Podcast 37 - Microsoft’s Free Hosting Service | Ads 101
It looks like Microsoft is getting into the domain name and hosting business. What does this mean for the Web hosting clients and Web hosts out there? I’ll let you know my thoughts on the matter. Also, is there such thing as a better ad? I’ll give you my thoughts on ads out there and what you can do to get more clicks. All of that and so much more, right here on the Web Hosting Show, podcast 37.
Download the Web Hosting Show, Podcast 37!
Running Time: 18 minutes | File Size: 4.16 MB
Hello and welcome to the Web Hosting Show, the one and only voice of the Web hosting world. This 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 was voted nine out of ten times to be the best Web hosting guru out there today, Mitch Keeler.
Last week I was a little sick but this week I am feeling much better. I had a ‘bit of a cold, and I figured it wouldn’t be worth the trouble to stop the recording every five seconds so I could edit out my booming cough. I’m better now though, and I have one heck of a good show for you this week.
For those new to the show, just think of me as the guy who lets you know what is new, what is cool, and what you need to know about what is going on in the Web hosting industry. No mater if your a Web host, a Web hosting client or just somebody interested in hosting industry. If you are in someway related to the Web hosting world in one way or another, this show is for you.
Want to get my attention? Just shoot me over and E-mail at mitch@mitchkeeler.com with all your feedback, thoughts, suggestions and comments and I’ll be sure to address them either offline or right here on this very podcast.
Web Hosting Headlines
The Web hosting news and headlines are brought to you by Web Host Magazine & Buyer’s Guide. The Web Host Magazine & Buyer’s Guide is the place to go to get all the latest Web hosting news from around the globe.
HostMySite.com Ranks In INC. 500 List Of Fastest Growing Companies
Managed hosting provider HostMySite.com ranks 190 in the nation’s 500 fastest growing private companies according to Inc. Magazine’s 24th annual Inc. 500 list. An impressive 573% growth over three years allowed HostMySite.com to outpace many competitors within the Web hosting industry.
Mitch’s Take: HostMySite.com is definitely getting more and more impressive everyday. HostMySite.com’s CEO said that part of the growth was because of the referral program they are using. I guess that testifies for the fact that word of mouth advertising is still the best kind of advertising there is.
Netfirms Raises The Bar With Dramatically Upgraded Web Hosting Plans
Netfirms, the leading web hosting company for small and medium sized businesses, announced today HUGE upgrades to its hosting packages including a massive 40GB plan.
Mitch’s Take: I have to say I am impressed with what Netfirms is doing. Disk space, bandwidth and MySQL databases have all increased some by more than 1000% with no change in prices. Now this is something that I’d like to see more hosting companies doing. Give back to your customers and let them know that they signed up with the right hosting company.
Hosting.com Offers Free Asp.net 2.0 Hosting Until January 1, 2006
Hosting.com has announced at the Microsoft Dev Connections 2005 show their new product offerings for Microsoft’s recently released ASP.NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005. “To encourage early signups, Hosting.com is offering free hosting until January 1, 2006 for ASP.NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005, “said a company spokesperson.”
Mitch’s Take: Any form of Windows-based hosting usually gets a bad reputation. This gives those folks who aren’t too sure about what Microsoft is providing a way to test things out on the “other side” without spending too much cash. It’s a win/win situation.
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.
I found a really cool Web site for you this week. Now there are hundreds if not thousands of different domain name searching tools out there today. Most of these tools all look the same, and are built into the domain seller’s Web site. This one is a little different though.
InstantDomainSearch.com gives you domain name results in real time. Just start typing in your domain name you want, and it will let you know if it is taken or not. Now the only downside right now is it only does .com and .net addresses. Hopefully in the future they will be expanding that feature.
So give it a test drive and let me know what you think. Hopefully as time rolls by, more domain name lookup tools will look like this one.
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 hosting deal comes from GoodyDomains.com. They are offering in the developer plan:
2500MB Hard Drive Space, 100GB Bandwidth per month, IMAP, SMTP, POP3, Fantastico, streaming audio/video support, PHP, PERL and a free domain name with purchase.
The developer plan I liked because the rest are named after bra sizes it seems. With that though aside, all you have to pay for the above features is $6.95 a month or $55.60 a year. Sounds good to me!
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.
Mitch’s Hosting Talking Points
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.
Microsoft Live and the Hosting World
I found out about this via the folks over at Netcraft.com:
The hosting marketing wars are heating up, with leading providers rolling out dirt-cheap shared hosting accounts with massive allowances of disk space, bandwidth and e-mail. Hosting behemoths 1&1 Internet and Go Daddy are competing for small business customers, while also raising the bar for Microsoft, which will begin offering free web hosting and free domain names early next year.
What? Free domain names and hosting via the biggest dog in the yard? Well yet again, let us not assume that the Web hosting world as we know it is coming to an end. From what I can gather, this will be apart of the new Office Live service that Microsoft will be rolling out in the future. Customers will get a free domain name, free Web site, and a free E-mail address all for free.
Till I see it in action, I think it is pretty safe to say that these will be pretty dumbed down and limited services in comparison to what is out there today. You will probably have to pay an “upgrade fee” or something of that nature to get your free services up to something that would be worth using. Then again, it is one more way for Microsoft to get it’s foot in the door as far as the hosting industry is concerned. I would say it is a subject matter to stay informed about, but by no way or shape of the imagination is it going to be a killer for the wild and wacky world of Web hosting.
Writing Ads - Web Development 101
So what is the perfect ad? Well I have to say for me, I like text links that are relative to the content I am viewing. Lets say I am looking at a pet store’s Web site. I’d like to see ads for pet food, pet accessories, pet products. That is one reason why Google AdSense is doing so well right now. That is what they deliver.
This past week I signed up for BrowseHosts.com’s ad service to run side by side with Google’s AdSense. Since BrowseHosts’s ads don’t comb my content to make ads I am pretty sure Google shouldn’t mind. So should you sign up with BrowseHosts? I’d give it my two freaky thumbs up. The service could be a little more automated, as far as sign ups and registration goes.. but then again, I do like the “personal” feeling to it as well.
So what about the “punch the monkey” ads? Stay away. Annoying ads do not get clicked on, and frankly they just turn me and many folks out there off from going back to the Web site in question.
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, Support and Ideas
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 2039 Internetwork.
I like the choice of colors and graphics. It really helps define your brand and along with the general layout, it all looks really great.
The only real area I can see that I might comment on is the fact that your navigation seems a little confusing. With the services on the side and the general navigation on top, I’m not sure if I understand where to go right off the bat. I hate to say this, but you have to think of your visitors as total and complete idiots. Make things so simple that a small child could understand them.
The use of the flash graphic is nice and really is the way I think flash graphics should be used. It isn’t taking over the Web site, but it does have a purpose. Very nice.
That’s all I have to say about it, but if you have an opinion or two that I might have missed, be sure to let the folks at 2039 know about it.
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.
The Web hosting Web site of the week is HostingViews.com.
I’ve had this Web site bookmarked for a long time, so I don’t know why it took me so long to mention it on the show. HostingViews.com is yet another great Web hosting resource for articles, news, and information. It seems like every time I check the Web site out there is a new press release or a new tutorial to read. You can also sign up and submit your own press releases and articles as well.
So go check out HostingViews.com and let them know that the Web Hosting Show sent you there.
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:
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! Make sure you remember to comeback Thursday to download the weekly Web hosting special and come back next week to get another dose of the number one Web hosting podcast across the nation. 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! To hear more of the Web Hosting Show through the week, check me on Cool Cast Radio.
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