Previously it was not legal to transfer .AU domains for a fee, the justification being that AuDA wanted to avoid the blatant cybersquatting and spiralling domain prices that have occurred in other unregulated markets.

Now, it is possible to trade .AU domains, albeit with some limitations – for example, you are not permitted to trade a domain until six months has lapsed from its time of registration.  The full guidelines can be found here:  http://www.auda.org.au/pdf/registrant-transfer.pdf

Over time I have accumulated a number of domain names that I had intended to develop, but have not got around to doing anything with.  Now that it is legal to sell them, I am going to consider putting them on http://www.netfleet.com.au/, a new trading platform which has been set up by Netregistry.

Whilst AuDA guidelines preclude the purchase of domain names purely for resale, I am sure that a small buy/sell industry will emerge, although not to the extent that we have seen with .COM domains, the trading of which is completely unregulated.

In the meantime, the loosening of the rules provides a good opportunity for netpreneurs to clean out their domain name portfolios.

This is a great title if you are new to blogging or want to read more on how blogging can be used in business. The first chapter is a great read all on it’s own and gives a good overview of all the common questions about blogging for business.

Through out the book there are business examples of good blogs as well as tips on what to write, the style of writing and who should write a blog.

For your larger corporates there are sections on the legal considerations and having a corporate blogging policy as your staff are probably already blogging!

It gives different uses for blogs whether they be for an internal or private group or for the general public, whether there will be just one or multiple authors.

I found this a really good read. It is a plain english overview of business blogging for the novice blogger.

It is also worth checking out Author Debbie Weil’s website.

Buy Don’t Make Me Think! by Steve Krug here…

This is an important book for all netpreneurs.  It outlines a blueprint for establishing an outsourced cyber-business, with minimal ‘hands on’ effort.  It contains some great ideas and references.

As always, you can buy it from my online bookstore, Boomerang Books…

This is my review of the book:

I’ve just started reading Timothy Ferriss’ award-winning book, The Four Hour Work Week, and have already started to adopt some of his philosophies.  I think we’re all captivated by the idea of reducing our workload to a mere four hours a week, but it’s hard to see how it would be possible.  Ferriss outlines a blueprint for making it a reality, although it will take some effort.

I am always a little sceptical of authors who seem to have ‘made their millions’ by selling self-help books and associated products, rather than achieving true success in any other venture.  I am sure that Ferriss has made a lot of money from this book, but it does contain some very practical information that has resonated with me.  I would recommend that you take a look.

Ferriss espouses a four step process to rid yourself of the shackles of working life and to denounce the traditional paradigms associated with ’success’ in our society.  Ferriss’ ‘New Rich’ are people who challenge the status quo by spurning society’s expectation that an employee works 9-to-5 for 40 years, followed by a period of retirement – instead the ‘New Rich’ enjoy ‘mini-retirements’ throughout their life whilst running passive income-producing businesses from whatever location they choose around the globe.

Ferriss’ first step, definition, is about putting it all into perspective.  What defines success?  Is a person who earns $100,000 and works 60 hours per week more successful or more wealthy than a person who earns $25,000 and works 5 hours per week?  Ferriss argues that money does not bring happiness – time is our most important commodity.  Most people, though, are scared to challenge the norm, and are more likely to opt for the status quo of climbing the corporate ladder, than the uncertainty associated with ditching their day job.  He encourages his readers to envision the ‘worst case scenario’ after quitting a job and suggests that the potential fallout is not so bad (at worst, the individual can normally resume their former career and return to paid employment).

Elimination is the process of removing time-consuming, pointless tasks and other non-essential activities, in order to free up time.  Ferriss is a fan of Pareto’s 80-20 rule which states that 80% of outputs come from just 20% of inputs.  He argues that you should focus only on the 20% of inputs and totally ignore those activities which don’t yield any output.  Some of his suggestions about dealing with bad customers, prioritising tasks and setting deadlines, avoiding mindless meetings, and responding efficiently to email and phone calls are extremely practical and can be applied to any workplace.

Automation seeks to put the business on auto-pilot by empowering people and outsourcing recurring tasks.  Rather than setting yourself up as a ‘bottleneck’ through whom all decisions must be channelled, Ferriss suggests that capable people can be entrusted to make their own decisions on your behalf.  Boring, unfulfilling tasks, according to Ferriss, should be assigned to virtual private assistants who can be employed over the internet.

Liberation, for employees, is about convincing your boss to allow you to work from home, so that you can escape your employer’s expectation that you be at your desk between certain hours.  Ferriss argues that set hours are entirely unproductive and that much of what is achieved in a working day can be achieved in a space of a few hours.  For the self-employed, liberation is about being able to run your business from any location that you choose, giving you the freedom to indulge your personal ambitions, whilst at the same time earning sufficient money to do same.

I think this book is worth a read.  There are some good practical tips for improving personal efficiency and effectiveness, even if you don’t choose to follow Ferriss’ blueprint to the letter.

It’s a fairly short read – less than 140 pages of fairly big type – so I was able to polish it off over several nights whilst my wife was breastfeeding our new-born (before I am accused of being inattentive, please note that I was on hand to render assistance at the drop of a hat, even at 2am in the morning).

Godin is a well-known marketing guru, with a string of books and one of the world’s most popular blogs (in fact, I think I read somewhere that it is the world’s MOST popular blog?).

Purple Cow is perhaps his most recognised book title.  In this book, Godin challenges businesses to extract themselves from the old paradigm of mass media marketing.  He argues that businesses must cancel their multi-million dollar advertising budgets, in favour of ‘being remarkable’ - thus becoming a ‘Purple Cow’ that stands out from the rest of the pack (herd?).  Godin believes that products will only survive in a crowded marketplace if businesses stop advertising and start innovating.

There are plentry of books about innovation and investing in R&D, but Godin’s little book contains some great concepts, case studies and anecdotes that make it a worthwhile read.  It certainly provides some inspiration and has prompted me to take a close look at my business strategy going forward.  I would recommend having a read.

You can buy the book here from my online bookstore, Boomerang Books…

Here’s the book blurb:

You’re either a Purple Cow or you’re not. You’re either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice. What do Apple, Starbucks, Dyson and Pret a Manger have in common? How do they achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and-true brands to gasp their last? The old checklist of P’s used by marketers – Pricing, Promotion, Publicity – aren’t working anymore. The golden age of advertising is over. It’s time to add a new P – the Purple Cow. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat-out unbelievable. In his new bestseller, Seth Godin urges you to put a Purple Cow into everything you build, and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable. It’s a manifesto for anyone who wants to help create products and services that are worth marketing in the first place.

Here are the Sitepoint books that I have purchased and recommend reading:

• Deliver First Class Websites
• Principles of Beautiful Web Design
• The Usability Kit
• Email Marketing Kit
• Search Engine Marketing Kit
• The Web Design Business Kit
• The Principles of Project Management
• The Website Revenue Maximizer Kit
• The Principles of Successful Freelancing

ProBlogger

Problogger.net is where bloggers worldwide go for advice and information on enhancing their blog’s presence. Whether you’re just starting out or have been blogging for years, these two professional bloggers show you how to turn your passion for blogging into extra revenue. This practical guide to creating and marketing a blog with the potential for generating a six-figure income shows you how to choose subject matter that works for you, handle technical issues, and evaluate your blog’s success so that you can use your blog to generate income indirectly.

Buy the book here….