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I have decided to start another blog on the side - my personal Haig Kayserian Blog.

The Haig Kayserian blog will share my experiences as an Internet Business Consultant. I will share my expertise in internet business with entrepreneur, corporate and government clients. I will also share my constant research of what is new with the web, helping people understand the keys to web success.

My complete profile is available at the About Haig Kayserian page.

Just a quick hello from the new guy at KayWeb. My name is Mark Simon and I've got a background in Web 2.0 applications. I will be fulfilling the business analyst role KayWeb.

I'm in near the deep end at the moment and what is apparent right away is the amount of work that's been done here at KayWeb and how clean the designs, code and interfaces are.

I look forward to meeting readers as the opportunity presents, hopefully in the near future.

It could be because of the recession. Or maybe inspirational 'overnight internet millionaire' stories. Or just plain luck. Whatever it is, it is undeniably evident for those in my industry that there is a significant rise in the number of 'internet entrepreneurs' taking a plunge with an online idea.

Among the services we provide at KayWeb, we act as internet business consultants for clients and potential clients with ideas they hope will be 'as big as Google' or 'as big as Facebook'. The enquiries by this brand of internet services consumer have increased 10-fold over the last six months.

When we covered this story in our news section last week, I shared my theory that the reason for this rise is most likely the recession. I mean, many professionals are either out of work or looking over their shoulders for when their number will be up in their organisation.

This sort of uncertainty gets people thinking about where they are at and where they want to be.

Obviously, most are realising there are less job opportunities around with unemployment on the rise, and thus desiring to be in charge of their own destiny.

Starting up a business offline - like in retail, cafe, etc. - requires a lot of capital investment, and in this economic climate where governments feel the need to fill up family coffers to encourage festive spending, is not a very safe business investment.

Starting online... the overheads are far lower, and while the risks are high, the opportunities are also greater as the market for anything online is the entire world of internet users. In Australia alone, there are 14million users of the internet.

An internet start-up that is innovative can go a very long way.

Let's take Facebook as an example. Facebook was designed to have a few people within Harvard University network with one another and maintain contact when they have graduated. Within months, the vast majority of the campus had signed up. It then stretched throughout other universities in Boston, then across the United States. Now... forget universities... Facebook has over 175million users.

I will be sharing inspirational stories like this to engage the minds of our budding 'internet entrepreneurs' in coming weeks. I will also provide tips on what to look out for when starting a business online, as the potential pitfalls are plenty in this highly competitive industry.

We all know Facebook has captured the attention of internet users. In fact, this interesting social networking giant has encouraged the handful of people who hadn't yet dabbled with the net to jump on and 'network'.

Facebook currently has 175 million registered users, who log in and view things others in their network decide to share - including photos, videos and dialogue with others they are connected to.

Among the successes of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his team of tech geeks have been their ability to educate the masses on certain web technologies. We web developers and marketers have been trying to add the acronym 'app', short for WEB APPLICATION (aka web software), into the dictionaries of public and business for many years now, and Facebook has managed to do this seamlessly.

By offering interesting applications, from games to useful tools, to their users, Facebook has brought this 'app' term to the fore.

The beauty of Facebook's set-up for developers and entrepreuners is that it is open source. This means that developers like us can develop apps and earn fame by promoting it to Facebook users. What Zuckerberg and Facebook gain from this is they keep developers with smart ideas using their platform rather than encouraging them to create their own and potentially compete with the social networking website, which began as a way to get Harvard campus students communicating online, and hasn't stopped growing since.

We at KayWeb have been receiving a growing number of requests from people who want to develop Facebook Applications (Facebook Apps). Some just have good ideas and aren't interested in the potential financial rewards, but most are businesses who are trying to take advantage of the interactivity Facebook provides by developing an application that could provide the gateway between the social folk on Facebook and the products/services their businesses provide.

In the last month, KayWeb has received 18 proposal requests for Facebook Applications for businesses, and this list will continue to grow!

Those who know web know Microsoft's Internet Explorer, in any version, is slow and hopeless. It has now been revealed the most widely-used internet browser has a SERIOUS security hole that leaves computers exposed to hijack attempts.

Anti-virus software maker Trend Micro has confirmed that the said 'hole' helps criminals trick you and I into entering websites that contain code which can steal our passwords, as well as more serious information such as financials.

Trend Micro security researcher Paul Ferguson told the Associated Press that this flaw has not been repaired by Microsoft.

Microsoft, according to the same news network, is "investigating the flaw and is considering fixing it through an emergency software patch outside of its normal monthly updates, but declined further comment".

Quite frankly, this is not good enough.

I will encourage everybody I know to switch browsers immediately. There are viable options out there that won't only help your security; they will also speed up your daily business on the internet.

The best option at the moment is Firefox (please click here to download), which is developed by the Mozilla open source community and has been leading innovation in the browser game for many years now.

Other viable options include Google's Chrome (please click here to download), which has less features than Firefox but is getting better day by day. It is now out of beta testing mode.

And Apple's Safari (please click here to download) is also a solid performer and is available for both Mac and Windows.

The move by many web users to the above options has Microsoft quaking (Firefox already has 20% market share according to recent statistics).

Internet Explorer would be far less dominant if it wasn't a default on all Windows computers, which is also a reason that some major PC manufacturers are now doing deals with the likes of Firefox and Google to include their browsers as defaults.

* Feel free to read Internet Explorer review by respect IT review website, CNET. Click here.

With the festive season around the corner, direct research of KayWeb clients has shown increased activity in ecommerce websites, particularly those offering gift options like digital goods, fragrances, clothes and hardware.

This may seem only logical with Christmas around the corner, however a deeper analysis shows that the economic doom and gloom has made people realise that online is the best place to find a bargain.

Shopping in malls and shopping centres is very time consuming and tiring. The thought of going to your nearest Westfield includes:

• Driving to the shopping centre
  
• Trying to find parking
• Walking a distance to get into the shopping centre
• Walking a distance from the shopping centre entrance to the shop you seek
• Seeing people you do not want to see
• Looking for the exact product that may or may not be on the shelf
• Looking for your make and size
• Walking to the next shop to compare prices
• Walking back to negotiate a better price from store 1
• Purchasing your product, knowing it may be cheaper in a shopping centre in another suburb
• Repeating the buying process for each individual product
  
• Repeating the walks, 'hopefully' with heavy bags in hand
  
• Being offered a new credit card by some exchange student
• Finding your car
• Loading your car
• Driving home

Putting these steps into text is hard enough... performing them, as most would know, is infinitely tougher.

Enter the convenience of online shopping.

• Jump on the web
• Google for your desired product, being as specific as model number if you wish
• Click the first few options to compare prices
• Pay securely
• Have it delivered

While Google is no doubt great, there is now even better options when browsing online. Websites such as shopping.com and Get Price do the hard work for you.

• eBusinesses list their products and prices on these websites
• You jump on this website and search for a brand of digital camera or fragrance
• It lists for you the prices from cheapest to most expensive
• You click on the cheapest; it takes you directly to that product on the said website
• You pay securely
• Have it delivered

The online option of shopping is no doubt the best option for today's time-poor class of human. This was proven with the advent of ecommerce.

But now, with the economy treading such uncertain waters, the online option of shopping has proven itself as the best option for those seeking a bargain!

I read with great interest last week when the independent Web Marketing Association called the 2008 United States presidential election, three weeks before a vote has been cast, to Barack Obama. The reason for this was that Obama's website won their WebAward over John McCain's website!

The decision to award www.barackobama.com the gong for 'Better Website' was made by 110 internet website experts, who sit on the Web Marketing Association's WebAward judging panel. And the fact that this same crew voted for Obama's website as 'better than Hillary Clinton's' during the Democratic primaries, and Obama ended up defeating Clinton, could mean the same path is set for November 4.

Let's take a closer look at both barackobama.com and johnmccain.com...

The Web Marketing Association judged the websites based on the following categories:

• Design
• Innovation
• Content
• Ease of Use
• Copywriting
• Interactivity, and
• Technology

In all these categories, Obama recorded smashing victories over McCain, with his smallest score being 70.1%, which was for Copywriting.

Viewing both websites, they have definitely gone down the path of Web 2.0 to pass on their message to American voters.

Both websites have similar large fonts; they both possess significant movement throughout pages, they both have shops, they both have significant calls to action directed at supporters, videos are prominent, blogs are updated and interactive, while 'interactive' is a good one-word summation of the image they both do well in extracting through their respective websites.

Does one do it better than the other?

I think yes. I am in agreement with the WebAwards that Obama's website is more interactive, innovative and better looking. Although I am not convinced that barackobama.com deserves to thrash johnmccain.com in all the above categories.

For example, I think McCain's website is at least the equal of Obama's in the 'Ease of Use' category, while 'Copywriting' is another category they could have scored closer in. However, as far as 'Design', 'Innovation', 'Content', 'Interactivity' and 'Technology' goes; Obama's website deserves to score higher thus deserves the better website award.

I feel the reason the respected judges have gone with a thrashing victory to Obama over McCain is the overall appeal of these two candidates to a web audience.

Despite efforts by McCain to jazz up his campaign with a fancy font and Sarah Pallin, he still looks like an old man. Not many surfers of the web are looking for old men.

Obama, on the other hand, is different. He is youthful and he seems genuinely web savvy.

Where McCain seems to be using the web because it is an essentiality, Obama has been using it to gather grassroots support from day 1 and credits in with building his profile as a president-worthy individual.

In 2004 Google exploded onto the email scene with their innovative free webmail offering, GMail. Microsoft and Yahoo quickly tried to play catchup, but GMail has been going from strength to strength ever since then.

But what's so good about GMail? Well, consider just a few of it's key features:

Powerful Anti-Spam
With a custom email address that average around 100 spam emails  a day unfiltered, after switching to Gmail I’ve had less than 5 spam emails slip through in the last 2 years. That’s impressive. And what’s so brilliant is that it just works. No fiddling around with settings! (more)

Automatic Anti-virus Scanning
This doesn't mean you'll never get a virus, but it does mean that every attachment sent to your GMail account is automatically scanned in the background for viruses (more).

Instant Google search across all your email
No fiddling around with complex search forms, or waiting 10 minutes for years worth of emails to be searched - GMail uses the Google engine for searching, which means instant results (more).

7GB+ of storage space
This was one of GMail innovations when it first launched - never worry about deleting your emails again.

Manage multiple custom email accounts from within Gmail
Maybe you've got your own email address with your own domain? No worries - GMail can automatically download emails from your other accounts and let you reply to them directly.

Access GMail on your Mobile
Whether you've got an iPhone or a 5-yr old Nokia, if your mobile has net access then you'll be able to access your emails from anywhere (more).

Access your email using IMAP
This is a killer feature: in short, IMAP means automatic synchronisation of all your emails across multiple workstations and mobile devices (more).

Hopefully that's whet your appetite somewhat. There's plenty more to GMail though: read about some of their newest features here, and keep an eye out in future posts for tips on how to maximise the benefits of GMail and other Google offerings for your small business.

A month since its trial release, Google's Chrome web browser is gaining mixed reviews by web analysts. According to some users, Google Chrome is super-fast and easy to use; others complain that it is too bare, while competitors state their own products remain superior in the newly-congested browser market.

My personal tests of Chrome have been extremely positive, considering it is its VERSION 1 release. Google has again embraced the advantages of open source web development to deliver a product in a rare segment of the web they haven't yet cracked.

Creating a browser was a natural ‘next step' for Google.

Regardless of the browsers we - as internet users - have been using, we have been typing in the Google URL (www.google.com.au, www.google.com, etc.) more than any other URL worldwide. It was only a matter of time until Google decided that the place you type in URLs should also be owned by them.

Rather than creating a ‘me too', the techs at Google decided to add some key features to their product which would differentiate it from competitors like Internet Explorer (Microsoft's web browser), Firefox (Mozilla's web browser) and Safari (Apple's web browser):

• It has brought Google search into the browser
  One can type in a search term instead of the URL in the URL bar, and it will return a Google search.
• It has brought Google applications onto the browser
  One can access Gmail, Google Docs, etc from the browser itself.
• It downloads JavaScript faster
  Most web applications these days are written in JavaScript.
• Kills the tab, not the browser
  Like the others good browsers, it allows for tabbed browsing. But its difference is if one tab crashed, the other tabs are not affected.

It is clear from the first two points above that Google's greatest advantage is in its name. The fact that Google Search and Google Applications are so popular, making them more accessible for their users will ensure they flock to Google Chrome.

The other advantages are arguable in Chrome's early days.

Internet Explorer, with its new IE8, feels its product is also quick. After testing myself, I can state comfortably that it is not. It is crap, and it is a browser with everybody BUT the end-user in mind.

Firefox says its latest release is the best. After testing myself, I have to agree with the people at Mozilla. In speed, I do not sense a major difference with Chrome, but in options, Firefox is far better equipped due to the head-start it has had in the browser market.

Firefox has more plug-ins, add-ons, etc, which means it is more extendable NOW. IE is not extendable, while Chrome will catch up.

Earlier this month, ICANN - the internet's global governing body - decided on an unprecedented expansion of top level domains (TLDs). This means the 21 variations of domain extensions currently available (EG: .com, .com.au, .org) are about to be monstered by what is essentially a free-for-all policy where one can select their own domain extension!

When this policy is brought into play in an estimated two years' time, McDonalds can have a domain like www.mcdonalds.mcdonalds or BBC Radio can potentially be found at www.radio.bbc. No .com, no ANYTHING standard is necessary.

Most who heard this news after the ICANN heads met in Paris for their 32nd conference replied 'Coooool', imagining all the possibilities...

But I am doubtful at how 'Coooool' this policy really is!

A domain extension gives a website a sense of belonging. .com.au stands for an Australian domain, .ca is Canadian, .cn is Chinese, and so on. The same crew at ICANN recently released .asia for Asian domain seekers and .eu for European domain seekers - with purchasers of these given a continental belonging, larger than their nation but a belonging nonetheless.

ICANN has now decided that this belonging no longer holds any value. Instead, they will allow any Tom, Dick or Harry to select their desired domain extension. In fact .tomdickorharry can be your next domain extension!

The internet is globalised enough and some things need to remain standard to give surfers an idea of who is where, and doing what. ICANN has got this policy wrong.