We all have done it and will continue to do it when it comes to marketing offers on the internet. We give out our email address in order to get something we would like to subscribe too or even download. Most of use have figured out that if we think we may get put on a SPAM list after receiving our offer we give out a Free email account address. Some of use have more than one. I happen to have 10 of them.

Every time I apply to be a beta tester of another Web 2.0 company I have to give up my email address. That email address has to then be verified by the company to make sure that I am human and not a machine so it does not waste time creating my beta test account. But it gets really frustrating keeping up with all the Free email accounts as well as having to log into each one in order to check on your not so important but in some cases temporarily important emails.

Otherinbox has a solution that is going to give suspect emails and SPAM a run for it’s money. Now instead of giving out your individual Free email address why not create a custom email address that can help you organize and keep track of all suspect email offers. With Otherinbox you can create multiple email addresses like or twitter@jbrath.otherinbox.com facebook@jbrath.otherinbox.com all on the fly without any setup.

So if you email me at otherinboxblogpost@jbrath.otherinbox.com or otherinboxpost@jbrath.otherinbox.com I will get both emails and isolate and organize who sent it to me using Otherinbox. The key is to be as descriptive as you can so that you can clearly identify who you gave your email address too. Otherinbox does this without setting up any folder, filters or rules.

The best thing about giving out an Otherinbox.com email address is something I am calling permanent email SPAM control. That unwanted email is not just going to go into a SPAM folder. You can permanently delete that email address and that spammer will get a bounce back like the email address never existed.

There is currently no limit to the amount of custom email addresses you can create on the fly.

If you would like to become a beta tester of this great service please click on this link http://beta.otherinbox.com/signup/2thenextlevel

Otherinbox has so graciously given us 26 beta test accounts. Please sign up for one and then come back and make a comment on what you thought of their service. Act now before all the beta accounts are gone.

If you need help or want to ask a question about browser compatibility send a Tweet to Otherinbox on Twitter. http://www.twitter.com/otherinbox

The current beta is supporting both Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari with IE and Chrome soon to follow.

If you would like to see that actual demo of the software please see my post Most Impressed Demos At TechCrunch50 Day1: Angstro, OtherInbox and Yammer

Looking forward to your thoughts and comments

All the best and big thanks to Alex from Otherinbox for providing us with the 26 beta accounts.

JB

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Day 3 of TechCrunch50 demos had a lot more gamer presentations then the other 2 days.  I am not a gamer but I do respect what they bring to the Web 2.0 table. I want to congratulate Yammer for winning the grand prize. I picked them out as one of the most impressive on the very first day Most Impressed Demos At TechCrunch50 Day1: Angstro, OtherInbox and Yammer

Dropbox is the easiest way to store and share files in the cloud, combining online sync, sharing and backup into a single interface that’s seamlessly integrated into your operating system. It’s the only truly cross-platform cloud storage solution, with support for Windows, Mac OS X and now Linux. Files in your Dropbox folder are continuously kept in sync between your computers and securely backed up online, eliminating the headaches associated with emailing yourself attachments or carrying USB drives. Folders in your Dropbox can also be shared with others, leading many businesses to abandon traditional network drives and VPNs and collaborate using Dropbox shared folders instead. Our beta users love that Dropbox just works and doesn’t make you think, and our March screencast ranks among the top links of the year on Digg (11,000+ diggs.) Dropbox is backed by Sequoia Capital and Y Combinator and was founded by a team of MIT engineers.

I installed their software and was up and running within 10 minutes with all 3 of my computers sharing a Dropbox folder. I tested placing a file and an image into the Dropbox folder on one of my computers only to see the same file and image on my other two computers Dropbox folder within seconds. My only complaint is that they limit you to 2 gigs of space for Free and they don’t currently have a price plan for additional space.

All in all I have to give kudos to the organizers of this years TechCrunch50. I wish all of the companies that participated luck and look forward to being there in person next year.

All the best

JB

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Here are 5 great sites that help you market your business by sharing your past and current documents.

I have used all but one of these document marketing services yet all of them can improve your market potential by uploading documents that you have already created. All of these services will also allow you to create searchable Tags for your documents. The best part is that each of them give your documents an outlet to more exposure to an audience that would not have seen what you have to offer on your own.

1. Sideshare.net

SlideShareis the best way to share your presentations with the world. Let your ideas reach a broad audience. Share publicly or privately. Add audio to create a webinar.

Here is an example of a presentation I created and uploaded to slideshare.net

Docstocis the premier online community to find and share professional documents. Docstoc provides the platform for users and businesses to upload and share their documents with all the world, and serves as a vast repository of documents in variety of categories including legal, business, financial, technology, educational, and creative. All documents on Docstoc can be easily searched, previewed and downloaded for free.

Small Business Lessons from Barack Obama – Get more Business Plans

Here is an example of a pdf file on Docstoc.com

Scribdbegan with a simple observation – there are billions of documents sitting siloed on people’s hard drives. By making it easy for people to publish their documents to the Internet, Scribd has unlocked this treasure trove of information.

Here is an example of a document on scribd.com

Here is an example of a pdf file saved to issuu.com

Gazhoo(“Gazhoo”) is an innovative Content Marketplace that allows users to search, buy, and sell documents. The site will initially focus on Reports, Term Papers, Business Forms, Legal Forms, and Market Research Reports. All documents are User Generated Content and uploaded solely by users. Given it’s open marketplace nature, Gazhoo will intrinsically maintain quality content and low prices.

You can use Slideshare mainly for your PowerPoint presentations. Scribd and Docstoc a very good for uploading your pdf files. Both Scribd and Docstoc have a document viewer that will allow you to embed the pdf file right into your website or blog. Your readers could then read the document right on your website without having to install adobe reader. Issuu is more for those who want to highlight a pdf file as a online magazine. Gazhoo is best for those of you who want to market and then sell your documents.

So if you have an old PowerPoint presentation, an e-book or just a report that highlights your expertise in your business, I would not hesitate to upload them immediately to one or all of these services.

All the best

JB

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There are a lot of great tools to keep you in touch with your social and professional network. Most of us use the computer, Jott gives us the power to do the same thing using voice recognition on your cell phone . Jott allows you to send emails to yourself, send email and text messages to your list of contacts, and send messages to different web services like Twitter, Blogger and Google Calendar. Jott will listen to your voice commands and turn you words into text to then be displayed as though you had typed the message yourself.

Most smart phones like the Apple iPhone and the Sprint Instinct have application that can give you some of the same kind of access. Jott uses voice recognition to let the rest of us who still use non-smart phones the same capability.

All I have to do is call the Jott toll-free number and my voice does the rest. The main reason I use Jott is to help me send reminders to myself when I am on the road and don’t have a pen handy, but it can do so much more.

Here is an example of a Jott I sent to my email address

Sent with my voice via Jott:

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to our selves and our posterity do ordain…

Listen to Jeffrey’s Message

As you can see Jott was able to pick up words that are not that easy to pronounce let alone catch by voice recognition software. If your message is a bit long Jott will generate a link to the audio recording of your message that you can retrieve from the Jott website.

I also use Jott to update my Google Calendar and have just started sending post to my Twitter account.
Jott can help you keep up to date with your favorite blog by allowing you to hear the written words instead of reading them.

Jott lets me hear up to date blog post from Tech Crunch, Mashable and Barack20 when I don’t have the time to get to a computer to read it. If your blog feed is not on the Jott Feed list you can add it and give it a name that will be easily identified when speaking it into your cell phone.

The Jott service is currently FREE to all their users. Their is a quick setup on the Jott website that you walk through in order to store your contacts, groups, feeds and web links. Once that is done you are ready to Jott.

Jott gives busy Solopreneurs and Small Business a voice controlled way to communicate with their social media, emails, groups, blogs and up date their calendar. All done with with a non-smart cell phone.

The Jott service is currently FREE to all their users. There is a quick setup on the Jott website that you walk through in order to store your contacts, groups, feeds and web links. Once that is done you are ready to Jott.

Who do YOU want to Jott?

All the best

JB

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If you are a solopreneur or small business owner that is on the go and has more than one phone number you will definatley appreciate this post. What if you can could be contacted using one phone number on any of your main phone devices. Most of use have at least 3 different phone numbers. Home, work and cell and if you miss a call on any one of these numbers you have to get the message from 3 different voice mail boxes.

Enter GrandCentral one number for life. As a fellow Solopreneur I need to make sure I don’t miss a call. But if I do miss a call I don’t want to have to check three different voice mail services. Right now you can get a GrandCentral phone number for Free while it is still in Bata. When someone calls that number it calls me on any of the phones I choose and if I miss the call I can check the messages via my phone or better yet I get an email message and I can check the voice mail via the web.

My favorite feature has to be the ability to screen any of your incoming calls. We all remember the best thing about having our old answering machines was being able to listen to the person who called and decide if we wanted to talk to them. Well you you can do the same thing with your GrandCentral number. When someone calls you and you are unsure you want to talk to them just hit the 3 button on your phone and you get to screen the callers message.

If I decide after listening in on the callers message I want to talk to them all I have to do is hit the Star Key (*) on my phone keypad and I can join the call. What’s great is just like an answering machine the caller can’t hear you or know that you are listening and if you decide you don’t want to talk to them they just leave their message on the voice mail.

I now have one number 404-287-0848 and one number only. Numbers on GrandCentral are going fast so I suggest you get one ASAP.

All The Best

JB

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