RSS Feed Bundles

Google has unveiled a slick way to create what they call “bundles” of RSS feeds. These are actually just collections of related RSS feeds that you pick. For example, here’s a bundle that I created in a couple of minutes which aggregates all of the sites from the GigaOM Network:

In order to create a bundle, you just have to login to your Google Reader account, click “Browse for stuff” and then click the “Create a bundle” button. You then simply drag and drop the RSS feeds you want to include in this bundle, give it a name and description, and save it. After that you can share the bundle many different ways. You can email it, share the bundle’s URL on a social network or create a “bundle clip,” which is like a widget you can embed on your web site. Here’s an example of this bundle as it would appear as a bundle clip:

Create RSS Feeds of Site Collections with Delicious

The social bookmarking service Delicious offers a quick and easy way to share a collections of web sites, similar to the Google bundle method, except that this collection can contain links that are not RSS feeds. This means you can collect any type of web site in your Delicious collection and share them with individuals or groups (or even make them public for all the world to see.) The cool part about this is the fact that Delicious automatically creates an RSS feed for each and every tag that you create. This means people can subscribe to your tag, and automatically see new bookmarks that you add to that tag whenever you add to the collection. This is a powerful collaboration tool and something that could prove useful for clients and projects. Here’s an example of a new tag for a collection I created called GigaOm_Network, using the actual URLs for each site. I also included Om Malik’s Twitter account.

Firefox Collections of Add-ons
If you’re a Firefox user, then you know how useful add-ons can be in enhancing your browsing experience. Well, you can now share your favorite Firefox add-ons thanks to the Firefox Collector which allows you to create any kind of collection you want.

There are a great range of Firefox Add-on collections in the Editor’s picks. You’ll see a wide variety of collections ranging from the best add-ons for web developers to the best ones for travelers. There’s also a WebWorkerDaily collection available. If you can’t find a collection on something you want, then simply create one yourself. Just add the Firefox Collector add-on and browse the Firefox Add-ons library to find the items you want to assemble and share in your collection.

Share Groups of Firefox Tabs

Simon recently covered the Firefox add-on ClusterTabs, which includes a screencast that demonstrates how easy it is to create a group of tabs that you can share with others.

Create Document Collections With Thinkfree Portfolios

ThinkFree is an online office suite of products, similar to Google Docs. ThinkFree offers a unique feature called Portfolio, which allows you to create bundles with different types of documents. For example, you can create and share a Portfolio for a client or project that involves Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and even PDF files. If this sounds familiar, then you probably remember Microsoft Binder, which did the same thing on the desktop.

Share Collections of Twitter Users
TweepML is a new site that lets you create collections of Twitter users that you can share with others. People can select to pick and choose who to follow on Twitter from your list, or they can elect to follow them all with the click of one button. This is an excellent solution for organizations that want to share a list of all their Twitter users. Here’s an example:

We all create and share lists of our favorite things online these days thanks to services like Last.fm (music), Flickr (photos), YouTube (videos), etc.  It thus seems like a natural progression to use the same collective mindset and technology to share other things such as documents, software and bookmarks. The list of items we can share as collections is limitless.

What tools do you use to create collections of useful things to share online?

Photo credit: stock.xchng user Onatos

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• A 2011 Infrastructure Forecast
• Big Data 2011 Preview

You can find scores of articles talking about the dire state of the economy leading big businesses to pay late and collect fast and people struggling to keep their businesses afloat. We’ve provided some tips on dealing with non-paying clients previously, but here are some techniques used by businesses that have have collected payment without breaking knees or relationships.

Before Starting the Project

• Add clauses to the contract: Writer Laura Bergells of Maniactive picked up this tip from an editor. “In the contract, state that you own the copyright up until the point of final payment, at which point the copyright transfers to the client. The threat of a copyright lawsuit is often stronger than a suit for non-payment of services,” Bergells says. Since you can’t predict whether a client will be late with payment, cover yourself by saying the service you provided remains yours until the payment is made.
• Build relationships: If you work with an organization rather than a couple of people, work on building relationships with people in the organization from the get-go, as those people can step up for you. “When a late payment becomes a serious issue, key people inside the organization will fight for you to get paid immediately. I’ve been known to send a large bouquet of flowers just to say ‘Thanks for going to bat for me.’ Acting like a jerk may get you paid once, but acting like a professional will get you paid consistently for the long term,” says Nestor G Trillo, an interactive strategist at Ava Niu. Trillo’s company will stop working with clients who consistently pay over 90 days late.
• Use a credit card payment system: After losing $5,000 in payments, Chief Executive Officer Matt Scherer of Scherer Communications started using a credit card payment system that works well for him. I can hear some of you saying you don’t want to give the credit card company a percentage of the money you earned. Scherer works around that with a contract template that includes a one-time charge that covers the credit card fees. Another option is to add an item to the invoice to cover the credit card rates.
• Outline the project or product at the start: At the start of a project or before selling a product, outline the specs, time frame, payment time frame, the cost of not paying on time and a discount rate for paying quickly. The helpful thing about this set-up is that it covers the project or product — not just payment. Have the client sign off on these requirements binds them and the penalty and discount part can be a powerful motivator.

After the Project is Complete

It’s best to be proactive before starting the project to ensure you receive payment on time. But it doesn’t always work out that way.

• Give discounts: Offer a discount on the invoice if the client pays within x days. “One thing has worked well for us — giving a 2 percent discount if they pay in 10 days. And, to note the discount and savings on the invoice,” says Michelle H. Wallace, an independent consultant. She has seen success with this set up for both clients and vendors. “The tradeoff between waiting for the full amount and improved short-term cash flow was a no-brainer. Plus, my company got to buy more hours, and improved responsiveness on our payables. It was win-win.”
• Use Priority Mail envelopes: Have you tried calling and emailing your late paying client? Michelle Dunn, a credit and debt collection expert, has a solution that she reports works 98 percent of the time. “Go to the post office and get a cardboard red, white and blue priority mail flat rate envelope. Put a strong collection letter in the envelope send it out with delivery confirmation and wait for the check to arrive.  Make sure the letter you use, has specific amounts, and the date you need to receive the payment by,” says Dunn.
• Send Postcards: Cliff Stepp has a creative solution to the “old past due notices being shoved aside” problem. So he started sending his client colorful retro postcards with a humorous twist. “After the second postcard, the 120 day + bill was paid in full!” Stepp says.
• Use a letter template: Melinda Mallari sends a letter with the following message, “We are unable to find a record of payment for Invoice # dated ___. Could you please send a copy of the canceled check or a credit card statement verifying the payment transaction so we can update our files? We apologize for the inconvenience, and appreciate your kind assistance in this matter.” This works 80 percent of the time.
• Explain the impact: Tell your client straight out how your business works in providing a product or service. Mary E. Davis, author of “The Entrepreneurial Mom,” finds this process pays off and shares an example. “I remain business-like, but explain that ‘I am a small business. And when I have even a few clients who let their accounts fall behind, that it impacts me in a tremendous way.’”
• Withdraw payments with automated clearing house (ACH) network: CPA and Director of Development for Treasury Software Glenn Fromer explains that collecting payment through ACH, businesses won’t have to deal with credit card merchant and processing fees. Small and medium businesses can use the service, which is available from commercial banks.
• Take the nice approach: Laura Posey, vice president of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group, struggled to get a client to pay after being 120 days late. She did what many do: sent email or called the client every few weeks. Then she moved on to the next step and emailed or left a message for the client on a daily basis while letting the client know she was concerned, not angry. “By the second email, the client sent me an email telling me that she had had an unexpected death in the family and she had let lots of things slide during that time. She apologized profusely and sent the payment right away,” Posey says. She received a reward for her gentle handling of the situation and landed more projects with the client.

How do you collect late payments while keeping the client relationship intact?

Photo credit: Jeinny Solis S.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The Risks

Mozilla released a new initiative this week for users of the Firefox browser, called Collections, with an introduction and an explanatory video available here. We covered it on the OStatic blog, and it looks like anyone who works with Firefox and appreciates how extensions add to the power of the browser can get a lot out of Collections. They are essentially sets of useful extensions, usually associated with each other according to similarities in what they do.

Among other things, Collections let you click one link to put a whole set of your favorite Firefox extensions on a new installation of the browser. You can subscribe to and install someone else’s Collection of extensions, or you can post your own Collection. You can also save your set of favorite extensions as a Collection, and then when you install a new instance of Firefox on any device, add all your favorites at once.

There are already several Collections found on the right of the Add-ons for Firefox page.  Even if the idea of installing a pre-built set of extensions doesn’t appeal to you, you may still appreciate Collections as a way of discovering extensions that may be similar to ones you use, or that you never knew about before.

For example, this is the Download Squad Pack Collection. It consists of 19 Firefox extensions that the folks over at the Download Squad blog love, and these folks write about useful Firefox extensions nearly every day. In their Collection, you’ll find TabMixPlus, which greatly enhances how you can work with tabs in the browser, Better Gmail2, which extends what you can do with Gmail, and more.

If you’re a web developer, check out this Collection of add-ons for the well-loved extension Firebug.  It has extensions that complement and extend what Firebug does. Likewise, the Social Circuit Collection delivers you 16 extensions for social networking sites and applications.

Not every Firefox user will want to add groups of extensions to their browsers all at once, but you don’t have to. I’ve found a number of extensions that I want to try by simply pursuing the early sets of Collections being posted. These are worth a look, especially if you live in Firefox all day.

What extensions will make it in to your personal Firefox Collection?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Virtual Worlds: Trends and Opportunities
• Infrastructure Overview, Q2 2010
• What Does the Future Hold For Browsers?