The TecBlast Blog

A great addition to cleaning boats in a marina will be also to take care of any buildings that are on or near the water, and the docks themselves as they can get covered with bird droppings, dirt, spider webs, and anything like that. Wood decks, docks and piers are subject to attack by moss, insects, sun, salt spray, fish guts, water damage, physical wear, foot traffic, rain, snow, morning dew. All of which are quickly absorbed into unprotected wood causing it to swell, deteriorate and chip away, also causing shrinking, warping, splitting, cracking and discoloration.

Because docks are horizontal, they hold water and snow for prolonged lengths of time. The dampness attracts pollen and fungal spores, which collect and cause this ugly discoloration and black algae. And, of course, these horizontal surfaces are subject to 40 to 50% more direct sunlight than their vertical counterparts. The bottom of a dock may be as much as 50 to 60 F cooler than the topside.

Any upscale marinas, and even those that are not so upscale, would be a great market for approaching to do this. You’ll need just the equipment that you have: pressure washer and source of water if it isn’t already attached to the pontoon boat through your franchise. Approach the marina manager or the dock master and explain to him that you can take care of their thorough periodic cleaning and make it much more presentable as a marina and help in keeping their customers happy. You may find him giving you an exclusive for washing all vessels in the marina.

If you are in the boat cleaning business you should consider deck cleaning as an additional service for you customers. If boaters see you cleaning the dock, you are more likely to have them ask you for your business card and think of you next time they need their boat cleaned.

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There was a well-written article in Popular Mechanics discussing how social media could change the face of search as we know it. The implication was made that the Web 2.0 explosion, the MySpace/Facebook proliferation, and the astronomical increase of user-generated content in general will be the predominant resource people use to find what it is they are looking for. It’s a valid argument when you consider just how many people have flocked to these services and utilities. If I have a good Facebook group of friends and they all tell Movie A is a good movie, then I’ll be inclined to accept their opinion. However, what if this group is spread out all over the globe and I want to know where to buy this certain movie and I’m new in the town I’ll be looking? This is the place where the argument fails. If I’m looking for the history of dysentery, unless my social circle contains a long-experienced Doctor, why in the world would I look to them? What good does the data gathered from Netflix account, my Amazon account, my Facebook account and my browser history going to do in this situation? How about this: what if I want to buy the new iPhone. Should I rely solely on word-of-mouth from my social circle or should I, you know, research such a purchase on places like Gizmodo or Endgadget, a direction a simple Google, Yahoo, or MSN search will point me? Ultimately, the article dissolved into a marketing discussion and how social media will impact how we receive information: Since we are essentially meta-tagging ourselves through our social networking memberships, shopping habits and surfing addictions, it’s conceivable that the information could attempt to find usthe old concept of push media, but in a far more refined way. Isn’t this just the spam concept revisited? Nothing described here sounds any different then what programs like Bonzi Buddy and Gator used to do, except they were just a little more underhanded about it. It’s long been speculated that if Google ever did launch a free Internet service, the advertising would be as personal as it was in Minority Report. This is nothing new. Search is always been about the search for information. If I want to know who has the best pizza in town, I’ll turn to my social group but if I want to know how a combustible engine works or the steps involved in the lunar landing or find a transcript of a Senate meeting from a 2006, I think I’ll stick with [insert search engine of choice].