Good to get away

I'm just settling back into my routine after taking the longest real break I've had in at least 5 years.

Ten whole days with no laptop, no internet access, completely free and off the grid. It felt incredibly refreshing. It's tough for a Micro ISV to get away from it all for even a few days, so switching off for a little over a week was great.

Micro ISV Digest

A weekly roundup of Micro ISV news, announcements and relevant blog posts.

News and Announcements

• Rafael Chaves launched TextUML Toolkit, a text based modelling tool. Via Blog.
• Tim Sullivan launched Spice, a resume management service. Via BoS.
• A Perdereau released a beta version of SharpWidgetsUI, a component library for windows forms. Via BoS.
• Alex Williams, the end.

Relevant Blog Posts and Articles

• 5 tips for coworking with friends, from WWD.
• Scared of forming a partnership, from EfCN.
• Building an App in 30 days is stupid, from Ian Landsman.
• My Bits du Jour experience, from Joe Indie.
• The book told me to do it, from Pat Byrne.
• Getting started with Adwords, from Dennis Crane.
• 5 ways to rescue an unproductive day, from WWD.
• Progress updates from Phillip, Tim Haughton, DbDesc, Scott Kane, Steve McLeod, Neville Franks.

Further (mostly relevant) Reading

• The long tail and the Dip, from Seth Godin.
• The 9 signs of a 1 hit wonder, from FoundRead.
• Advice from a failed startup, from Psychochild.
• Risk Aversion, from Cliffski.

Tags: microisv digest entrepreneurship startups shareware

Digest Break

Just a quick note to let you know there won't be a Micro ISV Digest this coming Monday.

Sorry about that.

Micro ISV Digest

A weekly roundup of Micro ISV news, announcements and relevant blog posts.

News and Announcements

• Scott Meade launched PlaybookIQ, small business CRM. Via Blog.
• Steve McLeod launched Poker Copilot, a poker hand analysis tool. Via BoS.
• Steve Cholerton launched SMS Relay, a SMS gateway. Via Blog.
• Michael Johnson launched Simple SEO, an SEO tool. Via BoS.
• Andrej Fiser launched ManicTime, a project time tracker. Via BoS.
• Lisp bigot was looking for feedback on a beta version of Logopus.

Relevant Blog Posts and Articles

• SaaS and the Micro ISV, from Tim Haughton.
• Done with simple, from Scott Meade.
• How can I take a vacation when running a business, from Startup Spark.
• The big bang theory of launching a product, from Instigator.
• Startup Advice from George Costanza, from OnStartups.
• 10 of the biggest platfrom development mistakes, from FoundRead.
• The 30 day challenge ended, see who made it. Updates from: tc7, Steve M, Susan, Richie, Rafael, Phillip, mike, Scott, ProjectIffy, Steve C.

Further (mostly relevant) Reading

• 25 reasons users stop using your product, from Andrew Chen.
• 5 rules of thumb for web workers, from WWD.
  And, Battling Imposter Syndrome.
  And, Reset your body clock.
• Startup Lessons everyone should read, from Instigator.
• Level the playing field with Digg, from Skelliewag.
• I had that idea years ago, from 37signals.

Tags: microisv digest entrepreneurship startups shareware

Micro ISV Digest

A weekly roundup of Micro ISV news, announcements and relevant blog posts.

News and Announcements

• Norbert Ruessmann launched DevTracer, a trace monitor. Via email.
• Jitesh Patil launched Silo, a project management and collaboration tool. Via BoS.
• Andrew Stewart launched TaskMate a task and project management system. Via BoS.
• Rohan Almeida was looking for feedback on Imsense, an IM management system.
• Nick Hebb interviewed on Startup Something.
• Dave Collins is offering free adwords consultations.

Relevant Blog Posts and Articles

• Government Whore, and My Story, from Building a Software company.
• Postmortem, from Diary of a failed startup.
• Building Youtube, on NewTeeVee.
• Leveraging OSS as a software developer, from Patrick.
• Increasing conversion rates and looking for suggestions, from Software by rob.
• The secret to success is perseverance, from Follow Steph.
• Last day or so for the 30 day challengers. Here's what Phillip, Mike, Rafael, Bracken, Scott, Steve C, Steve M, ProjectIffy, and Patrick have been up to this week.

Further (mostly relevant) Reading

• How to do well in a recession, from FoundRead.
• No marketing = no sales #1 and #2, from Bruce on Games.
• How to avoid being fan boy, from EfCN.
• Will gas prices bring back desktop software, from bugninja.
• 4 contacts every web worker should have, from WWD.
• How to play the odds game and win with Digg, from Skelliewag.
• Feedback Fail.

Tags: microisv digest entrepreneurship startups shareware

Micro ISV Digest

A weekly roundup of Micro ISV news, announcements and relevant blog posts.

News and Announcements

• Giacomo Guilizzoni launced Balsamiq Mockups, a tool to create GUI mockups. Via BoS, but also featured in an interview on WWD.
• Adam M launched Postal Methods, a web service for automating sending post. Via BoS.
• Eser was looking for feedback on an algorithmic recommendation engine. Via BoS.

Relevant Blog Posts and Articles

• The joys and challenges of a nomadic software company, from Successful Software.
• Lack of focus or too much ambition, from Alex Williams.
• Todo lists, from Jon Fox.
• Crowdsource testing, from 47hats.
• Business strategy for the simple minded, from OnStartups.
• The entrepreneur mindset, and why a young entrepreneur should blog, from Startup Spark (there was a lot of activity there last week, might be worth browsing).
• Getting started as a web worker is about meeting needs, from WWD.
• Data storage and performance, from Ian (six products).
• Just a little over a week left for the 30 day challengers, Patrick isn't going to make it, but Scott Kane has been blogging like there's no tomorrow. Other updates: mike, Steve M, Steve C, Richie, Project Iffy, rchaves, Phillip, Benji.

Further (mostly relevant) Reading

• A 2 part rule for naming your startup, from FoundRead.
• New company for a different product? from Andrey Butov.
• The inside word on word of mouth marketing, from Guy Kawasaki.
• Is it worthy, from Seth Godin.

Tags: microisv digest entrepreneurship startups shareware