Tag Archives: online

Technology

How Amazon Ruined “Normal” Shopping for Me (and How to Fix It)

It’s no secret I’m a fan of online shopping. I enjoy the privilege of actually holding, testing and seeing the products I’m purchasing, and I can’t get that online. But what’s normally lacking in a traditional store is the wealth of knowledge from experienced buyers. In other words, I live for reviews.

I’m not an impulsive buyer. I read dozens of reviews on Amazon before trying something (and I always start with the most negative review rated most helpful).

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Here are the circumstances when I have to read reviews. If…

  • I haven’t used a product before
  • the item hasn’t come highly recommended from a friend or respectable acquaintance (i.e. Twitter)
  • it is fairly expensive purchase ($50+)
  • there is a cornucopia of options (e.g. iPad Bluetooth keyboards)
  • I haven’t heard of it from another source before (in the case of books or movies)
  • I’m in a new city looking for local food

Here are the two situations when I don’t read reviews:

  • I want it right that second (e.g. food, candy bars)
  • It is a cheap consumer staple (e.g. toilet paper; but now that I think about it, I’m going to check into some reviews)

So the short list of non-review situations is pretty pathetic. I’m a review-o-holic. I normally share the love in return via Twitter or this blog, because I’m an evangelist in every sense of the word for things worth talking about. All of this to say, I know it’s an issue.

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Technology

Discovering and Sharing Amazing Online Content Like a Pro

Great content deserves to be read and shared. The problem is, it can be difficult to find and cumbersome to pass along.

Often our processes slow us down and keep us from sharing what the world needs to see and read.

Here’s how to find and curate some of the most interesting links on the web, no matter what your interests are.

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1. Twitter

This is where it all begins for me. Twitter is, bar-none, the best tool for discovering great content. Facebook is good for discovering who is having a bad day or who just got engaged, but as far as brain-stimulation, going to Facebook rather than Twitter to learn something is like going a circus instead of reading a book.

Here’s how I curated my list of great people to follow on Twitter. I follow very sparingly, and I even have a more select, private list of people who share the best content, all the time.

If you don’t know any thought leaders in the area you’re interested in, check out Twitter’s suggested list of people to follow and work from there.

You can also link your email account to Twitter to find people who interact with on the web. Don’t assume that everyone you know is a good sharer on Twitter, but hopefully some sharp people you know are using the tool well.

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Technology

How You Can Automatically Save Money on Everything Online

I can’t pay full-price for anything. It’s some type of genetic mutation that definitely came from my mom’s side of the family. My grandma was a yard-sale warrior and would buy things for a nickel on the dollar. My mom hasn’t bought a non-sale item since 1976. We’re freaks.

I like finding deals.  I’m not much for yard sales because I can’t stand sifting through piles of garbage to find a rare gem, but I’ll gladly sift through the interwebs to find a good deal (yes, I see the irony). Here’s my precursor to what I won’t do to save a buck:

  1. Sign up for a ton of services where I get a penny back for every thousand dollars I spend. I know that works for some people, but it’s just not worth my time.
  2. Buy crap I don’t need. This defeats the purpose of saving money buying things online. If I wasn’t going to buy something in the first place, I’m not going to buy it just because it’s on sale. You didn’t save any money if you bought something you didn’t need. So if you were hoping for a post with pictures of me holding a coupon purse with an online shopping cart full of 300 packages of toilet paper and 10 cases of Heinz ketchup, I’m sorry to disappoint you.

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With those disclaimers out of the way, here’s where I turn and how I work when it comes to finding a good deal. Continue reading →

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