Podcast 29 - Free Gas from Web Host | HostingCon 2006
Interested in find out how a Web hosting company can provide you with free gas? HostingCon 2006 is still a few months away, and we are the first to let you know where it is going to be! We will cover all of that and so much more. This is the Web Hosting Show, podcast 29 and it is on the air!
Download the Web Hosting Show!
Running Time: 27 minutes | File Size: 12.5 MB
Hello and welcome to the Web Hosting Show, the one and only voice of the Web hosting world. This entire show is supported each and every week by the fine folks over at Web Hosting Chat. Web Hosting Chat is your number one place for Web hosting discussions. Who am I? Why I am your party host and Web hosting guru of choice, Mitch Keeler.
This show each and every week covers the Web hosting world from top to bottom. We give you the latest hosting news, some of my own personal stories and thoughts, Web hosting help, tips, tricks. You could not ask for a better way to learn more about how the Web hosting world works. Every Monday we have the big show, and also every Thursday we have a smaller show to keep you informed till the next show hits the Internet.
I got an E-mail via Glen at Gmail, who had something nice to say about last Thursday’s show:
Nice site. I really like that there is both the written and podcast options. Both are good by the way. I also really liked the way information is presented. For me it’s just enough information at one time. And it’s presented in an easy to understand format.
Thank you Glen. From day one I wanted to have a show that both everybody could understand and everybody could get information from. I understand there might be some folks that don’t have a speedy enough connection or have the time to listen to each and every show. That is one of the reasons why my show notes are a little longer than most podcasts you see out there today. There is no way I could fit everything we talk about on this show into a few sentences and leave it at that. I want to give you information. So no mater if you are reading this or listening to this, thank you either way.
Want to know how you can reach us? Just drop me an E-mail at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll be more than happy to get your questions, feedback, suggestions, comments and complaints answered privately or right here on the show itself. If you want to send me a voice mail message to be played on the show, do so via Skype. My name on there is mitchkeeler.
How can you get this show each and every week? It is easy. Just subscribe via iTunes, Odeo, Podnova or any of the other third party services there are out there to do so. You can also plug our RSS feed into your favorite podcast catcher client. If push comes to shove and you are out of options, just download the show right from WebHostingShow.com. Use the play button the side of the page or right-click and select “Save as..” on the MP3 link you want to download. There is no wrong way to be listening to this show.
Now that I know you are listening, and we have all the basic bases covered, lets go into some Web hosting headlines!
Web Hosting Headlines
The Web hosting news and headlines are brought to you by The Web Host Industry Review. The Web Host Industry Review is the place to go to get all the latest Web hosting news from around the globe.
Web Host Thrives After Acquisition
Reports from Australia say that country’s largest Web hosting group, WebCentral announced a rise in net profit of 219 percent, to $5 million Australian, in the first year since buying out its main operating business, WebCentral Pty Ltd.
Mitch’s Take: This just goes to show you that Web hosting is still a big business. There is a lot of money to be made as long as you know the right people, and know what it is you are doing. Oh yeah, my offer still stands on selling the Web Hosting Show for $5 million dollars American as well.
Web Host 365 Main Buys Data Center
Data center operator 365 Inc. announced on Thursday that it had acquired a 131,000 square-foot data center in El Segundo, California, and that the new facility is now open for business.
Mitch’s Take: Congrats to 365 for expanding themselves another fold. I actually had a few folks from 365 Main E-mail me after last week’s show, thanking me for mentioning them and for the show in general. To most Web hosts a 131,000 square-foot data center is a dream come true. I promise you there are Web hosting gurus all around the globe drooling in unison right about now.
Web hosting business 110 Media Group announced on Thursday that it had entered into a letter of intent to buy Web hosting provider Global Portals Online.
Mitch’s Take: It seems like there were a lot of these type of deals going on this week. Is this the right time to buy? For the most part, I’ve learned that the summer months are usually slow for Web hosts, because everybody is outside and they don’t care about their Web sites. Now that Fall is right around the corner, Web hosts can expect to see a few more help desk tickets coming their way.
Do you have some Web hosting news? Make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get it on the next episode of the Web Hosting Show.
Web Hosting Tip of the Week
Every so often you just need a quick nugget of Web hosting knowledge. The Web hosting tip of the week is brought to you by Mitchelaneous. Mitchelaneous is my own tech news and views Web site, where I tell you what I think about some of the new things coming out of the technology world.
This week’s Web hosting tip is for all the Web hosts out there.
Where did all the support Web pages go? Once you get past the uptime promises and features of a Web hosting account, the most important thing you can deliver to your Web hosting clients is support. Lately it seems like the support pages have been shrinking. Web hosting clients want more options.
Give them live chat support. There are dozens of different clients you can use. Give them AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk support. This is probably the cheapest way of making your support folks easily accessible by your hosting clients.
Give them a few tutorial Web pages. There are a lot of confusing topics out there about the Web hosting world. Give your clients a little help and put up some FAQs or tutorials to help them before the problem comes up.
While some Web hosts are doing a piss poor job at support, others are doing a great job. For your homework this week, I want you to send me links for Web hosts that do Web hosting support Web pages right. If I get enough submissions, I might highlight each one on next week’s show so that some of these other guys can get their own support pages fixed.
Do you have a Web hosting tip you’d like to share? Make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and who knows? It could be included on the very next edition of the Web Hosting Show.
Web Hosting Deals and Steals
The Web Hosting Show’s Hosting Deals and Steals are brought to you each and every week by AllHostingDeals.com. AllHostingDeals.com is your number one place to find Web hosting offers too good to be true.
This week’s deal is from Apollo Hosting. They are offering:
1000 MB disk space, 50 GB data transfer, Spam Assassin, 50 e-mail accounts, Site Studio, Plesk Reloaded Control Panel, site statistics, CGI, free scripts, PHP, Perl, MySQL, SSI, FrontPage and more!
How much does it all cost? How does $6.96 a month sound? Check them out!
Have a Web hosting deal or offer that is too good to be true? E-mail me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll tell the folks about it on the next Web Hosting Show podcast.
Web Hosting Thoughts, Views and Ideas
All of my Web hosting thoughts, views and ideas are brought to you by Data Center Talk. Data Center Talk is the best set of forums on the Earth about the world of Web hosting data centers.
More Web Hosting Hurricane Coverage
Reading over at HostRocket Network Operations Center Blog this week I learned about two great things they are doing to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
The first thing that caught my attention was that they are donating five percent of ViaTalk’s revenue to Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. For those of you who don’t know, ViaTalk is HostRocket’s VoIP solution. The second thing that made me happy to see was that they are giving away gas this week!
ViaTalk is giving all new customers who activate service with a 24 month prepay term free gas for a limited time. Select any package and a 24 month term and your welcome kit will include an Exxon Mobile cash card good for $20 in free gas. This promotion will end on Monday, September 12th at 11:59PM.
So sign up and get some free gas along the way. Got a hurricane related Web hosting story you’d like to share? Send it to me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com.
AIT CEO Doesn’t Answer My E-mail | HostingCon 2006
I mentioned on a past episode of the Web Hosting Show about AIT’s CEO Clarence E. Briggs putting up his E-mail address and phone number so that customers can call him or write him. Well I E-mailed him and have yet to hear anything back. So was this just a public relations stunt? You be the judge.
Speaking of CEO’s, I have to mention one that actually does like to talk with us on the Web Hosting Show. George Roberts, the man behind the magic at Interjuncture.com E-mailed me this week to let me know that HostingCon 2006 is right around the corner!
This year’s event will be held at The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 17 through July 19. Thats right, the Web hosting world is taking over Las Vegas! Elvis impersonators need Web hosting too. For more details on the event, check out HostingCon.com. I am sure we will have more coverage of the event as it inches closer and closer on the calendars.
Remember the Startup Blog?
It has been many moons since the Startup Blog has been updated. The last time I talked to Jonathan Wold, the man behind the written word over there, he said he was done for the time being with the wild and wacky world of Web hosting. So is this Web site just going to die off? I will give you a little inside information you will not hear anywhere else…
A little birdy told me that the Startup Blog will make a return in the not so distant future. So is somebody else taking over? Will we have a new start up story to follow? I can’t tell you! Keep your eye on WebHostStartup.com. If I say anymore, big men in black suits are going to take me out into some alley and beat me with a sock filled with oranges.
Controversial Web Hosting
I got an E-mail from a guy last week that said he wanted to find some Web hosting. Sounds simple enough right? Well he also said that he might be hosting “controversial” material, and he needed a rock hard and reliable server to put it on. Now let me share my answer I gave to him with all of you.
Lets just put the idea of finding a reliable server to the side. These days, just about everybody is going to be able to give you pretty good uptime for the money you spend on it. The thing that catches my eye and what this fellow should watch out for is the material he wants to host.
I told him the best thing he could do would be to check and double check the acceptable use policy and terms of service for the Web hosts he had in mind. If you aren’t allowed to host something, a Web host will nine times out of ten have it listed there.
Do you have a Web hosting topic of discussion you would like to hear me cover on the Web Hosting Show? Then make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get it on the next episode of the Web Hosting Show.
Web Site Design Help
All of the Web Hosting Show’s design help is sponsored by BrowseHosts. BrowseHosts is the most comprehensive Web hosting directory out there today.
* This week’s Web site that needs some help is WebMasterTalk.in.
WebmasterTalk.in looks a lot like the rest of the forums out there. Really the look of forums hasn’t changed much in the past few years. I do have to say I like the color usage. It doesn’t hurt my eyes to read through the posts, that is always a plus.
One thing that you could do to improve the look of the Web site, is to blend your Google AdSense ad with the background of the forums. Make it not stand out as much. Right now it sticks out like a sore thumb, so my mind automatically blocks it out as an ad. Try to get it to match up with the rest of the Web site a little more and I can promise you, you will see more clicks on those links.
Another thing I like is the introduction text at the top of the main forms page. It really lets you know what the Web site is about and why you want to be there. I wish more forums out there did this as well.
So check out WebmasterTalk.in, and when you sign up to post there, make sure you let them know that the Web Hosting Show sent you there.
Do you need some help with your Web site design? Would you like me to just let you know what it is you could do to make your Web presence that much better? Make sure you contact me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get your questions answered and your Web site reviewed on the next episode of the Web Hosting Show.
Web Hosting Web Site of the Week
The Web hosting Web site of the week is brought to you by Banners World. Banners World is the number one place to visit to get all your Web site graphics, banners and designs done.
This week’s Web hosting Web site of the week is hostchart.com.
Host Chart is one of the Web’s premiere resource centers for Web hosting. You can access your usual Web hosting directory search to find a Web host that is right for you. What sets Host Chart away from other Web sites though is that they do not stop there. They also provide Web hosting news and Web hosting interviews. If you want to know what is going on in the Web hosting world around you, make sure you bookmark this Web site. It has a little bit of everything.
Also, as a bonus this week you can check out the interview I did with the folks at Host Chart about the Web Hosting Show. Want to know where this show is going in the future, how it was started and where we have been?
Read Mitch’s Interview with HostChart.com
Do you have a Web site that deserves to be the next Web hosting Web site of the week? Make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get it on the next episode of The Web Hosting Show.
Final Web Hosting Thoughts
That is it for this week’s show! Make sure you send me your feedback, thoughts, suggestions and ideas via:
Voice Mail via Skype: mitchkeeler
Write an E-mail: mitch@mitchkeeler.com
Post at the Forums: Web Hosting Show Forums.
Next week we will be doing more of the same! I am Mitch Keeler and you have been listening to the Web Hosting Show, the voice of the Web hosting world.
For more technology podcasts, be sure to check out TechPodcasts.com!
Related Hosting Posts & Podcasts:
