Blogging has been a web buzzword for some time now. You're probably familiar with the basic concept (if not, check this.) Technorati.com - a popular blog tracking site - reports that it is following 112.8 million blogs (around 30% of which are active, that is, have had a post in the last 90 days).

Clearly blogging is a huge industry.

How can a blog help your business? Let's take a look...

• Builds authority
• Connects customers on a personal level
• Useful PR tool
• Reach a large number of customers efficiently
• Low cost

There are certainly other potential benefits depending on the nature of your business, however, this list covers most of the big ones. I'd like to go into detail on a few of the items above.

Building Authority

By generating a consistent stream of news and commentary related to your business in a public forum, you can build your authority on matters related to your work. Existing customers and potential new clients will see that you are active in learning about and discussing new developments. This builds their confidence in your business and product.

Personal Connection

Try to write your blog in a conversational voice (but keep it professional). Revealing smaller, inside details about your operations can help give readers a sense of your culture and perspective. Regular readers will get to know you.

Public Relations

This one is fairly obvious, but blogs give you a great platform to issue press releases or formal responses to any issues that may arise. If you've taken the time to build a readership through consistent, quality posts, then your PR work becomes even easier.

These are just a few of the ways that a blog can help your small business or organization. Experiment with what will work for you!

Things is a task management program for Mac OS X from Cultured Code. I've been using it since the beta preview version was released last year and have found it to be the best fit for me in terms of a GTD tsolution. For those of you unfamiliar with Getting Things Done by David Allen, I recommend that you visit 43folders. Merlin Mann has a great collection of posts for the GTD neophyte.

I've tried using a text-file only solution along with Quicksilver as well as Omni-Focus but I found that Things has the best balance of flexibility and simplicity.

I'll be picking up a license when it's released.

A photo from our trip to Algonquin park in 2006. We timed it perfectly and got the shot just as the sun was setting. This was taken on Tom Thompson lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario.

It was about time for me to get some business cards made up. Naturally, I looked for an online solution. I found a number of references to moo.com on other blogs and decided to check them out. I was especially impressed with their flickr integration (because I had just set up a flickr account the day before). The process was really straightforward, I uploaded pictures, arranged them on the cards, laid out the text on the back and completed payment.

So Wickett Productions is live! Finally! I'll be tweaking the site on a regular basis to keep it fresh and alive.