Computer and Web Articles

The fact that your company has a blog, coupled with the fact that you actually maintain your blog (high-five there), does not necessarily equate to your company having a blog that provides you with substantial, if any, value.

Here’s the question to ask yourself: Does my company’s blog have any focus?

Yesterday you posted a case study of your latest business success.

Two days prior you wrote about your favorite Mexican restaurant in Australia.

Today you’re writing about your son’s field trip to the Denver Zoo.

Last week you wrote about social networking strategies you’re considering and the week before you wrote about your favorite blender (I’m guessing it was a VitaMix. Nice choice).

All this would be absolutely delightful if you were sharing it in your personal blog.

If your company’s blog is filled with disconnected, haphazard thoughts and musings, you’re wasting energy, time, and money. Surprising as his choices may be, people don’t visit your company blog to learn about your son’s favorite animals at the zoo. People check your company blog because they have goals, problems or questions.

“How might this company help my family?”

“Does the owner of this company know what he’s talking about? Is he knowledgeable enough for me to feel comfortable hiring them?”

“Where will this company be demoing their equipment this winter?”

“Can I view actual examples of successful projects they’ve completed?”

“Do they have useful tips and links and photos I can check out?”

When you stop covering topics your visitors care about (whether your visitors are potential customers, existing customers, or colleagues) you give them no reason to return. No reason to engage with you. In the end this means you’re likely just wasting time by working on a company blog that few people read when you could be investing your time in far more effective ways.

1. http://mugtug.com/sketchpad/ - Perfect for all the closet graphic designers out there, Mugtug’s “Sketchpad” is a free drawing and illustration program you can begin using the moment the page loads. No registration, no sign-in, no membership. Just visit the page and start drawing, painting, making shapes, and playing around with colors to your heart’s content.
2. http://sitescanga.com – Sites get updated. They change and grow over time. Files get moved around. And all the while it’s important that Google Analytics continues to accurately track your site’s usage. SiteScan is a simple diagnostic tool that scans your website and lets you know if Google Analytics tracking code is properly installed on all your pages (free up to 100 pages).
3. http://tinyurl.com/38yzmcu - A clean, beautifully designed desk accessory that minimizes clutter and provides additional USB ports for my computer? Sounds hot. Tell me more…
4. http://tinyurl.com/4zo4vgv - A short, sweet, and totally free PDF download reviewing “Common Rookie Mistakes” made by businesses dipping their toes into the world of email marketing/email newsletters. Examples of mistakes reviewed include: a) purchasing email lists, b) assuming people remember who you are, and c) assuming people want to hear from you in the first place.
5. http://tinyurl.com/ygd6psn - The complete guide to video blogging, courtesy of Mashable.com.

1. http://tinyurl.com/2wcwpdj - IBM’s prognosticating that our phones will project 3-D images of callers and that our laptops will be powered by kinetic energy. Within 4 years.
2. http://noteandpoint.com – Bored to tears by generic PowerPoint presentations? Looking to make your next presentation a bit livelier? NoteAndPoint.com is a glorious gallery of inspiring PowerPoint presentations proving that PowerPoint does not necessarily mean dull and generic.
3. http://tinyurl.com/27mevvc - Yes, somebody actually quit his job in order to make a living suing spammers.
4. http://tinyurl.com/4p8fh9z - A short, awesome, two paragraph eye-opener that just might change the way your company thinks about handling product returns.
5. http://tinyurl.com/6tzny3 - “Big project, Small Budget: Where to Begin your SEO Campaign.” (Is this an area of confusion for you? You’re not alone. Millions of businesses are looking for the same answers. This article is a great start.)

Question:

Hi Erin. I enjoy your weekly tips article in the Summit Daily, and last week’s section on the “fancy font” made me think of a question about fonts I’ve had for a long time: I have thousands of fonts on my computer. If I send a Word document or email message using a font that the receiving person does not have, can they still “read” my message/font? Thanks. – Mike

Answer:

That is a really great question, Mike. The first half of the answer is yes, your recipient will indeed be able to read that message you typed out using your beautiful font. The second half of the answer is no, he won’t see your message the same way you did when you wrote it.

Because the font you used is not installed on your recipient’s machine, his computer will substitute another (likely less beautiful) font in its place.

Have you been lazy? Perhaps it just slipped your mind. Regardless, here are some reminders that might give you the nudge you need to take action.

• Everyone: Be honest. When was the last time you cleaned your keyboard? Have you at least taken it outside, held it upside down, and given it a good shake lately? (Eeewww.)
• Website owners: When was the last time you ran a spellcheck on your website? What about a check for broken links?
• Everyone: When was the last time you backed up your data? If you’re not backing up on a regular basis, have you recently asked yourself if you’re willing to lose everything on your computer?
• PC users: Have you defragmented your computer lately?
• Mac Users: Have you cleaned out your cache within the last month? (Visit http://tinyurl.com/495nsn4 if you answered No.)
• Everyone: Have you recently run a program (like Spybot S & D) to check for spyware and other undesirables that sneak into computers over time?
• Website owners: Have you given your site’s statistics a good hard look within the last few months? Do you know how people are using your site, if visitors are running into any major problems when using your site, or…if your site actually has any visitors?

1. http://tinyurl.com/2a5ew2u - Hide yo’ kids, hide yo’ wife: here are some of 2010’s best viral videos. Perfect when you need a chuckle.
2. http://tinyurl.com/6uruzp - Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts (with video).
3. http://letsfreckle.com – Time tracking and time management for consultants and small teams.
4. http://tinyurl.com/2f963ys - Learn how women and men use Facebook in different ways.
5. http://tinyurl.com/25rc42b - How to replace your computer’s dead power supply.

Are the email replies you receive addressing only a portion of your points or questions? Perhaps some of your emails go completely unanswered? Following the (very simple) tips below can make it easier and more convenient for your recipients to reply–which ultimately increases your odds of receiving timely, meaningful responses.

• Make sure your requests are clear and direct. Open-ended take more time and energy to process. Replying to “Maybe we should ask John if he can help with the site?” takes far more work than replying to “Call John tomorrow and explain the issues we’re encountering on Page Y of our website. Please email me back once you’ve confirmed he’ll be able to work on the issue and when he expects the fix to be completed.”
• Use meaningful titles in your subject lines. Emails with vague subject lines (such as “Hi!” or “Question” or “XYZ project”) are often given less attention than emails with subject lines containing clear calls to action or requests (such as “Project Summary Report Needed by 3pm Friday“). Esteemed blogger and consultant Chris Brogan suggests going a step further and capitalizing your subject line’s major point, such as “MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING: Check Tuesday or Friday.”
• Provide Deadlines (if applicable): Work to keep your emails from being placed in the “I’ll-respond-when-I-have-the-time” category by providing clear deadlines, such as “Please confirm or reschedule by 10am tomorrow.”
• Keep it Short and Sweet: Though easy for many people, I personally find this tactic the most challenging, by far. Brevity is beauty when it comes to crafting emails which require replies. Help your recipients quickly determine what you need by stripping out the unnecessary and placing your most important points at the top.

Yes yes, I understand you have little to no fascination with fonts. This being said, I think there’s chance you might find my latest font discovery of interest.

The font, called “iQ”, was developed by two typographers—along with the assistance of a professional race car driver. The typographers instructed the driver on the various movements they were looking for that would create specific shapes, and the driver worked his magic via some well-timed braking, strategic reversing, and high speed precision. A computer tracked the location of the car’s tires at all times.

The result? A car-created font containing the full alphabet (both lowercase and uppercase), 0 – 9 number set, and related punctuation and special characters (exclamation mark, question mark, @ symbol, ampersand, etc.)

View the 2:43 video clip showing the font creation process here: http://vimeo.com/5233789

I’d say we’ve found a keeper.

www.ManyBooks.net is a genuine treasure trove for eBook lovers (and avid readers in general). The site offers a whopping 29,000 eBooks for download, is easy to browse, and is filled with reviews by fellow readers.

“Yeah, sure.” you’re thinking. “That’s lovely. But why would I use ManyBooks.net instead of Amazon?”

My response: You might consider an occasional visit because you can download every single book from ManyBooks.net for free. Every single one.

When downloading a book, simply choose the file format you prefer: .pdf, .pdf for large print, .epub, .pdb, iPod notes (in a .zip file), .rb, .prc, .azw (yep, for your Kindle!), etc. That’s all there is to it—really.

Enjoy…