Not too long ago, a friend of mine (coincidentally a partner of mine, and what’s more, part of the indiestartups team) embarked on a wonderful journey through lands far and vast – more commonly known as the development phase. He decided, (not verbatim, I can only guess as to what was running through that imprudent man’s mind):

“Why are there no [well off] middle-class web-hosts?”

Some of you maybe confused, but before I dissect this, think about what this statement symbolizes. Yes! That’s right! Exploring the internet-pool-o’-niches. Here are a few questions to ask yourself the next time you may be trying to come up with a niche to strap your idea into:

• “Why does this service not exist?”
• “Well, it exists, but its not worthy of a mention. Can I out-do them?”
• “Would the competition in this market really be all that competitive?”

Et cetera… Great, hopefully I’ve stamped some meaning into a simple thought. Let’s move on to what the sentence denotes. The web is filled with web-hosts, everywhere you look, but typically there are two parts to this. (a) Large company or corporation that has lost track of caring for supreme quality because of the dollar being taken in, or (b) Small startup running a HostDime reseller account and marking up the invoice by 500%. Neither of these options are incredible, nor am I saying that these are the only two types of providers around, rather, I am simply opting that these are the two typical webhosting providers you will find.

David wanted to enter the growing, yet fairly unexplored, ‘option (c)’ or ‘mid-class’ hosting market. After some work, preparation, testing, and a four figure variable ($xxxx,-), it was finally launched. Its called This* Webhost, and its the new trendsetter host. Indie Startups is hosted with This*, and we’re loving it so far. And what’s better? As an IndieStartups exclusive, anyone who signs up with This* can receive a 50% lifetime price-slash off their order, just type in ” INDIE ” when ordering.

Now please, don’t take this as unwarranted advertisement. I’ve mentioned David is part of the indiestartups team, but let me put some thought into this kind of promotion (even more than the quick advise I gave just above). If you have little funds to pump through and into your startup, you may be trying to spend less money to get things done (IE, guerilla marketing)… and I have a micro-tip for you, seemingly a quite obvious one, though I’ve seen it overlooked too many time. If you have a relevant source of traffic on a property you own, or a friend or colleague owns, that you may be able to tap into (even if its at a discount), use it.

Enjoy the discount code, and be on the lookout for more start-ups and advice coming your way. 🙂

Twitter. Love it or hate it there is no denying that it is a wealth of information that is here to stay. Whilst being widely applauded for being as open as possible with regards to the ways people can use it and it’s API, it does have one small drawback. Twitter is only as good as the network of people you’re following.

Using that logic I thought it would be a good idea to compile a list of twitter users that are either industry leaders, news breakers or just interesting tweeters. All of which are worth a follow.

@TechCrunch

Bio: Web celebrity and blogger Mike Arrington. Making The World A More Ajaxy Place

@JasonCalacanis

Bio: mahalo.com CEO.

@Scobleizer

Bio: Tech geek blogger @ http://scobleizer.com

@GuyKawasaki

Bio: Alltop, Garage, and Truemors

@RyanCarson

Bio: I’m an American in Britain, running a small web company with my amazing wife.

@1938media

Bio: I run 1938 Media.

@KevinRose

Bio: Digg and Pownce owner and CEO.

@LeahCulver

Bio: Pownce lead developer.

@GaryVee

Bio: I love my family more than life and I Host of this tiny wine show…WLTV

@jjprojects

Bio: Average John. Social Media Junkie. Advocate.

@aeioux

Bio: I’m the ideas guy.

@ElliotJayStocks

Bio: Currently ‘Senior Designer’ at Carsonified, but about to go solo.

@ijustine

Bio: I am the internet

This is another good resource if you’re looking to build up your twitter contacts. Also, don’t forget to follow David, Julian and myself. Please feel free to suggest additions to list this in the comments along with your own personal twitter link.

Okay, I’m sure you all are aware of the importance of water. Now, I’m not referencing the shortages of fresh, or clean, water in the world – I’m talking about water in your body. Its one of the fundamental necessities of life. Not to begin a begin a boring health lecture on a start-up blog here, I’ll get right to the point. 

A few days ago I came across an article guest written by Alex Shalman on John Chow’s blog. The article was called “With better health comes more money online”, and later went on to introduce what I’d like to share with you today. Shalman brings up a list of nine things one can do to benefit your healthy workflow. The first suggestion on the list goes something like:

Drink A Tub Full of Water. The recommended daily water intake is 64 ounces on average. However, the majority of people walk around dehydrated for most of their lives. Water gives you energy, focus, and motivation. Drink more.

This seems easy enough, but I realize how many times I’ve tried to drink at least a glass of water per day, and how many times I’ve failed at doing this consistently. Fortunately, I ended up finding a great way of ensuring my daily water intake is at least something, and this ‘way’ is what I’ll be teaching you with this post.

My theory is very simple, and its very possible it won’t work for others, but I’ve been doing this frequently and it works well for me. Put a glass (or a bottle) of water on your desk. That’s it. If I ever have any beverage sitting next to me as I work on tha’ machine, consider it gone in an hour or two. It seems like I do this subconsciously, as I never realize that I’ve finished the water once I actually do. Try it out for yourself, see if it works, and if it does who knows? You may feel more energized, and more motivated to do some work on your start-up.

To spice this post up, I’ve added a hopefully inspiration detailed documentation on how easily a glass of water goes down. Enjoy.