Found copies of some articles I wrote about insurance and technology a long time ago!

Reducing the Risk in Risky Business - CanadExport

Foreign investment can be risky business, especially in the unpredictable markets of developing countries such as China, India, Eastern Europe and Latin America. However, resources are available to Canadian investors so that the risk can be effectively managed.

Export Credit Insurance: An Alternative to Letters of Credit - CanadExport

Providing attractive payment terms is essential for any company that is looking to begin or expand its international sales program. Unfortunately, many of the sales opportunities that exist for Canadian companies cannot be realized because of the high risk involved in providing open credit terms and the restrictive nature of letters of credit (LC). Searching for away to provide open credit terms without risking accounts receivable loss has led many companies to purchase export credit insurance.

The early days of XML...

XML may live up to its hype as a revolutionary business tool - Business Insurance, May 2001

It seems that every year a new technology is introduced that promises to revolutionize the way we do business on the Internet. Some have been more successful than others, but most have fallen short of their lofty goals. XML is the latest acronym that's been buzzing around the e-commerce world, carrying with it as much excitement as any new technology could hope for. but is the hype warranted?

Here are the addresses of my personal and business Twitter accounts:

http://www.twitter.com/kevin_day

http://www.twitter.com/riskebiz

http://www.twitter.com/mobilent

http://www.twitter.com/feedmesports

http://www.twitter.com/eagle1in

These are my LinkedIn and Facebook accounts:

http://ca.linkedin.com/in/riskebiz

http://www.facebook.com/kevinday

Another Article Featuring our Riskebiz VC Fund

It is often recognized that the vicious circle of poverty requires exogenous capital to break the circle. Nobody gives the poor the first dollar, says Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel peace prize winner. Part of the reason lies in their lack of human capital and the inability to use technology, part of the reason lies in asymmetric information keeping banks from lending to them, and part of the reason lies in the small transactions leading to high transaction costs. Continue reading...

Recent Article Featuring Riskebiz Microfinance Fund

This article was just published in Microfinance Focus. It provides an overview of my microfinance fund. Here's the first paragraph:

It is often considered that a country is poor because it is poor and that exogenous capital is required to break the vicious circle of poverty. Within a country, the poor may need this exogenous capital: “Nobody gives the poor the first dollar,” says Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Part of the reason lies in their lack of human capital and the inability to use technology, part of the reason lies in asymmetric information keeping banks from lending to them, and part of the reason lies in the small transaction size leading to high transaction costs. Click here to read the rest...

Want Your Web Site To Get More Traffic? Make A Better Mobile Version Of It

Here's an excellent article written by Eric Zemen last year about the importance of using a mobile website to generate additional traffic:

"New research shows that a good mobile Web site will extend the reach of your standard Web site (and brand) by as much as 13%. Maybe this thing called the "mobile Web" could be useful after all.

The results come from Nielsen. It says that mobile Internet extends the audience reach of many leading Internet sites by an average of 13% over home PC traffic alone. For some categories, such as weather and entertainment, the extended reach can be even greater. Nielsen's data shows that for many Internet publishers, mobile Internet increases the overall size of their audience.

This makes perfect sense. Half of the bookmarks in my mobile phones are for sites that I never visit on my regular PC. I am helping boost the overall traffic to those sites from my mobile phone alone. According to Nielsen, 87 million U.S. mobile users subscribe to mobile Internet services, and more than one in 10 mobile subscribers (13.7%) actively uses mobile Internet each month.

"The data demonstrate that the mobile Internet can not only increase the frequency of visits to a Web site, but also grow the overall size of the pie," said Jeff Herrmann, VP of mobile media at Nielsen Mobile, in a prepared statement. "Publishers can now monetize their total cross-platform audience, and advertisers will better understand the efficiency and incremental value of mobile Web traffic."

This should be a great motivator for Web site publishers to make better mobile versions of their sites. Mobile sites that are useful and to the point and help users accomplish goals rather than surf aimlessly can boost your traffic."

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/05/want_your_web_s.html

Choosing the Right Domain Name

Choosing the right domain name, really depends on how you plan to use the site.  If your focus is building a brand and you want clients to easily remember your site by your company name then the domain name is an important part of that.  If, however, you plan on using the site to attract new customers who will be searching the web for specific terms like “insurance” or "car parts" then you may want to include that term in your domain which may help with search engine rankings, and will also make it clear what your company does just by looking at the domain name.  Most people finding your company through search results will not even notice the domain name, as they will just be clicking through from the search result page.  Keep in mind that you can have multiple domains pointing to the same place.   For information on setting up a mobile website, please visit http://mobizcard.com.