I called today to book my hotel room for the 2009 CES. Yes, I know the show is still several months away, but if you want to guarantee you have a good room and cheap rates, you must book early!
I had originally planned to get two regular rooms this year but after checking prices, I decided it was not really cost efficient. I did a lot of research and decided on the Tower Luxury Suite at the Luxor.
The suite is 780 square feet and can accommodate up to four guests (although it only has one king size bed), so I will put Keith and Airica in the bed. They have roll-away beds that can be sent up free of charge for Rutledge and I.
I found this video tour of a Tower Luxury Suite on YouTube. Looks pretty nice… certainly nicer than anywhere I have ever stayed. Oh, and did I mention I got a $600 discount? BOOSH!!
For me, the dot com lifestyle unofficially started January 7, 2007 at The Tech Zone CES Kickoff Party. This party was hosted by John Chow. At this party, I met several other site owners and continued to build on these relationships and develop more after the show.
Shortly after the show, I came into contact with Bob and started talking to him on AIM. Bob also runs a tech site, ThinkComputers.org which does the same thing as my site, review computer / consumer electronics products. The only difference was that Bob was making a full time living from his site, where as I had been running my site pretty much as a hobby since 2001. I was a total noob when it came to making money online and thought stuff like that was a scam. Boy was I wrong!
Bob was a great mentor to me (and still is). He helped me get set up with TTZ Media which was my first serious attempt at making money from the site and showed me that you actually can make money online (and good money). I also continued to develop a good friendship with John and a few other tech site owners / bloggers. In the online world, it really is all about who you know and what you can do to help each other out.
Once the dot com bug had bitten me, I was infected! I made the decision to drop out of school in February of 2007 to try my hand at doing this full time. My situation was a bit unique based on my disability and what I am limited at doing physically, which I based some of my decision on. The other factors included being sick and tired of school and student loan debt… all working for a degree that I wasn’t going to be using anyway. No, thanks.
The Lifestyle
As I have said before, this was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I was smart enough to keep detailed Excel records of everything when I first started this, so I have a clear view of how things are progressing. Besides the stray month or two, there has been a steady increase month after month.
As with any job, the most important aspect is that you must like your job. If not, it will be pure torture and nobody wants that. I was doing this for six years without pay simply because I loved it. Being able to do it and make money is just a perk.
Another great thing about the dot com lifestyle is being able to work on your own schedule. Me personally, I am NOT a morning person. I now have the freedom to get enough sleep and wake up at a time that I am comfortable with. No, this does not mean I sleep all day. I usually go to bed around 3-4 a.m and wake up around noon. This nets me about eight hours or so of sleep per night, which is average - I just shifted the sleep and wake times to my liking.
Not having a 9-5 traditional job also means I am free to go “have fun” at will. I am not trapped at “work” so I can go do things I enjoy like watching hockey games, going to Florida and just hanging out with friends. What makes things even better is that I can still do work using my laptop anywhere in the world that I have an internet connection. How many “real” jobs have that sort of flexibility?
So, What’s The Catch?
Honestly, there are no “catches”. You can be successful at making money online using several different outlets: tech sites, affiliate marketing, blogging, etc. But, the one misconception I think most people have is that it’s easy to do. Not true.
While I have never personally heard anyone say this to me, I do get the impression that some of my friends probably think I just sit around at home all day doing nothing and make money. Yeah, don’t we all wish it was that easy? The reality is, I do sit at home a lot, but I am constantly working. Whether it is testing products, writing reviews, answering emails, talking with sponsors, creating contests, updating the site layout / design… I am always thinking of ways to make the site better. I have worked my ass off since 2001 on the site and probably 10-fold since starting it full time. So the next time you think someone like John who makes 30 grand a month from blogging doesn’t work for it, think again!
Many things remain a constant, like continuing to try and find new ways to drive traffic to the site, toying with ad placement and different programs as well as attaining new and exciting products to review. Maintaining online friendships and also creating new ones is another priority for me.
Some of my goals for the immediate future include hiring a few additional reviewers to help with the workload and allow us to publish even more reviews. I’m also trying to help build up the forums and make them more active. Another idea I am working with is to start an entirely new venture here soon - more on that if / when it happens
While I was at CES this past year, Cooler Master was displaying some really awesome computer cases from CSX (collaborative effort between Cooler Master and Smooth Creations). These cases had amazing custom air-brushed paint jobs with incredible detail - easily the nicest paint jobs that I have ever seen on a computer case.
I recently got the opportunity to review a CSX case and, of the ones that were available, selected the Wraith (I had my eye on the Fallen Angel, which I saw at CES and it was simply amazing). The Wraith is painted on a Cooler Master Stacker 830, which in itself, is a great chassis.
Each CSX case is hand-painted, meaning that no two cases are exactly alike. Each product in a specific series is numbered, making it an instant collectible. Getting lucky and receiving the very first case of a series like I did is even cooler! You even receive a Certificate of Authenticity with your purchase.
A paint job of this caliber (automotive quality - it has clear coat and you can even wax it) does come at a price, however. Expect to drop of anywhere from $899.99 to $1,299 for a custom CSX chassis.
Yeah, I am a bit late on this one, but I hope everyone had a great Easter holiday. This is the first time I can remember where Easter was not in April, which totally threw me off for a good week or so beforehand. Anyway, just an update to a previous post about the Vancouver Union Gospel Mission - John Chow members raised over $7,500 in donations, very nice!
NCAA Tournament
Are any of you college basketball fans? The NCAA Tournament is in full swing, with the Sweet 16 already announced. I am not a basketball fan, but I watch the occasional game here and there. Keith isn’t a fan either, but that didn’t stop him from joining a pool with some of this other friends. He won this pool a few years ago simply by picking “teams with funny names” - nice! He has the championship game as Memphis vs Tennessee, with Memphis taking the win. Are any of you betting in pools this year?
Tax Time
Josh came down yesterday to help me get my taxes done. I’ll be the first to admit that I am not good with taxes, but hey, I’m learning. We usually wait until the last moment to work on my taxes. I think this is the earliest they have been completed… ever. Have you prepared your taxes yet? Are you able to prepare them by yourself? And most importantly, what do you plan to do with your “economic stimulus” money?
HDR Photography
As many of you already know, I am pretty interested in photography. I love taking pictures of anything and everything. I got into infrared photography about two years ago with my old Nikon D50, but when I got rid of that camera / lens / filter setup, I didn’t pick up another IR filter for my new camera. I have been wanting to do more IR shots but can’t justify spending money on the filter since they are so expensive.
But, something new I am looking to try is HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. HDR is a technique that “allows a greater dynamic range of exposures (the range of values between light and dark areas) than normal digital imaging techniques.” I am sure you have seen some photos online that have amazing colors and you wonder how exactly they were able to take such a nice photo, when nothing you snap comes even close. HDR is your answer.
I will be experimenting with some HDR photos in the coming weeks and if any turn out decent, I will post them up here. Have any of you created HDR photos? If so, were you happy with the results?
The Screen Savers Video
I thought this video was lost forever, but turns out, the former site owner Josh had a copy of his appearance on TechTV’s The Screen Savers. I’m not sure why I didn’t think to ask him about it sooner. Anyway, you can check out the first segment below.
A lot of bloggers talk about building your brand and how important it is to becoming successful. This, of course, isn’t just limited to blogging, but any business model in general. I will be the first to admit that I haven’t spent too much time trying to build a brand with this blog. Doing so with a blog that uses your name as the URL can be challenging, but the main reason I haven’t done this yet is because I am focusing most of my time on my tech site.
With a computer hardware review website, the process of building your brand really isn’t different from a blog. Content is key, but more importantly here, quality content is a must. You are providing a free service to the general public, informing them of which products you feel are worth their hard earned money, and which they should probably look past. It is imperative that you give your honest opinion and relay both the good and the bad with each product.
After good content is being produced, you must drive traffic to your site. This can be done by sending out news releases to other tech sites for inclusion in their web news, exchanging affiliate links and becoming friends with other site owners.
Now that you have an initial traffic source, you need to secure a loyal fan base; people that will bookmark your site, subscribe to your RSS feed / Newsletter. These are the people that help make your site what it is, so give them a reason to like your site and want to come back. You can do this with great content, frequent updates and even giveaways / contests. Remember, without fans, none of it would be possible… or worth your time.
Once all of this is in place, it is only a matter of time before you will begin to gain name recognition. This will happen differently depending on your blog / website / business, but here are a few ways that I have done so with OCIA.net.
One thing we do on the site is award a product our Seal of Approval if we feel it is a great product that is worthy of your money. Manufacturers love it when their product wins an award and most will proudly display these awards. I have had my site’s award logo printed in company product line brochures (seen above)…
company pamphlets…
on retail product packages…
and most of all, on company websites. This is great free, targeted advertising for my website and, well… how cool is it to go into your local electronics store and see your website logo on a retail product box?
Another great way to promote your business is to print and distribute t-shirts. I sent out about 20 or so OCIA.net t-shirts to bloggers and friends across the net. They got a free t-shirt, and I get free advertising from them posting pictures on their blogs and every time they wear the shirt out in public!
If you are fortunate enough, getting your name on television is a great way to get a ton of new business. We did this several years ago on Tech TV’s The Screen Savers, when the former co-owner of the site was features on the show for a computer modding segment.
Theres are just a few methods I have used to build my brand and create name recognition.
Last July, we did a total revamp of my tech site, OCIA.net… with the exception of the forums. We received a ton of praise about the new design and spent the better half of last year fine-tuning everything.
Now, with the main site set, we focused our attention to the forums. We switched to a new forum software and also totally reworked the layout to better match the main page.
So now, it’s time to celebrate, and what better way to do that than to give away a ton of free stuff to you, our readers?!! We have teamed up with several of our sponsors and put together a prize package worth over $1,300 !!
Rutledge just wrapped up his world exclusive review of the Lian Li PC-A17 Midtower Chassis. Lian Li is perhaps the top computer case manufacturer in the business. This is one of their new cases that was on display at CES and has been discussed quite a bit in various forums across the net.
Be sure to check it out and don’t forget to Digg It!
“The iPhone Portable Power Station, with its 2200 mAh battery, is a really neat and innovative product, but it is not without fault and certainly not for everyone. If battery life is at the very top of your list of requirements and you don’t mind the extra bulk and no access to the camera, you might want to give the Power Station a look.”
As you may already know, OCIA.net received a total overhaul last July, which included a new look as well as a custom-designed back end. Unfortunately, the OCIA.net Forums were not part of this upgrade and are still using the old software and layout.
I had planned to remedy this sooner, but finances have been tight lately so that has not been possible. But, with your help, this might soon become a reality!
It just so happens that my pal Derek Semmler is holding a contest where the winner will take home $106.34… which would go a long way to help get the new forums up and running.
So, I simply ask that you hit the front page of OCIA.net and click the square ad on the right side of the page that takes you to his blog. You would be doing a great favor for the site and who knows, you may even like his blog enough to bookmark it!
Almost exactly one year ago, I posted my 2007 CES in Retrospect article. So, how did things pan out this year, and did I stick to my goals from last year?
To sum things up, comparing this year to last year was like night and day. As much as I hate flying, it was SOO much easier and faster to just fly there and get it over in about three hours… instead of 30 (yes, we drove last year). I decided that we would stay on the Vegas Strip this year at Treasure Island. Last year, we stayed with one of Keith’s friends who lives just outside of Vegas. This had its benefits - free shelter - but at a cost… that cost being time and convenience. Staying on the Strip saved us a ton of time and allowed us the freedom to attend more events than last year and meet up with some friends for dinner, to hang out, etc.
As far as productivity this year, things were much better as well. Last year, we posted a total of 10 CES coverage articles. This year, we wrapped things up with a total of 17 articles, which are listed below.
Splitting into teams worked pretty well this year, but I still have some planning to do for next year to fine-tune time management. I booked too many meetings and didn’t set aside enough “downtime” to write articles, which resulted in some pretty late (or early) nights and lack of sleep.
So what changes will I make next year? Well, that all depends on who/how many people from the site go next year. Early guesses would tell me four once again, which would be desired. Next year, I will aim to get two hotel rooms. Four people in one room… while it did work, was a bit cramped and can suck when some people are tired while others are working on articles.
Another change I have in mind, that I didn’t even consider this year, is switching up the job of taking pictures and taking notes. I discovered that if one person took all the photos and the other did all of the note-taking, only the note-taker was able to write an article because the photographer was busy taking pictures and didn’t know anything about the products. This isn’t really fair, making one person do all the writing when it comes time to do an article, so next year, I will look to rotate this job.
Finally, I am thinking about having a “day” and “evening” team. The day crew would get up and out on the show floor early, do some meetings, floor coverage, then have the rest of the day to relax a bit and get some articles done on the day’s coverage and be able to get in bed at a reasonable time. The evening crew would get things started later in the day and be responsible for hitting up the evening press events and parties at night. Parties are a great place to network and meet new people. This crew would of course be out real late, so they would get to sleep in the next day, then wake up, do some article writing and start all over again later that evening.
These are just some things I have to think about over the coming year, but either way, CES was a big success and I can’t wait until next year’s show! Big thanks to Josh, Keith and Airica for attending this year - your help was greatly appreciated!
