Let's Crate- Online Storage

Let's Crate is a new Online Storage website currently in the Beta stage created by Sahil Lavingia. Crate gives you 200MB of free storage and is simple to use. Just create a "Crate" to put your files in. Then click on the Crate and drag and drop your files for upload. 200mb may not seem like a lot, but that's good enough to do a few things with and since the storage site Drop.io is going out of business after being purchased by Facebook, Crate has a real opportunity to fill a void for a service a lot of people enjoyed including yours truly. Crate is by invite only, but the Madden Corner has you covered. Just use the invite code "maddencorner10" and your good to go. Help Let's Crate out by offering suggestions for improvements on the left hand side of the page, and as always don't forget to stop by my Facebook fan page.

Personalize Your Blog or Amazon Store

Blog branding is one of the first things you must consider when creating a blog. One of the first tools I became associate with was GDI. GDI is a company that owns the .WS domain name. I initially used it because the domain names I own now were not available at the time. I also like the fact that I was able to get 10 personalized email address (example@maddencorner.ws) and setup my own website for my Amazon Store. I use the email addresses for this blog and for my children. Since I am the administrator of the account it made it easy for me to monitor what kind of emails they receive. So really it provided me with what I need for my blog, but also a little peace of mind when my little girls asked daddy for their own email addresses.

Now if your not that technical don't worry setup is easy with the custom templates provided. GDI charges $10 a month, but gives you a 7 day free trail just to checkout all the services offered. So if you don't like, don't keep it. I've been using the service for about two years now and I have no complaints. Even if you don't blog you can use the custom web templates and email addresses for your small business or anything else you can think of. GDI is also presented as a way to earn passive income. So if you need a simple and quick way to personalize your blogging GDI can meet your needs.

For all the details click here.

Why Facebook Email Will Not be a Gmail Killer

A lot of buzz over the past 24 hours has been in the air about Facebook offering a new email service. While innovation is always exciting it doesn't necessarily mean people are going to jump ship and change the way they communicate. Nielsen 2009 report on "Global Faces and Network Places" showed that from December of 2007 to December of 2008 internet usage was up 18% globally, however among 'Member Communities' it rose by 63% and Facebook saw an enormous increase of 566% (3.1 billion minutes spent online to 20.5 billion). This was the highest amongst the 75 most popular brands online worldwide.

Facebook has 500 million members and is constantly growing. To contact anyone on your Facebook friends list you simply go to messages and type their name (no email address required). Several recent surveys show that most people under 18 prefer Facebook and SMS as their primary means of communication over email. With that being said Facebook's new email offer maybe exciting, but there is no reason as of yet to believe that it will overtake Gmail and the number integrated services it already offers.

Data Plans: How much Data do You Need?

Recently I was looking at data plans because I'm thinking of buying the new Samsung Galaxy Tab from Sprint and was wondering how much is 2GB or 5GB of data a month. I know everyone's usage is different, and there has to be an easy way to figure these things out. That's when I came across a nice sliding scale from AT&T. Since where talking about data the company is irrelevant, but the scale works great and can give you a good idea on what the right plan is for you. I figured with a combination of the data plan and using wifi at home 2GB would do me just fine. Do any of you already have a data plan? Let me know what you think and what company you use.

Increase Productivity Part 2

Last week I explained how USPS really can save you time and money. This week I'm tackling the opposite end of the spectrum. What to do when receiving an order and your not at home. This is really important if you live in an apartment or maybe your neighborhood is a high traffic area. Leaving your precious valuables outside your door for a number of hours could be a huge risk, but I have 3 ways to tackle the issues. First anytime I ordered something that comes via UPS or Fedex and I know I can't be home I simply require a signature to receive the item. That way the delivery person will leave you a note and ask for the best time to reschedule the delivery, or you can go to the shipping facility and pick it up yourself.

Second for general mail delivery when you can't be home or your out of town simply go to the USPS website and fill out a Mail Hold Request. They will hold your mail anywhere from 3 to 30 days, make request up to 14 days in advanced, and your mail service will resume on the date you select.

Third I discovered a service called Kinek. The video below gives a great break down of the service and how it can save you time and provide peace of mind. I hope your found this series helpful and don't forget to join the Madden Corner on Facebook and Twitter.