MoveInsure.com Unveils an Online Service to Fully Automate Insuring You Next Move

When 16 million Americans move each year, with an average of 7,000 pounds of belongings, something is occasionally going to go wrong.

This $16 billion industry was ready for a technical solution to ensuring the 112 Billion pounds that are moved each year.  MoveInsure.com has made it easy for Bob to hire a Mover in Philadelphia, PA to move him to Topeka, KS and purchase insurance from the the comfort of his PC.

Most moving companies do offer limited liability coverage, but it normally covers on a per pound basis that ends up falling way short of the actual value.  Most movers find it necessary to purchase additional insurance to cover any unforeseen accidents.

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‘Facebook at Work’ – What Is It?

‘Facebook at Work’ – is it the next LinkedIn? Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would like it to be. For now, it’s the latest effort to diversify the product offering of one of the most successful companies on the planet.

Beyond the Consumer Market

Facebook dominates the social media space and now boasts a formidable user base of well over a billion people. People peruse Facebook to gab with their friends, share content they like, and connect with family and acquaintances. They aren’t on Facebook for the business side of life. Most of the time, in fact, they are trying to distract themselves from the demands of work.

Now, Zuckerberg has a new B2B vision for the company. Facebook at Work won’t replace the traditional social platform, but it will borrow some of its interactive features and repackage them for business purposes.

Employees would be able to chat with each other in real-time, connect with their professional contacts, and collaboratively edit documents. Will they be able to “Like” document edits or project updates? It’s too soon to tell.

Lingering Doubts

Perhaps not surprisingly, Facebook, Inc. has long used its own social platform to run its business operations.

“Everyone at Facebook uses Facebook for work,” a former Facebook employee told TechCrunch earlier this year. FB workers use Messages to communicate with one another and Facebook Groups to collaborate on team projects. Some consider it a fast and efficient way to conduct internal business.

Taking stock of their own model of employee collaboration, Zuckerberg seems to have concluded that, if it works for his people, why couldn’t it work for any business? There are several reasons.

Facebook has already widely infiltrated workplaces, albeit as an illicit diversion for bored workers. A huge number of businesses have banned Facebook from the office due to its incitement of an epidemic of employee distraction and frivolity. It won’t be easy to convince owners that social media is now good for business.

Additionally, Facebook has earned itself a reputation as the most notorious collector of user data on the World Wide Web. While consumers are prone to posting private information on the network with little regard for the consequences, few businesses will want to expose their proprietary communications to external data harvesters in such a casual fashion.

Although Facebook at Work will likely be marketed with privacy and security features, it’s not clear how many organizations will actually trust the company to stay out of their business. Moreover, who would own the data?

On the bright side, Facebook at Work promises to be insanely user-friendly, not least because practically everyone is already familiar with the classic FB interface. That could make training a breeze.

Monetization Questions

The greatest elephant in the room, however, is the question of monetization. In the consumer market, Facebook’s business modus operandi is to offer a free social media service to users, and then let advertisers pay to display their wares to those users. Because users provide abundant information about themselves and their lifestyles, advertisers can use this treasure trove of data to target their audience at a granular level.

But how would Facebook at Work make its money?

At least initially, the platform will be released as a free service to encourage businesses to sign up, but what happens after that, nobody knows. Would bosses be willing to accept distracting advertisements targeting their employees on-the-job as the true cost of the program? Who wants a tool that promises greater efficiency, only to distract users from the task at hand?

Facebook is easily one of the most frequented websites in the world. It offers blue-chip stock to its shareholders, and aims to keep it that way. Whether you think Facebook at Work is a viable invention or a product just waiting to fall flat on its face, there’s no doubt that its release at the beginning of next year will generate big buzz, so stay tuned.

 

A Roundup of the Top 10 Online Backup Services

Devastating data disasters can happen when there’s an unexpected crash, spill or hack. A good backup service will protect you from the consequences; it’s totally worth the investment. Choose from this list of the top ten online backup services to get the most bang for your buck.

#1 – Backblaze

Affordable, unlimited and option-rich, Backblaze seems to do everything right. For starters, Backblaze allows 100 percent unlimited data for all; the company doesn’t even offer a non-unlimited plan. There are no file size, type, or speed limits whatsoever. And the price is right at $5 a month – a small cost to pay for comprehensive digital life insurance delivered on a set-it-and-forget-it basis.

#2 – CrashPlan

Crashplan is a close competitor with Backblaze. You can use Crashplan to backup to either an external drive, another computer, or a remotely hosted drive with impressive ease. Crashplan is quite popular. Like Backblaze, it does not limit its functions or charge hidden fees. It’s also the only service offering local and offsite backup for free.

#3 – Carbonite

Carbonite is a winner as one of the most secure cloud solutions available. Bank-grade security protects all backups and servers. The main data center even sits in a bomb-proof building. A nice touch is the Carbonite courier service offered to HomePremier plan subscribers. If you have a data disaster, a mailman will hand-deliver a copy of your files right to your doorstep.

#4 – Mozy

Mozy is an all-around business-friendly backup solution. It is known for its handy sync feature, called ‘Stash.’ Stash is a folder on your computer or phone. Put files in the folder and they are automatically updated across all your devices. It makes working in multiple settings easy as pie.

#5 – Dropbox

Dropbox is for people who like to share. As an utterly simple syncing-and-sharing service, it is best-in-class. If you need to quickly share documents with someone far away, it will handle the job with aplomb. Dropbox is also notably integration-friendly with numerous third-party apps. That said, if you have serious security needs, don’t rely too much on Dropbox.

#6 – Box

Box is like Dropbox for businesses. Like Dropbox, it excels in user-friendliness. If you just want a good backup tool that doubles as a file-sharing service, Box may be right for you. The intuitive interface makes it a good pick for those new to the cloud storage concept. If there were more storage space for basic plan users, Box would be higher on our list of the top online backup services.

#7 – Jungle Disk

Jungle Disk, offered by web hosting company Rackspace, is a network-based file management system. The Jungle system is geared for business users, and it shows in the surefooted customer service and ease of whole-server backup. However, it’s not the most affordable player on the block, and storage fees are annoyingly extra.

#8 – SOS

SOS offers value with its unlimited file storage and versioning. You can have your own personal cloud for $8 a month. Although you can’t adjust the bandwidth and there’s no remote wipe function, SOS will soon make scanned backups available, so you can backup your print photos – a neat value-add.

#9 – IDrive

IDrive is ideal for mobile-dominant users. It’s got one of the best mobile apps around, and offers unlimited mobile backup at $5 a year for five devices. If you just want a basic plan, you can get 5GB free of charge. Periodically heavy users, however, may want to avoid IDrive’s yearly fee; month-to-month plans offer more flexibility.

#10 – Livedrive

Fast servers and $1.50 per month make Livedrive attractive. You can get unlimited storage and bandwidth on unlimited computers, too, if you are willing to pay for it. You can also get your money back if you change your mind after ordering. And indeed you might once you find out that Livedrive spies on your metadata and the customer service leaves something to be desired.

The Top 10 Blog Hosts for 2015

Today, there are hundreds of web hosts, ranging from mammoth corporations to tiny niche-market players. How do you choose? Learn more about the top 10 blog hosts here so you can make a savvy decision you won’t regret.

#1 – Bluehost

BlueHost is one of the oldest and biggest hosting providers in the market, with more than 2 million websites as of 2014. It is the hosting provider recommended by WordPress for newbie bloggers. If you’ve got a simple blog to run with a small traffic load, Bluehost is a sound choice most days of the year. It’s affordable, user-friendly, mostly reliable, and the best all-around value for basic shared blog hosting.

#2 – GreenGeeks

Born in response to the massive-and-growing carbon footprint of the hosting industry, GreenGeeks is an eco-friendly host fully powered by wind energy. In addition to green cred, GreenGeeks has affordability, exceptional customer service, decent security, and daily backups going for it. It’s not the cheapest host, but it is certainly one of the highest-value ones, and gentle on the planet to boot.

#3 – Media Temple

California-based Media Temple, founded in 1998, is a 100k-strong, shared ‘grid’ host that emphasizes performance. The ‘mt’ grid, not unlike a public cloud, provides faster and more reliable power over many competitors – although it’s not perfect. Media Temple has positioned itself as premium and its prices, starting at $20 a month, reflect it. All-in-all, mt is a quality choice that lets you pay a bit more for higher performance.

#4 – Dreamhost

Dreamhost is another huge company that’s been around since the ’90s. Like other big fish, the company offers rock-bottom pricing and an attractive range of unlimited capacity and features. Dreamhost is a tad more expensive than Bluehost; both have occasional reliability issues. We can say that Dreamhost is a good big box, feature-rich, semi-reliable option, second only to Bluehost in its class.

#5 – IX Web Hosting

IX is a sizable web host with nearly 500k sites worldwide. The main IX draw is its ramped-up security. The company offer continuous monitoring and auto-filtering of malicious code. Also popular are the free dedicated IP addresses; other hosts charge. On the whole, IX is a more secure option with excellent bang-for-your-buck.

#6 – Laughing Squid

If you are wary of underpriced Walmart-style hosting and anonymous, allegedly ‘unlimited’ servers, Laughing Squid might be the blog host for you. Independently owned and operated, Laughing Squid is a boutique, San Francisco-based host with modest but, for many, sufficient capabilities. The small but dedicated team of ‘tentacles’ has provided secure and reliable hosting since 1998. The main drawbacks are the disk space and bandwidth limitations.

#7 – Arvixe

Founded in 2003 by a high school entrepreneur, Arvixe has grown rapidly since its inception. The basic Arvixe hosting plan provides a feel-good balance between okay reliability, above-par quality, and mainstream affordability. It’s a cost-effective choice for the upwardly mobile blogger.

#8 – Squarespace

Squarespace, a relative newcomer on our list, is useful for those who want an out-of-the-box solution. For a reasonable fee, you get hosting, a WYSIWYG website builder and a professional CMS, all-in-one. Squarespace is a fully managed alternative to the DIY approach of WordPress that many small businesses with little time for trial-and-error find attractive.

#9 – WPEngine

Like Squarespace, the freshman WPEngine specializes in managed blog hosting, but it is geared for the popular WordPress CMS. At WPEngine, you pay at least $30 monthly for premium-level speed, above-average security, and responsive service. Automatic daily backups and malware scanning are provided on-the-house. If Squarespace sounds nice, but you can’t imagine blogging without WordPress, WPEngine might be for you.

#10 – Hostgator

Hostgator, now owned by the same hosting conglomerate that owns Bluehost, is a smaller and younger version of Bluehost with better uptime and higher prices. Hostgator lacks spam filters, but they offer generous discounts and promotions to keep you loyal. Most bloggers will find Hostgator gets the job done with little disruptions. Think of it as Bluehost+.