Points to remember while planning the blog

• How visitors will navigate the site for content- The internet visitor has a short attention span and little patience for fluff-he wants to get straight to the point, and get to the content he needs. Visitors either scroll down for the relevant title, or search from the newest. Therefore blog posts can be placed in excerpts on the home page, or titles listed, or assigned to categories which can then be searched.
• Include the search option-this simplifies things for visitors who can use keywords in their search and get straight to the relevant post.
• First timers who browse- A first time visitor would like to browse through every part of the blog. It would make things easier if internal links and references could be placed as options.
• Active posts that invite comments- Visitors seem to like their opinion being solicited and like to post their comments. The blog can decide to be an active one and also post these comments for others to see.
• Main website menu in blog- this will help visitors reach the main website straight from the blog, and will help to improve website traffic.
• Easily spotted menu- visitors should not have to search for the main menu and therefore it is better to place it on top so that it is clearly visible.

With these clarifications, the blog will take a shape and design that will help to push the blog in the preferred direction and visitors will find it easily accessible.

Blog content-when and what

The next crucial decision is about the blog content.

Frequency- Should blog posts be added every day, or alternate days, weekly or monthly? This is a tricky question, again linked to the perspective of the business owner. Experts believe that if regular posts are not seen, blogs die out and are ignored by search engines. If the blog has regular visitors then thrice a week makes sense, since they would like to read new material each time. If however, the blog just expresses expert opinions and is informative about topics then it need not be so frequent, and posts may be added as and when a new topic is introduced. Infrequent posts must not mention dates since dates may reveal that the post is old, and the reader will lose interest.

Personal or business content- Small business owners prefer personalized content to get the visitors involved about every aspect of the business. Including personal details, pictures and photos gets the visitors interested and more involved. A bigger business will have a blogging team and these blogs will be more business oriented, and used for promoting public relations, sharing news, advertising an event and so on.

Active posts with visitor participation- Comments from visitors seems like an interesting prospect but this can also have an adverse impact for a business if negative comments are posted or some unpleasant remarks are made. Comments need to be constantly monitored, and if found harmful, they must be removed before they cause damage.

Blogs offer tremendous opportunity, but it is “to each, their own”. Businesses need to figure out what suits their business the best, in terms of blog content, design and all other intricate details.

This is a Guest post by Neil Jones, who Specializes in launching ecommerce sites, he is currently plying his trade as head of marketing for eMobileScan. With 18 websites based all around Europe they are on course to be one of Europe’s largest online retailers of Industrial handheld computers and label printers like the Motorola MC75 terminal or Symbol MC9090. Neil has been an online marketer for the past 6 years and in that time he has owned and run a range of sites all built around the ecommerce platform.

• How to Take Your Blog to the Next Level – July 16, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011
• How to Set Goals for your Blog – March 31, 2011
• Facebook is the most used URL in Twitter Profiles – December 5, 2010

Creating a Unique Blog for your Business originally appeared on: Crenk
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Contract management software can help your business to effectively produce and manage the contracts you make with customers, employees, partners and vendors. Instead of managing contracts using a manual human-edited method, software can help you manage these contracts more effectively.

Through an automated system, the software can monitor the negotiation of a contract, compliance to the terms and conditions of the contract and renewal of the contract.This can help you save time so you can focus your attention on other areas. A computer program can reduce the effort needed to negotiate and organize contracts, and simplifies the administration process.

Contract management software is useful for anyone that runs a business that deals with several contracts. It keeps your contracts all in one place and notifies you when they’re about to come to an end.

Choosing the right software can help you to increase efficiency, lower operation costs and enable you to monitor your contracts more effectively. However, like most products, some are better than others and the transition period can be hard work, but the results are worth it. It is important to do your research, because some are easier to use than others.

To help you choose, you should be looking at contract software that comes with great customer support, to help you with any problems. Think about what you need it for, and whether you need it to perform complex tasks or just simple ones. Choose the right software for your company’s size. If you run a small business, you might not need the software that a large organization would use.

You also need to pick a system that will be useful in the long term as your company grows, to avoid having to purchase new software and start all over again.

Look at whether the software offers an automated email response system to notify your clients of any contracts that are about to expire. Try to select software that has a good system for the client side, so they can obtain electronic copies of any agreements and amendments. Good contract management software will allow you to track payments and figure out how effective your strategies have been.

Similarly it is helpful if the system can be connected to your email, to notify you of these expiring contracts.

Pick a system where you can do a search for specific names or dates, so you can search for a particular client or set of details.

Since you are dealing with very sensitive personal information, it is essential that you choose software that has a very high level of security, to avoid information being leaked.

Finally it should be simple and easy to use (above all else!), because the whole point of using a contract management software system is to save time.

If the software comes with a trial version, this can give you a chance to test it out and decide whether it is right for you and your business.

Take a look at comparison sites to help you choose and compare the various products available. This will save you money in the long-term and ensure that your investment is a wise one.

• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011
• Scheduling for your Business with Shift Planner – April 26, 2010
• Flow Chart Beauty with Lovely Charts – December 16, 2009
• DocShaker: Easily Send, Receive and Sign Documents – November 24, 2009

Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses originally appeared on: Crenk
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Some people see business blogs as a big waste of both time and good money. This is because so many people just think of them as marketing tools. But that doesn’t by any means make them less effective. They are truly one of the most useful and successful tools that a business website can utilize. They can help to pull in massive amounts of targeted traffic to your main business website.

Whether viewed as marketing tools or not, people still read them and get a glimpse of the blog’s writer. This gives the company a very important voice that relates to their public and to their customers. The general public has always liked companies with a distinct personality that can connect with them. It makes them seem more like the people next door than some far away conglomerate.

These blogs give people a feel for what the company is truly about. They feel as though they have a voice and a say-so about the goings on, being able to give feedback and suggestions. They feel more like participants than just someone who comes to leave their money.

Aside from the benefit of giving your company a voice, there are more advantages to be had. One is having an industry authority in regards to your business blog. If your blog shows that your company can change and grow with your industry, then by sharing this with your visitors, they will gain you respect for your professionalism. This really enhances a company’s reputation. Once the public catches on that you’re on top of things, it snowballs, word gets out, and your business grows.

Because of this, your company is able to gain public trust, and they’ll find your products more appealing. Let’s face it, if you thought your products were sub-par, you wouldn’t be selling them.

A business blog can really reap big benefits for any company, and for your main site as well. By regularly keeping fresh updated content on your blog, the search engines will constantly index the site, giving it a higher page rank in the results pages. If you do some SEO work and optimize your blog for keywords that you add to your contextual links, you could see a massive surge in your page ranks. Using these things along with wise choices of domain names can give your website quite a boost toward success, and this is why so many businesses are adding blog to compliment their sites and business.

Guest post is written by Thomas Alling, the owner of the successful make money online niche blog. His blog features reviews and a free home business classifieds section.

• How to Take Your Blog to the Next Level – July 16, 2011
• Windows Phone 7 Theme for Your WordPress Blog – May 31, 2011
• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Tips For Young Bloggers – April 16, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011

Why Create A Business Blog? originally appeared on: Crenk
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If you’re a company looking for an easy way to schedule your staff then look no further than Shift Schedule’s award winning Shift Planner. The software is downloadable online and used to be known as Easy Shift. Shift Schedule is an award winning company for the amazing easy to read and well designed spreadsheets that it has put together for companies big and small. Since 1998 they’ve helped to create scheduling software that makes it easier for management teams to keep track of their staff, save money, and keep their businesses running.

The scheduling spreadsheets are functional for a variety of shifts. Whether you’re working with rotating shifts, fixed shifts, or split shifts, the spreadsheet software appropriately adjusts to ensure that all employers can see the hours their employees are putting in while ensuring that they save money in the process. Digging deeper it can also manage multiple individual tasks, crew tasks, or entire floor schedules. The flexibility is built into the spreadsheet and will only very based on the number of people you have to work with.

• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011
• Managing Schedules Made Easy with ShiftPlanning – May 6, 2010
• Flow Chart Beauty with Lovely Charts – December 16, 2009

Scheduling for your Business with Shift Planner originally appeared on: Crenk
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But seriously, from time to time whether for school, for personal projects, or for work, flow charts are visually appealing to many and offer a clearer view than perhaps a report detailing the same information. So in order to get people on board with visually appealing processes, you need an application that works exactly to that point and that application is Lovely Charts.

Now honestly, the name didn’t do it for me, but naming aside, the application is a very robust flash app that helps you build amazingly detailed and innovative flow charts that will most certainly engage, even on the most mundane of topics.  With access to symbols, drawing tools, icon tools, and a graph grid, you’re able to produce dynamic and involved flow charts in a matter of minutes.

Lovely Charts allows you to create innovative flow charts for your ideas.

The ease of use on this application is amazing on the site it offers you a video sample of just how it easy it is to create your charts, reshaping, resizing, and redirecting on the fly should anything change. But don’t think it just does charts, the application boasts the use of sitemaps, wireframes, network diagrams and organizational charts.

The original, baseline membership is free, so give it a go and see if it fulfills your need for an appealing chart. If you’re looking to upgrade, for about $42 a year, you get unlimited access to create an unlimited library of diagrams for you to use.

• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Best Practices for 2011 – April 8, 2011
• Scheduling for your Business with Shift Planner – April 26, 2010

Flow Chart Beauty with Lovely Charts originally appeared on: Crenk
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Creating contracts only takes a few minutes after signing up (which in itself takes “ten seconds”, just as the banner promises). Basically, you first create a contact then create a template for your document using the rich text editor that’s built into the service. Then you create your document like in the screenshot below.

Before you send your document you have the final chance to customize it as you can see in the screen below. You can add in extra terms and monetary amounts. You can also decide if the document should have an expiration date. The feature I like the most was that you can choose several ways for the recipient to authenticate the document such as via Twitter or OpenID.

When you’re done, click ‘send and save’. Then, on the final page, customize the e-mail the person will receive and then send the document along with the documents URL (this is included as standard). This is an quick and easy way to process documents and contracts online.

Check it out at www.docshaker.com

• Waving Hard? You Need WaveNut! – November 23, 2009
• 5 Tools to Make Your Computer Friendlier For Those With Poor Eyesight – January 23, 2012
• Diglo: Social Network for File Sharing and Media Hosting – July 31, 2011
• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Raptr Is the Ultimate Gaming Service: Connects PSN, Xbox and More – May 16, 2011

DocShaker: Easily Send, Receive and Sign Documents originally appeared on: Crenk
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Now there is. Introducing WIPspace, the creative collaboration tool that offers up multiple levels of engagement in a sleek, sexy, yet functional package. The image blow is a visual diagram of all the things WIPspace is capable of.

You feeling it yet? There’s real fire under this engine, and the multitude of offerings it has makes it a very robust package. Working on projects or movies, this space allows you to fully interact with off-site teams, and engage the client all at the same time.

Be sure to watch the videos and test drive it. Let us know what you think and how it compares with Basecamp or some of the other collaboration tools out there.

• Google: Crenk Isnt a Content Farm! – February 28, 2011
• Internet Search Expanded, Online Information Drilldown – November 15, 2009
• Monitoring your Search Engines Positions – July 2, 2009
• Google Offers Available in Charlotte, Kansas City, Milwaukee, San Antonio and Tampa – January 25, 2012
• First Google+ TV Advertising: Sharing, but like real life – November 25, 2011

Wipsace Ignites Online Collaboration originally appeared on: Crenk
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Rather than struggle with a dual monitor setup, NEC went ahead and just combined the screens into a massive 43in. curved display that not only gives you the same dual monitor feel, only with out the need for two screens, but it also fully immerses you with the curved design making it easy to follow your work on the screen. Now while I love the concept, and the idea of reducing two monitors into one is ideal, it’s the price tag that worries me.

I can probably pick up two monitors for under $500. Both of them would be LCD screens, at least 20in+, so the price tag of approximately $5,000 seems just a little steep. Now not sure about you all, but I don’t come around 5k all that easily, so again, what is it that really makes this monitor stand out? Aside from being curved, HD, and having a seamless display? You be the judge.

• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011
• Lenovo and NEC Create Joint Venture to Manufacture More PCs for the Japanese Market – January 28, 2011
• Scheduling for your Business with Shift Planner – April 26, 2010

NEC Flat Screen Perfects Dual Monitors originally appeared on: Crenk
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Real estate, whether it’s hot or not, one this is true, it’s all about the location. With that in mind, for those of us that are seeking a place to hang our hat, to call our home, there’s lots of apps out there that can help us find that dwelling. Whether your single, married, roomates, there are apps out there that can help you find the right place for you. In the UK there is one specific app that we had a chance to play with, and that’s MousePrice.

MousePrice is an extremely web and mobile app that can share pricing of real estate, provide you quotes, and some basic information based on your needs. The web app is a very simple website that asks you three questions before you submit and move onto your information. In an effort to increase transparency in the industry MousePrice puts as few roadblocks between you and the results. Finding the properties available in the area you selected then makes it easy for you to find the place that best fits your budget.

Alternatively the mobile app for the iPhone works just as effectivly. After inserting some basic information on the location you want, or using your specific location at the moment, it will map out, using GPS, the entire area providing you drop pins to click on in order to get your information. Once the information is displayed, properties in green mean the value has gone up, property in pink means it’s gone down, and yellow properties simply mean that there is not enough information to accurately give you the most recent information.

Interested? Well if you’re in the UK looking for a bit of real estate, I’d be curious to hear if you’ve used this and if you like it. If you’re a real estate agent, do you find this effective for what you do? Leave a comment and let us know.

• IPHDAVAD The All In One HDMI and USB Port for Your iPhone and iPad – November 28, 2011
• Watch YouTube Playlists on iPad – November 27, 2011
• Solution for Downgrading iOS 5 – November 23, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011

Online Real Estate App originally appeared on: Crenk
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Entrepreneurs and start-ups alike are prime candidates for branding opportunities. Existing companies looking at changing their appearance, their direction, or product/service may also be looking for a way to change their existing branding, and what’s quicker than instant?

Nothing.

BrandStack is the quickest way to get your new logo and start building your brand. The depository has hundreds of designs, but along with the logos, you also get domain names pre-registered for you along with other additions that will get your business off the ground instantly.

Previously known as Incspring, Brandstack is literally stacking the layers of possibilities to make your endeavors as profitable and successful as possible. Founder Wes Wilson is always looking for designers who want to upload their extra logos to the site and further expand what it has to offer. A definite most for those looking to purchase and build, and designers looking to sell their extra or new designed logos.

Give BrandStack a try and take the stress of the creative process off your shoulders and start with the real details that will help build your company for your customers.

• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011
• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011
• Generate your Twitter-like Logo for Free – December 5, 2010

Brandstack: Instant Branding for Your Company originally appeared on: Crenk
Join our Community: Twitter, Facebook

I’m by no means a wine expert, so I can either fumble my way through wines I will mostly not like, or I can turn to the experts of Hello Vino and adapt my tastes, my menu, or my event to the wines that will make it a success. Hello Vino has added a mobile app that has helped me select a wine on the go while I’m shopping for an evening with friends or just with my wife. The application does a great job of pairing wines, giving you reviews, and pricing it for you to find exactly what you need on so many levels.

The database consists of over 1 million unique wines, all of which will surely find their fan base on the go always on the hunt for the perfect wine.

• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011
• Scheduling for your Business with Shift Planner – April 26, 2010
• Flow Chart Beauty with Lovely Charts – December 16, 2009

Geeks + Wine = Success originally appeared on: Crenk
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Powerpoint presentations can get a fresh face lift with these new, unique backgrounds that can ressurect the drab into the fab. By what I can tell, this site has hundreds upon hundreds of new templates for you to use, that are easy to find based on their categories. You can preview them, and download the ones you like. They also include packs for charts and graphis, looped music, and other creative for your presentations that will keep your presentation visually attractive while you share the important information.

I’ve used this site for a few public speaking engagements already, I’ve been very impressed with it, and I recommend you give it a try. As PowerPoint has gotten on in age, it’s nice to see creative sites like this offering the facelift that it has so badly needed.

You can follow them on Twitter as well.

• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011
• Scheduling for your Business with Shift Planner – April 26, 2010
• Projection Power in the Palm of Your Hand – February 18, 2010

PowerPoint Gets A Presentation Face-Lift originally appeared on: Crenk
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The online application allows you to set up your own web page for collections purposes. The customization far outweighs the impersonal requests that PayPal creates, with the invoices they allow you to create. Instead Paystr really want you to customize your efforts and your attempts to collect funds for a variety of things. The site declares that its services are great for parties, events, games, gifts or whatever it might be you are collecting for.The focus of Paystr is for the user to focus more on the actual project and less time on the actual collections.

The site is free, creating an account is easy, but standard “PayPal” fees apply. The online site accepts credit cards also, to make it easier for you to collect your funds ahead of time. You can set up multiple payment methods and multiple levels of products or services giving your audience options, ease of use, and safety of knowing their payments are secure.

You can also follow Paystr on Twitter, @Paystr, or connect with them via Facebook.

• Facebook vs Twitter: 2010 Social Demographic Breakdown – December 21, 2010
• Facebook is the most used URL in Twitter Profiles – December 5, 2010
• Save your Photos, Videos and Documents in one Place with PhotoRem – November 7, 2010
• How to Add a Sidebar with Facebook, Twitter, Delicio.us and Digg – October 31, 2010
• Virus Infecting Mac and Linux – October 31, 2010

Paystr, Friendlier Alternative to PayPal originally appeared on: Crenk
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Too often when we try to contact companies to ask questions and communicate with another human on the other end of the line, we end up hitting the damned evil messaging system. You all know this system, “Please listen to the following options and select the best choice…” Afterwards you’re given a dizzying number of options and numbers to press which leaves us as consumers frustrated and defeated.

This whole process reminds me of a lose-lose choose your own adventure book. At least with a real book there is a chance to actually succeed, with the messaging system you have more of a chance of punching a hole in the wall out of frustration then you do of actually succeeding.

Businesses tend to forget that putting on a human face is what we as consumers want to connect with. Since they’ve forgotten, Dial A Human has come in and offered us a chance to actually reach a real, working, paid employee of the company of our choice, according to their list.

If you’re tired of machines, check out the site and get connected to someone who can answer your questions!

• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011
• Scheduling for your Business with Shift Planner – April 26, 2010
• Flow Chart Beauty with Lovely Charts – December 16, 2009

The End of Messaging Systems with Dial A Human originally appeared on: Crenk
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• BrightKite
• Dash
• Dipity
• Dopplr
• eKit
• Fire Widget
• J2ME mobile updater
• Lightpole
• Loki
• Map My Tracks
• Metosphere
• Movable Type
• Navizon
• Outalot
• Outside.in
• Plazes
• Pownce
• Rummble
• Spot
• Wikinear
• Zkout
• Zonetag
  

• How to Evaluate and Test your Sites for Mobile – October 24, 2010
• Reach Rockstar Status with Tap Tap Revenge 3 – December 30, 2009
• 7 Fun iPhone Apps for Animal Lovers – January 3, 2012
• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• IPHDAVAD The All In One HDMI and USB Port for Your iPhone and iPad – November 28, 2011

Review: Fire Eagle Pinpoints Your Location with Precision originally appeared on: Crenk
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• Review: Invotrak, Web-Based Invoicing – August 12, 2008
• Social Media Marketing Strategy #1: Re-Submitting Linkbaits for Viral Success – November 20, 2011
• Example of How Powerful Photoshop Can Be – November 10, 2011
• Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 – October 16, 2011
• Outside Car Airbags: Easpace – September 7, 2011

Marketing Collateral In A Flash! originally appeared on: Crenk
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• Invoicing – naturally the strong point of this application meant to keep track of all your clients and monies
• Client Database – keep track of everyone that you work with and never forget a name
• Timesheets – very important to keep track of time spent on projects to accurately invoice your client
• Create/Upload Invoices – have an invoice in a different format, no worries, the ability to upload ensures that you don’t have files laying around different programs.
• Reports – keep track of how your business does monthy, quarterly and yearly

These are just a few of the features that are made available to you. Here is a more comprehensive list of the features Invotrak offers.

The Analysis
Invotrak is a heavy hitter in the invoicing market. Rarely have I seen a web application so well put together. My only concern is their hierarchy. In the Free category you are only offered the ability to have up to 2 invoices a month and don’t get an unlimited number of invoices until you pay into the $45/mo plan. Seems like they’re selling the FREE aspect a little short for businesses that want to try the application for the first time.  I believe the whole hierarchy is a little lopsided, but with over $3 million US dollars being tracked across Invotraks database, what do I know? Apparently freelancers and businsess worldwide are happy with it.

I highly recommend you give Invotrak a try and follow them on their blog.

• Marketing Collateral In A Flash! – August 14, 2008
• Cash Cats Are Here – September 28, 2011
• Creating a Unique Blog for your Business – May 17, 2011
• Technological Advances are Making Contract Management Easier for Businesses – April 14, 2011
• Why Create A Business Blog? – April 8, 2011

Review: Invotrak, Web-Based Invoicing originally appeared on: Crenk
Join our Community: Twitter, Facebook

Portable applications on a key-chain drive makes the idea of a portable office a reality. Whether you have a 1 gig, 4 gig, or even 512 mb, you can carry your files with you everywhere you go.

App-Stick gathers as many portable apps as possible and houses them under one “roof”. With various portable app sites available, some of them may lack what you are specifically looking for. With App-Stick, the site breaks down into categories to make searching easier, and downloading is a breeze. Like something specifically? You are able to comment on the apps you like or dislike most, and even rate them for future users who come to the site.

There is no special software UI to install as with the original Portable Apps program. Still the UI is not what you really want, though a nice touch, the real need is the apps themselves.

Visit App-Stick and get what you need for business on the go!

• Make your Applications Portable with Cameyo – September 11, 2010
• Portable Linux Apps – July 23, 2010
• How to Download Spotify App Clients for Windows and Mac – December 2, 2011
• US Portable Gaming Marketshare by Revenues – November 10, 2011
• Wowee One Slim Review – October 17, 2011

300+ Portable Applications originally appeared on: Crenk
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