Year: 2011

Arc Travel Network

This company is the “over arcing” company that represents all travel related domain names and businesses. This body represents domains such as:

 

Countries:
BookAustralia.com
BookBrazil.com
BookChile.com
BookEngland.com
BookIreland.com
BookRussia.com
BookScotland.com
BookSingapore.com
BookUAE.com

Cities:
BookAbuDhabi.com
BookAmsterdam.com
BookBali.com
BookBangkok.com
BookBerlin.com
BookMoscow.com
BookParis.com
BookRome.com
BookSydney.com

Specialist:
BarsofLondon.com – Bar and Club directory
BookaBunk.com – Hostel reservations site
BookaCabin.com – Cruise and ferry bookings site
ConcertsLondon.com
GlobalHotelsDirect.com
LondonMapsOnline.com
SkiandSnowboarding.com – Ski & Snowboarding directory
Things-ToDo.com – Activities site
Travel-Insurance.me

Yacht-Services.com

Yacht Services

My first web project has finally received a new logo. I set Yacht-Services.com up with a friend and business partner John Hildebrand back in 2000. It was oficially launched at the Fort Lauderdale boat show in September 2000.

The site was the first online yacht recruitment service. It was a huge learning experience that has successfully seen the site grow to being a prominent site for the search for and placement of crew.

Anyway I hope that you like the new logo.

Ezone Software

Ezone Software is a company that Iain setup with his colleague Barry OKane. The company was set up in December 2002 and still operates today as a leading SaaS CMS (Content Management Software) provider.

Ezone is based in the fantastic city of Edinburgh Scotland where it has its main office. We have a great honest working relationship with all our clients and will only ever do what is best for them and best for us, in that order.

The company has grown slowly over the years but has a solid base of customers who are subscribers to their software and the included support.

For more information please contact Ezone direct.

dropbox

Dropbox is a great service that gives you access to back up and share files with your colleagues, family or the general public. The key benefit is the ability to retrieve a file from the cloud (web) in the absence of your actual computer itself. i.e. if you are at friend or out on the road and need access to a file you simply login and download the file in question.

If you have additional machines it automatically syncs the files that you add to Dropbox across all machines without you actually needing to transfer the files consciously.

 

Any this is a great service so please take a look and see if this is of benefit to yourselves.

Get Dropbox Now

Bonham Hotel Edinburgh

(DISCLOSURE: I am a director of The Town House Company Ltd who owns The Bonham Hotel)

Luxury 4 star hotel Edinburgh – This hotel was converted from a student halls of residence formerly owned by Edinburgh University. It was converted back in 1997 in to a fantastic contemporary hotel. The Bonham has won a number of awards over the years and continues to deliver as being one of the coolest and reputable hotels in Edinburgh.

Tezabi Group

Tezabi Group Logo

I recently set this company up to administer and deal with all domain name and affiliate marketing ventures I embark upon. My new organisation will act as the hub for all ventures of this nature.

This is exciting as I have been working on projects like these since 1999 and shows the value of some of my assets as stand alone domains but more importantly by combining them with appropriate affiliate products I see these domains as true long term investments.

The key activities involve the following:

Brand development

I define this as the building out of a domain into a fully functioning business and brand. This has a two fold benefit to myself and potential investors Tezabi Group investors.

1. Domain name – itself has intrinsic value (all-be-it that this is often a bit of a moving target given the numerous ways to value a digital asset of this sort)

2. Income generating – by building out a domain to becoming a business you generate income that will likely grow over time.

For more information on “Tezabi Group” and the investment opportunities please visit www.tezabi.com

The Thank You Economy by Gary Vey-ner-chuk

“The Thank You Economy” by Gary Vey-ner-chuk this is a folllow on book that helped me evolve my understanding of Social Media and the daily evolving opportunity to get “friends”, “fans” and “likes” with the ultimate goal of growing your business or giving it a boost in being an authority on your chosen subject.

There are many businesses that allow you to develop an income that is somewhat on automatic drive. I have since started experimenting with a few Affiliate Marketing companies and with advertisers direct to build a business with a long term view on the future of the chosen vertical.

The Thank You Economy

To buy the kindle version of this book please follow this link: The Thank You Economy

I hope that you enjoy todays suggested read

Keep reading

Iain

4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris

4 Hour Work Week review
“4 Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris transformed my view of how we all perform our working day. It shed light on a more effective way to work which gives you the freedom to live a life that is more desirable over the long term.

There are many businesses that allow you to develop an income that is somewhat on automatic drive. I have since started experimenting with a few Affiliate Marketing companies and with advertisers direct to build a business with a long term view on the future of the chosen vertical.

The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

To buy the kindle version fo this book please follow this link: The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

I hope that you enjoy todays suggested read

Keep reading

Iain

Crush it! by Gary Vey-ner-chuk

Crush It - iainslist.com“Crush it!” by Gary Vey-ner-chuk is simply a great book. Having finished reading I realised much more about listening to my passions and actually pushing ahead with them.

This book describes the cornerstone of sound financial advice with a tale to help associate it with reality.

That I had many passions that I really wasn’t there are lots of opportunities being missed by not engaging in blogging and social media in general.

buy "Crush It" now

Crush It!: Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion
To buy the kindle version fo this book please follow this link: Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion

I hope that you enjoy todays suggested read

Keep reading

Iain

Crush it! by Gary Vey-ner-chuk

Crush It - iainslist.com“Crush it!” by Gary Vey-ner-chuk is simply a great book. Having finished reading I realised much more about listening to my passions and actually pushing ahead with them.

This book describes the cornerstone of sound financial advice with a tale to help associate it with reality.

That I had many passions that I really wasn’t there are lots of opportunities being missed by not engaging in blogging and social media in general.

buy "Crush It" now

Crush It!: Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion
To buy the kindle version fo this book please follow this link: Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion

I hope that you enjoy todays suggested read

Keep reading

Iain

ReWork by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hannson

Todays book I have chosen is a book called “ReWork” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hannson. I found this book to give great insight into starting, running and managing your own business. Jason is one of the founders of 37Signals, a leader software company who focus on SaaS delivered applications. They created applications like BaseCamp & Highrise. Jason is a recognised leader and innovator so is well positioned to write about his experiences and opinions.

Rework has helped me apply a new way to run my company and develop new businesses from the ground up. To read more about this book please click

ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever

To buy the kindle version please use the following link: ReWork on Kindle

Hope that you like todays suggested read

Keep reading

Iain

The Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason

This book describes the cornerstone of sound financial advice with a tale to help associate it with reality.

I learnt a lot from this book and wish I had read the book when I was just a child. It has made me realise that educating each generation with the woes of this book would set the foundations of great financial stability for the future irrespective of that childs chosen path.

The Richest Man in Babylon by George Samual Clason

To buy the kindle version fo this book please follow this link: The Richest Man in Babylon on kindle

I hope that you enjoy todays suggested read

Keep reading

Iain

The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferris

Todays book is “The Four Hour Body” by Tim Ferris. It is a great book. I have been reading it on and off for a few months. It has resulted in me following a few of the chapters “biblically”.

Having adopted some of the advised workout programs, based on four hours a month, I have noticed a huge difference in my personal fitness and energy levels. I have also particularly enjoyed the chapter about nutrition and that giving yourself one day per week when you can eat anything, (guilt free) can have an added benefit to your fitness development, all I can say it that it works. To learn more I can highly recommend this book, a very easy read that you can dip in and out of as you prefer.

The 4-Hour Body: An uncommon guide to rapid fat-loss, incredible sex and becoming superhuman: The Secrets and Science of Rapid Body Transformation

Hope that you like todays suggested read.

Keep reading
Iain

The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferris

Todays book is “The Four Hour Body” by Tim Ferris. It is a great book. I have been reading it on and off for a few months. It has resulted in me following a few of the chapters “biblically”.

Having adopted some of the advised workout programs, based on four hours a month, I have noticed a huge difference in my personal fitness and energy levels. I have also particularly enjoyed the chapter about nutrition and that giving yourself one day per week when you can eat anything, (guilt free) can have an added benefit to your fitness development, all I can say it that it works. To learn more I can highly recommend this book, a very easy read that you can dip in and out of as you prefer.

The 4-Hour Body: An uncommon guide to rapid fat-loss, incredible sex and becoming superhuman: The Secrets and Science of Rapid Body Transformation

Hope that you like todays suggested read.

Keep reading
Iain

The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki

Hi – todays read. Well I didn’t read it today but want to share this one as it was pivotal to my understanding of the world we live in today.  The book is called “The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few by James Surowieki”

I read this book a number of years ago in actual fact it was one of those books that you start to read then stop for a period then pick it back up again. The moment I picked it back up – the book turned a corner and blew me away with the power of the message. The online world had moved on a good bit with Twitter less than a year old and Facebook, only three years old, having just crossed the 20 million user registrations. Now given that by the end of 2010 user numbers were in excess of 500m users, this is clearly the wisdom of crowds in action.

The book has helped me understand more clearly the psychology of what is happening in the world of social media and how just a little insight into this phenomenon can help your own business evolve by engaging, even in a small way, more with your customers and with social media tools.

The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few

Hope that you like todays suggested read

Keep reading
Iain

 

The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki

Hi – todays read. Well I didn’t read it today but want to share this one as it was pivotal to my understanding of the world we live in today.  The book is called “The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few by James Surowieki”

I read this book a number of years ago in actual fact it was one of those books that you start to read then stop for a period then pick it back up again. The moment I picked it back up – the book turned a corner and blew me away with the power of the message. The online world had moved on a good bit with Twitter less than a year old and Facebook, only three years old, having just crossed the 20 million user registrations. Now given that by the end of 2010 user numbers were in excess of 500m users, this is clearly the wisdom of crowds in action.

The book has helped me understand more clearly the psychology of what is happening in the world of social media and how just a little insight into this phenomenon can help your own business evolve by engaging, even in a small way, more with your customers and with social media tools.

The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few

Hope that you like todays suggested read

Keep reading
Iain

 

Social Media 101 by Chris Brogan

Social Media 101 - iainslist.comHi – todays read is a book by Chris Brogan called “Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to Develop Your Business Online”
This is a great book that covers all the key opportunities in the world of social media. “Social Media 101” is broken down into many small digestible chapters and is written in such a way that you can dip in and out as best suits you the reader.

I have to say that this book has encouraged me to further my knowledge and personal integration in to social media. I have been an “observer” for quite some time now and and its about time I contributed.

buy "Crush It" now

Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to Develop Your Business Online

Hope that you like todays suggested read

Thanks for reading

Iain

I lost a friend today – making life happen.

Hi All,

I dropped in to visit my old boss today, Herbert Thayer. I formerly worked as a Ski Instructor in Austria, specifically at Ski School Kitzsteinhorn (Schischule Thayer) – I originally worked there 20 years ago.

As you might guess, I had a great time. However today I found out about a friend, fellow instructor, who is now no longer with us.

Let me explain, on the 11 November 2000 there was a devastating accident which involved the main funicular railway. This means of transport, for on average 150+ passengers each trip, brought them to one of the most reliable ski areas accross the region.

Although I knew about the accident happenning I had a fleeting thought that perhaps, allbeit a long shot, that I might have known someone onboard. I never called to find out.

It felt selfish to call as I knew that the whole region knew someone onboard. Instead I took a moment to pay respect to all that perrished, (155 in total), and left it at that.

So, on my visit today to lookup my former boss, Herbert Thayer. I learnt that one of my fellow instructors, Jakob, was indeed on board and died that day. A great instructor and ambassador for skiing, fun loving and generally an all round great guy. A great loss.

It might seem a little late to pay my respects but important for me to do so.

It made me realise one thing that is not to wait for life to happen to me but more to make life happen for me. i.e. my agenda. As with anything the thing is not the thing, it is one step removed. This is more a message for myself but thought that it is important to share with all.

All the best Jakob, my friend and fellow instructor.

Prost mein freund.

Tschuss
Iain

I lost a friend today – making life happen.

Hi All,

I dropped in to visit my old boss today, Herbert Thayer. I formerly worked as a Ski Instructor in Austria, specifically at Ski School Kitzsteinhorn (Schischule Thayer) – I originally worked there 20 years ago.

As you might guess, I had a great time. However today I found out about a friend, fellow instructor, who is now no longer with us.

Let me explain, on the 11 November 2000 there was a devastating accident which involved the main funicular railway. This means of transport, for on average 150+ passengers each trip, brought them to one of the most reliable ski areas accross the region.

Although I knew about the accident happenning I had a fleeting thought that perhaps, allbeit a long shot, that I might have known someone onboard. I never called to find out.

It felt selfish to call as I knew that the whole region knew someone onboard. Instead I took a moment to pay respect to all that perrished, (155 in total), and left it at that.

So, on my visit today to lookup my former boss, Herbert Thayer. I learnt that one of my fellow instructors, Jakob, was indeed on board and died that day. A great instructor and ambassador for skiing, fun loving and generally an all round great guy. A great loss.

It might seem a little late to pay my respects but important for me to do so.

It made me realise one thing that is not to wait for life to happen to me but more to make life happen for me. i.e. my agenda. As with anything the thing is not the thing, it is one step removed. This is more a message for myself but thought that it is important to share with all.

All the best Jakob, my friend and fellow instructor.

Prost mein freund.

Tschuss
Iain

Domaining anecdotes for 2011

1-1-11 – what a great date. Aside from being all ‘1s’ – its the date that I turn a new leaf in domain blogging.
Having spent much of 2010 reading and occasionally commenting on others domainers blogs time has come for me to contribute as well.

Domainers I have enjoyed the most include:

Domain Shane  (DomainShane.com)
Elliot Silver (ElliotsBlog.com)
Morgan Linton (Domainvestors.tv)
Rick Schwartz (RicksBlog.com)

I plan, over time, to provide some good Domaining anecdotes for all to read and enjoy.

All the best
Iain.