Success in a Digital World™ » Business

What is social media NOW?

Tracey Holinka — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:30:26 +0000

A clever and humorous look at social media by Marta Kagan of Espresso.

Moving Your Computer or Office? Eliminating the Aggravation

Jo Golden — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:40:42 +0000

If you’re moving your computer workspace, across the country or across the room, things can go wrong. The tips below will go a long way towards eliminating aggravation, lost time, and worst of all—lost data.

1. Back up your data.

2. Lifehacker says: Back up your data. If you need a visual (whether or not you liked Sex in the City) you can watch Carrie lose her mind when she didn’t have a backup on YouTube.

3. Oh yeah, backup your data, maybe with one of these offline backup tools. You can never tell when disaster will strike, so before you make any major change to your computer (including installing new software) it is prudent to have a full backup of your data and (preferably) the system itself.

4. When it comes to backup, the safest bet is to make 2 copies. One on another hard drive, preferably an external drive that you store away from the computer itself. But don’t stop there, even external hard drives are vulnerable to failure because they have moving parts. Burn your data on CD or DVD as well and you will have a static, unchanging record of what matters most.

5. When you burn DVDs make sure to check the settings and choose single session rather than multi-session burn. Sometimes you’ll want to keep adding data to the same DVD over time and multi-session is great for that. Unfortunately, multi-session DVDs often don’t work on a machine other than the one that created them. If your computer tumbles out a window, you will need to get to your data on another machine. Avoid creating multi-session CDs or DVDs as backups.

6. You should also be sure and check the settings for data validation. Make sure the backup you depend will be validated by the burning software you use.

7. Don’t have a DVD burner (Window’s XP doesn’t) or realizing XP’s CD burning program doesn’t let you validate? Try one of these free tools rated at CNET.com.

8. If you have a fast connection and a moderate amount of data, online backup can be a great option (and, yes, some services are free). Get the basics from Computer World, or check out a comparison chart of online backup services to get you started.

9. If you’re not confident about setting your hardware up again after you move it, get out your digital camera, video camera, or even your cell phone. Take pictures of how things look before you start. Make sure to capture the back of your desktop computer so you’ll remember how many connections/plugs are filled.

10. Before you unplug a cable, take a moment to follow it through the (seemingly endless) tangles that can occur and label it carefully. I’m a fan of masking tape folded over the cord, stuck to itself, then labeled clearly. Masking tape sticks best to itself and won’t leave your cables messy if you remove it. Fancy labels are fine too—whatever floats your boat.

11. Remember that desktop computers have connections shaped for specific cables, they are often color-coded as well.

12. As you remove and untangle each cable, wind it up neatly, fasten it, and bag it if you’ll be transporting the cable very far or storing it for any amount of time. One round of untangling is quite enough.

13. DO NOT start plugging your computer in somewhere else until you’ve set up as many surge protectors as you need. Then use them.

14. Be prepared to purchase extension cables if you need them. Most cables come in longer versions, or can be extended.

15. Remember that your new set-up has to be configured to fit your body. Don’t conform to your technology or your space. Make it conform to you. Any and all efforts to create an ergonomically sound work-space are never wasted. Learn more at SafeComputingTips.com.

16. Be methodical. Pay attention. Avoid distractions. If you don’t work with hardware much, it’s even more important to be fully present. The task will go faster and you’ll be less stressed out

17. If you feel intimidated, have a buddy. Two heads usually are better than one in these cases.

18. If you won’t put it all back together immediately, assume you will forget things. Make notes, take pictures, label, label, label.

Links to Help with Your Web Content

Jo Golden — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:35:45 +0000

1. 20 Must-Read Blogs For Freelance Writers - When it comes to writing for the Web, you can learn a lot from other people doing it well—get inspired by their example or search their blogs for specific posts to improve your own writing (a great tactic no matter what kind of content you need to produce—why re-invent the wheel?).

2. 60 Sites To Submit Your Blog & RSS Feeds – Creating great blog content is just the start. You have to get it out there and bring it to people’s attention if you want to reap the most benefits of your hard work.

3. It Isn’t Good Content Unless it’s SEO’d Content - If you want to know more about SEO, this entire series is fantastic—but you can certainly start by exploring the importance of taking SEO into account as you create your content.

Are You Using the Right Web Content Strategy? (video)

Tracey Holinka — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:30:23 +0000

On June 24 DC WebWomen presented a panel discussion “Are You Using the Right Content Strategy for Your Website” outlining best practices, tips, and techniques for defining, developing, and managing online content strategy.

Jessica Piscatelli of Capture Video, Inc. was kind enough to loan me equipment to capture the event. I was able to video all the awesome women but Carrie Hane Dennison—sorry Carrie.

Presenters

Carrie Hane Dennison, Balance Interactive (Moderator)
Sharon Ritchey, Home Row Editorial
Lindy Roux, Web & Content Strategy Consultant
Jo Golden, Chaos to Clarity
Erica Knoch, Aeroka Media Marketing
Merry Bruns, ScienceSites Communications
Jessica Piscitelli, Capture Video, Inc.
Susan Cato, CompTIA

Need a Web Team? 4 Must Read Posts (Link Friday)

Tracey Holinka — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:54:34 +0000

Convinced that you need a web team for your website/blog rather than doing it yourself? If so here are 4 must read posts:

1. No Plans To Redesign Your Site? Now Is The Time To Hire A Web Design Agency - Excellent post on the timing of hiring your web team.

2. How to Hire A Web Design Firm – Good advice on the hiring process of your web team.

3. 6 Things Your Web Designer Wants You to Understand – Highlights some import aspects of web design (and why you need a pro) that every website owner show know.

4. The Web Strategy Pyramid: A Well-balanced Web Strategy – 5 components that should be a part of any web strategy.

Web Teams? YES!

Jo Golden — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:38:31 +0000

Branding, creating content, developing information architecture, on-page SEO, designing to communicate a message, user-focused design–the list goes on and eventually leads to user-friendly website/blog development that incorporates social media. Whew. There’s no denying that Web work is getting more complicated and requiring expertise on more and more topics.

Question for small business owners: Do you still expect one person to do it all? Or, worse yet, Do you think you’re that person?

No one specializes in everything—you’ve probably heard that developing expertise requires time and effort, but there is much more to it. As someone who has spent decades developing expertise in several different fields, then teaching others how to learn and make connections in their own lives and practice—believe me when I tell you that there are limits. Integrating existing knowledge with new contexts and information, then making sense of it all will lead to new knowledge—but it also requires developing skill-sets for learning that integrate theory, research, and practice.

Small business owners are an amazing crowd, we have courage, intelligence, persistence, and curiosity in high doses—unfortunately too many of us try to do too much ourselves. Then same can-do attitude that led to starting a business in the first place rebounds to bite us in the butt.

I can’t tell you how many times someone has said “I need a website so I’m going to learn html” while looking at me expectantly and waiting for approval.

It’s all I can do not to rain on their parade, so I gently suggest that learning html will not help them accomplish their business web presence goals.

Cars are the metaphor that comes to mind—I have a car, I drive. I do not expect myself to be a cartographer and purchase satellite access time to map out my trip, nor do I need to be a mechanic with skills, tools, and machines that would allow me to fix my car every time something goes wrong. Instead I buy maps, pump gas, check and refill fluids and tires, then go to a mechanic when I need to.

All too often the best of “do it yourself” intentions can end up being a siren call that leads small business owners and entrepreneurs away from the activities that will actually grow their business. I try to encourage folks to do what they do best and carefully consider what will be lost as they try and cobble together a web presence with out extensive knowledge of: changing web contexts; strategies that include content, sites, and social media; and professional grade tools and skills of the web development trade. And then I remind them that all of these skills rarely exist in one person. The better a professional is in one or a few areas of specialization, the higher their standards for the total project and the more they rely on their team to do great things in other areas. That’s how it works at Chaos To Clarity—it’s a beautiful thing when the whole is more than the sum of it’s parts

I wish I could say that there are many happy endings awaiting the aspiring html learner, but more often than not our next conversation is filled with stories about their pain, wasted time, wasted money, and dissatisfaction with their business web presence. The lucky ones let go, the stubborn ones trudge on.

Sometimes it just takes a team.

4 Links on Email Newsletters

Tracey Holinka — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:40:32 +0000

Email newsletters aren’t as new as social media, but they’re still important. Here’s 4 links to help you get started with your email marketing:

1. 5 Ways Email Newsletters Can Build Your SMB – Why you should consider an email newsletter for your business.

2. Why Opt-In Marketing Matters – I regularly find in my email inbox newsletters that I’ve never signed up for. Rather someone got my business card at some event and took it upon themselves to add me to their list. I didn’t ask them to. Unsolicited email newsletters are SPAM. Period. Diane Helbig explains why permission based email marketing is best for your reputation and business.

3. Email Newsletter Design: Guidelines And Examples – Tips & an email newsletter showcase from Smashing Magazine.

4. Showcase Of 30 Sweet Email Newsletter Designs – More great design examples.

There are many email newsletter services out there, but my favorite is MailChimp. It’s easy to use and it’s an Opt-In system (and who can resist the cute & funny Chimp). You can take MailChimp for a spin by signing up for a free version. We love the MailChimp monkey so much that we pay a monthly fee for their services.

3 Simple Rules of Email List Etiquette

Tracey Holinka — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:54:59 +0000

Here’s a great video from MailChimp on Email List Etiquette.

We love the MailChimp monkey so much that we pay a monthly fee for their services. You can take MailChimp for a spin by signing up for a free version.

Success in a Digital World™ » Business

What is social media NOW?

You might be interested in:

Moving Your Computer or Office? Eliminating the Aggravation

You might be interested in:

Links to Help with Your Web Content

You might be interested in:

Are You Using the Right Web Content Strategy? (video)

Presenters

You might be interested in:

Need a Web Team? 4 Must Read Posts (Link Friday)

You might be interested in:

Web Teams? YES!

You might be interested in:

4 Links on Email Newsletters

You might be interested in:

3 Simple Rules of Email List Etiquette

You might be interested in: