The cheapest is not always the cheapest

This article is about searching for a furniture removalist in Melbourne but really this advice holds true for most things everywhere.

I remember a guy that worked in a pain shop once telling me that there is no such thing as cheap paint.  There is just paint with more thiner or water added. 

There is an old adage that you get what you pay for.  While this if often true there is poor value for money and good value for money.  What we need to look for is the best value for money.  This means as well as looking for hidden charges and exclusions also taking into account the risks associated with an apparently cheap price.

The Cheapest removalist is not always the cheapest

Demise of my childhood hero – John Lennon

I recently saw a link to 10 unpleasant facts about John Lennon and found a few things i didn't know but for the most part i was aware of most of the information provided. The article did not change my mind about him as I had already changed my view of him a long time ago. How do I feel about John Lennon now...
http://christopherbennetts.com/demise-of-my-childhood-hero-john-lennon/

Making your own videos

I have just produced my second video which is a big improvement over the first. I have to admit that getting in front of a camera is not natural for me and does not come easy.  I feel like I have a lot to say,  that is until the rec is clicked, then my mind goes blank.  In my first video I was reading most of what I said. In my second I memorized and then rehearsed what I said.  I am still finding my feet I guess.  I can see the vast improvement in the second video which is far from perfect.

When I say producing the video I mean absolutely every aspect.  I have a copy of Camtasia and I am using that to record and edit the video. Learning that has also been part of the challenge. I am also getting better with that software and able to produce better results.

The equipment is my next concern.  My Mac Air has a pretty good cam but I am using a separate external high quality cam.  I notice that it had a problem focusing a few times but other than that the quality is pretty good.

The real issue is audio quality.  I have used both the internal mic in the Mac and the one built into the external cam.  The difference in sound quality surprised me but I am aware that both are picking up way too much background noise and when i play back with head phones I can hear the constant sound of traffic as we are on a main road. My friend Mat recently posted about a mic he just got and it sounds exactly like what i need.  http://mattwilkie.co.uk/ideal-mic-for-podcasts-and-youtube-videos-samson-go-mic/

If anyone wants to see the result of my work they can view the video on the main page of my site http://socialvisibilityonline.com.au/  or on the youtube channel  http://www.youtube.com/user/VisibilityOnline/.   Please Like and comment about my video  (if you have a youtube account subscribe to my channel) 

I have just taken a trip back in time to 1984 when the first Macintosh computer was released. I just watched a video of Steve Jobs first demonstration of the Mac to the Boston Computer Society on January 1984.

I opened the video with mild nostalgic interest but not because I was a fan of apple back then.  I only got my first apple computer only two years ago.

I got my first computer in 1979. For those curious it was a Sorcerer with a whopping 8 kilobytes of RAM powered by a Z80 cpu and running CPM.  This was two years before the release of the first IBM PC so I was an early starter and can remember exactly what it was like back in 1984 when the first Mac was launched.

By todays standards that first Mac does not look impressive at all but at the time it was amazing and a profound affect on the personal computer market.

What was really interesting to me was listening to Steve Jobs talking about the future of personal computing. I was able, with benefit of 20/20 hindsight, to go back to 1984 and look at the future as Steve Jobs had done and really appreciate what a visionary he was.

I got something more from watching the video.  I got an incredible sense of déjà vu as I look to the future now from 2014.

Most people wait for change to happen and then get dragged along by it, often kicking and screaming.  There are a few of us that see change coming and try to position ourselves to take maximum advantage of it.

This is exactly what I am trying to do now and I found watching Steve Jobs and the first demonstration of the Mac very inspirational.



http://chrisbennetts.net/back-to-1984

Since my last post here over a year ago I left Thailand and spent more time in the Philippines working on my new business providing online visibility services.  In July 2013 I returned to Australia to launch the business and after some market research and reading Michael Gerber's book The emyth I developed a new business model and marketing strategy.  The new business Social Visibility Online was launched late November and already has a few clients despite the fact that I have yet to do any marketing of the business. Part of the new marketing strategy will be the use of promotional videos and I put my very first video (very first video I have ever made) together a week ago.  You can watch it here

Domain registration, hosting and online visibility.