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Malware And Antivirus Software
Warning: most antivirus programs will not protect you against all forms of malignant software (often called "malware") on their own. Find out how to protect yourself.
Sure, your antivirus software will protect you against viruses. It will...
Microsoft Class Action Settlement in Minnesota - Submitting A Claim
Microsoft has settled a class action lawsuit with the state of Minnesota. Based on this settlement software purchased between May 18, 1994 and March 17, 2003 may be eligible for a voucher that will provide additional monies to the claimant upon...
Microsoft Great Plains Data Conversion – overview for developer
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular, partly because of Microsoft muscles behind it. Now it is targeted to the whole spectrum of horizontal and vertical market clientele. Small companies use Small Business Manager...
The Need for Help Desk Software
Any company that does business online needs help desk software. In many cases, help desk software is a vital component to a good business strategy that can help both the company and the client. Researching, locating and comparing the options...
Understanding Google AdSense
Google AdSense allows webmasters to dynamically serve content relevant advertisements on web pages. If the visitor clicks one of the AdSense ads served to the website, the website owner is credited for the referral. Google's AdSense program...
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Finding Forums
The Value of Forums - Finding Forums
There are literally thousands of online forums that cover a wide range of topics. Forums provide individuals, who share a common interest, with a meeting place for open discussion, and a great gathering spot for "water cooler" talk. When used properly forums can be an excellent business tool and resource. By providing well thought out, helpful responses posters can develop a reputation as an industry expert. Establishing a reputation within forums will eventually lead to solid business contacts and relationships.
Forums, online discussion groups, can be found on many websites. Companies, individuals or groups often have their own web-based forums, which are a good source of technical information or just general discussions. They can be closed for private use only or open to anyone to post messages, which are usually sorted within different categories, or topics. Posting to forums is obviously effective when an immediate answer is not required. Forum can be found by searching for topic or subject with the word 'forum' or 'forums'. Forums are a great way to participate in a community that is discussing a particular topic, or communicate with a group of people interested in the same topic.
Rules & Regulations
Before you post to a forum its important that you read the Charter or description of the forum and determine what is appropriate. It is probably not a bad idea to monitor a newsgroup for a few days prior to posting. Understanding what is accepted or not accepted in each newsgroup will go a long way in befriending the participants.
Forum Etiquette
Spam is generally frowned upon, if you require information on general forum etiquette I'd encourage you to read the article at: http://www.small-business-software.net/etiquette.htm . Rules and etiquette can vary from one group to another, so don't assume what is acceptable in one, is acceptable in another.
Some forums require that you register and provide contact information in order to post a message or respond to messages. The registration is typically simple and
requires that you submit general information. An email confirmation is required in order to confirm the information; once the confirmation is responded to posting privileges are granted. Some forums do not require registration and you can post anonymously.
What to Look for In a Forum
Because time is valuable it is best to frequent forums that have a lot of traffic, this will ensure that any posts receive maximum exposure for little effort. The most recent posts should be have current dates and it should be clear that there is regular activity on the board.
Moderated Forums
Some forums are moderated, which means posts are approved prior to being made public. This means that if you post to a moderated forum, there will likely be a delay between the submission and the posts appearance in the forum. Moderated forums tend to have a lower 'noise' ratio and have less off-topic posts. The downside to moderated forums is that like moderated newsgroups they are usually less popular because of the lag time between posts.
Signature Line
Most newsgroups allow for posters to include a signature on any posts. This is your opportunity to mention your products and services. Use this as an opportunity to tell other forum visitors what you want them to know. Be sure to provide an url to your website, as the link will not only refer potential clients but it will help search engine ranking.
Finding Forums
Forums can contain generic information or be very topic specific. Try the following resources to find forums that meet your needs.
Forum Directory - http://www.small-business-software.net/forum-directory.htm
Forum Directory - http://www.forumdirectory.com
Forum Search - http://www.forumsearch.tk
About the Author
About the Author -
Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , and http://www.small-business-software.net
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| Tucows Downloads - Download Freeware and Shareware Software |
| Download freeware, shareware, and demos. Maintains over 45000 software titles that are tested, rated, reviewed and ready to download. |
| www.tucows.com |
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| Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com |
| Download shareware, freeware and Demo software for PC, Mac, Linux, and Handhelds categorized into categories, plus software reviews. |
| www.download.com |
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| Computer software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| This includes application software such as a word processor, which enables a ... Application software is often purchased separately from computer hardware. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Shareware.com - Search for shareware programs and free software ... |
| Search for shareware programs from more than a dozen downloadable software directories. |
| www.shareware.com |
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| Jumbo: Free & Shareware MP3 files, Games, Screen Savers & Computer ... |
| Source of free and shareware computer programs and utilities for PC and Mac. Evaluate software and read product reviews. Download games and screen savers. |
| www.jumbo.com |
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| Computer Software in the Yahoo! Directory |
| Browse categories featuring sites devoted to computer software, including shareware and freeware download sites, operating systems, desktop customization, ... |
| dir.yahoo.com |
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| IEEE Software |
| IEEE Computer Society's magazine covering all aspects of software, including software engineering. |
| www.computer.org |
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| Free Downloads on ZDNet | Shareware, Trialware, Evaluation Software |
| ZDNet's Software Directory is the Web's largest library of software downloads. Covering software for Windows, Mac, and Mobile systems, ZDNet's Software ... |
| downloads.zdnet.com |
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| FSF - The Free Software Foundation |
| Free software is a matter of liberty not price. Think of "free" as in "free speech". |
| www.fsf.org |
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| Apple - Software |
| Software products for your digital life. ... The perfect addition for professional review. QuickTime Broadcaster. Encoding software for live events. ... |
| www.apple.com |
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| Open Directory - Computers: Software |
| In Partnership with AOL Search. about dmoz | report abuse/spam | help. the entire directory, only in Computers/Software. Top: Computers: Software (38471) ... |
| dmoz.org |
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| freshmeat.net: Welcome to freshmeat.net |
| About: The Web browser is probably the most frequently used software today, ... Web professionals can use the software for functional testing and regression ... |
| freshmeat.net |
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| Software - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF) |
| Listing of the GNU software packages. |
| www.gnu.org |
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| Sun Software |
| Get enterprise-class software--Solaris 10 OS, the Java Enterprise System, ... Sun Java StorageTek Software reduces cost and complexity with a single, ... |
| www.sun.com |
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| Internet Real Estate.com -- owns and operates a portfolio of the ... |
| SOFTWARE.COM · SWEEPSTAKES.COM · PHONE.COM PODCAST.COM ... Software.com | Sweepstakes.com | Phone.com | Podcast.com | Shop.com | Safety.com ... |
| www.internetrealestate.com |
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| Joel on Software |
| A weblog by Joel Spolsky, a programmer working in New York City, about software and software companies. |
| www.joelonsoftware.com |
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| Amazon.com Software: Computer & video games, business, accounting ... |
| Online shopping for computer & video games, business & office productivity software, software from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe & more; accounting, antivirus, ... |
| www.amazon.com |
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| IBM Software - Home Page |
| IBM home page for all of its software products, including Lotus and Tivoli, with keyword search, category browse and AZ product names. |
| www.ibm.com |
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| Opera web browser: Homepage |
| Copyright © 2006 Opera Software ASA. All rights reserved. Skip navigation. Opera Software ... Copyright Opera Software ASA . All rights reserved. ... |
| www.opera.com |
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| Google Directory - Computers > Software |
| Search only in Software Search the Web ... Software Categorized by Letter: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ... |
| www.google.com |
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