit Cut & Paste Word Count
    This one even gives you the code to embed your own word count box on your website:


    This free script provided by JavaScript Kit
  • Word Counter
  • WordCounterTool - this one can also be used to test your typing speed
They all work in the same way - simply type into the box or copy and paste your post, or whatever else you need to count, and it counts your words for you.  All of them are free to use.

And, of course, you're free to use the word count box I've put into this post.  I just tested it, and it works perfectly!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Best Music of 2012

Amazon has compiled the Best Music of 2012.  I've really enjoyed looking through it.  Some of my favorite music made the list (Some Nights by fun.).   The list also reminded me that I should be listening to some of the MP3 CDs that I bought because they were such a good deal I couldn't resist (My Head Is an Animal), and it's also a good way to discover new music and see what I missed.

The list is divided into Best Albums, Best Songs - both Amazon picked and Customer picked, and Outstanding Albums You Might Have Missed.  Browse the best music of the year by genre, or just browse the lists.

How many of the songs that made the lists are in your collection?  While there are obviously a lot that I don't have, I was surprised by how many of the albums on the list I do have.

What was your favorite song of 2012?  For my answer, see previous post.  (I love that whole album, which did make the list of Best Albums)