May I buy you dinner?

Just discovered something cool: Restaurant.com



Restaurant.com sells discounted online Gift Certificates to restaurants. $25 Gift Certificates are $10, $50 Gift Certificates are $20, etc. You can also see the restaurant details, check out the menu and wine lists and make online reservations.

If you place an order with Restaurant.com by June 30th you'll receive a FREE $10 Gift Certificate via email within 24 hours of your purchase.

AND if you use the Promo Code MEALS when you check out you will receive 60% off your order!

I wanted to check it out before I posted it, so I went to the site, found a restaurant I like and purchased a $10 Gift Certificate. I selected a $10 Gift Certificate which is $10 off of a $20 purchase. I used the code MEALS and saved 60% making my total $1.20, which I paid via PayPal. I received an email immediately and printed my certificate. I then received another email for an additional $10 Gift Certificate to Restaurant.com because I ordered before June 30th. So for a buck and some change I got the equivalent of $20 in food.

The certificates are good for 1 year and can be exchanged for other restaurants within 90 days. They have various other promotions and a Dinner of the Month Club. You can use only 1 coupon per party, per month and it excludes alcohol and beverages. I wouldn't want to whip out a coupon if I was at a fancy restaurant or on a date (that's for the guys reading this, ladies should never pay, but that's another post) but it's perfect for me to take my 3 kids out to eat - as you can see by my profile picture, I am "Domestically Disabled" which basically means I don't cook. So finding new places to eat that don't break the bank is important to me.

I am generally not a coupon saver, but lately I have been in the habit for looking for online promotional codes because I do so much internet shopping. I am going to share my finds with my readers so let me know if you know of any good ones!

My Question to Scott Fox: Web Site vs. Blog Hosting?

Ask Scott Fox: Web Site vs. Blog Hosting?

Dear Scott, Can a business use a blog instead of a web site? For businesses that simply need a web presence to provide information, such as an attorney, insurance agent, or consultant, can a blog be used rather than a website? What are the advantages and disadvantages? What platform would you recommend? Thanks, Caroline

Scott Fox

Dear Caroline, The distinctions between blogs and web sites are disappearing. Traditionally a blog was more "post-based", while a web site was more about "web pages". But as everyone online updates their sites more frequently, it turns out that the easy posting and content management tools of blogs work very well for web sites, too. Because businesses such as the attorneys, insurance agents, and consultants you mention are more likely to need to communicate basic, evergreen info than fancy design or e-commerce functionality, blogs could likely work just fine for them. I've found that using a browser-based blog editing system to create and maintain a web site is a great solution, especially for newbies or small business owners who don't have the time, interest, or resources to worry about server maintenance, FTP, and the many other technical details that often accompany running your own site. In fact, this winter I moved this very site, ScottFox.com, from a traditional web host (IPW) to a blog host, Typepad, because the blog updating tools make it so much easier to administer.At first I did this just as an experiment in researching my next book (a sequel to Internet Riches). But I soon found that keeping the main site separate from my blog was unnecessary. As my frequent readers know, I now recommend Typepad to my books/blog/radio audience both for "blogs" and for basic "web sites" because the tools are essentially interchangeable. There's an extensive review/discussion of Typepad's pros & cons at the link below. Wordpress.com also seems to have improved its offerings substantially recently, so we're currently looking at that platform for further review/coverage in my blogs, too.I hope that's helpful. Scott Fox http://www.websitetoolreviews.com/2008/03/bestsitehosting.html ScottFox.com - Internet Riches: Ask Scott Fox: Web Site vs. Blog Hosting?

Comments

Scott,

Thank you for taking the time to answer and also for confirming what I thought to be true! I provide online marketing for several clients and have seen them taken advantage of by web design companies because of their naivety of search engines, websites, etc.

I am considering offering this service to a few clients who have never even heard of a blog, so I really wanted to confirm my own belief that in certain situations, it is actually a more useful tool. I am looking forward to exploring your blog, ebook, etc... I am continually looking for proper information on best practices. There is such an excess if SEO junk out there that it is almost impossible to weed through it all. I am now trying to decide between wordpress and typepad....

Thanks again!

Caroline Barry

eBags: Summer Sale! Up to 70% Off and FREE SHIPPING!

Google Tries Tighter Aim for Web Ads -- Knows What You Want

Google for the first time is testing ways to use some of the data it gathers to aim ads at Web users. Ads that a person sees on one Google search may be influenced by what was searched a few minutes earlier. Searching for “scuba,” then something else, and then “vacations" could pull up ads for diving trips, for example.

read more | digg story

Tricks to manage multiple accounts in Gmail

Gmail is a perfect tool to manage multiple accounts, from different domains, even when they run on different servers. It’s also possible to fetch all your mail from Live, Yahoo or another provider, straight in your Gmail inbox.

read more | digg story

Geek? Required Reading in Social Media

Social news sites like Digg and Mixx could then be grouped with social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. In any case, it is a simple term to group “social” sites together. So, without further ado, here is the required reading list for people interested in social media:

read more | digg story

101 Everyday Uses for Twitter

The simple dictionary definition of "Twitter" is "microblogging/social networking platform that places a 140- character limit on each individual post/tweet." However, describing Twitter thusly would fail to encapsulate the power of this new omnipresent medium. So, instead here are 101 examples of how Twitter members regularly use the service.

read more | digg story

Linkedin Answers

Linkedin users are amazing!!!! I recently asked about 5 questions and received HUNDREDS of thoughtful, informative answers along with very useful advice, referrals and offers to help, even at no charge! It is definitely the best resource if you need good, reliable information fast. I love using it to test a theory, get information for clients, or just to prove my point when I know I am right about something!

Check this one out!

Is anyone using Twitter for business? How do you use it? How often do you update? What type of result are you seeing?

Follow me: http://twitter.com/TweetCaroline

Answers (36) so far...

House 9: SnagIt promotional code (coupon) for $10 off

House 9: SnagIt promotional code (coupon) for $10 off