Computer and Web Articles

Built for small businesses committed to social media through ongoing time and money investments, BringShare.com collects data from Google Analytics, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, email campaigns, Adwords account, etc. and enables business owners to quickly understand what’s working and what’s not.

Unlike competing services, Bringshare doesn’t just aggregate results onto a single screen. It actually mashes all of a company’s data together in a clean, stylish manner and generates intuitive, valuable reports. The reports allow businesses to gain birds-eye views of their social media efforts by highlighting information such as which marketing efforts produce the most leads and how much interaction is generated by Twitter and Facebook accounts.

If your company invests in ongoing social media efforts, consider visiting the BringShare homepage (www.BringShare.com) and clicking the big green “Watch Demo Video” button beneath the main illustration. Within one minute you’ll have a good idea as to whether or not the service could benefit your company. It’s free for 30 days. After that, choose from a $49/month, $99/month, or $199/month plan based on your needs.

1. http://vimeo.com/22306468 - Wedding invitations have come a long, long way over the years. (At several moments while watching this video clip I found myself wondering “How much did each one of their cards cost?!”)
2. http://tinyurl.com/3laj3ke - A recent, very interesting “Using the Internet Safely” article that ran in the Denver Post titled: Wi-Fi owners face legal troubles when others tap into network. The moral: password-protect your wireless router. Or else.
3. http://tinyurl.com/3bmegmq - Adobe’s exploration of Photoshop interaction with tablet devices. Very, VERY cool…
4. http://tinyurl.com/6dly7jh - Use this handy infographic to determine what, exactly, your home state does best.  (To save the native Coloradans time: Colorado is #1 in beer production *and* has been the skinniest state 2 years running.)
5. http://tinyurl.com/3wufng3 - iPad vs. iPad2: The real performance difference.

At first glance, Foursquare can seem a little bit creepy. It’s an application that you download to your phone which lets people know when you’ve arrived at certain locations. It’ll tell people you’re at the local bar for happy hour, or at the corner bookstore, or in the next town over grabbing a coffee.

Sounds a bit stalker-ish, yes. But here’s the cool part.

You don’t have to let everyone know your whereabouts – only people you choose. That means you can allow, say, only your ten closest friends to see where you are at any given time.

So, if Foursquare alerts your friend Matt that that you’re at the coffeeshop when he’s right next door picking up a new phone adapter, he very well might just drop by to say hi.

In this way, Foursquare offers a unique and subtle way to tell people you wouldn’t mind company, and it’s an excellent way to up the odds you’ll run into someone you like. Just make sure to add your friends with caution – after all, you wouldn’t want the sketchy guy from work just happening to show up wherever you go.

Want to give it a whirl? Have a look at this Mashable article for some tips on getting the most out of Foursquare: http://tinyurl.com/3e4hrds.

Allow me to introduce Shoebox, a handy online program that would love to be your personal business assistant.

Shoebox was developed to simplify common business tasks like accounting, contact management, and expense reporting. With Shoebox, your paper documents get digitized, “unlocking the data trapped on them,” then organized neatly into your own secure online account.

Simply send Shoebox all your business-related paper clutter. They scan and data enter everything for you. The data gets placed in your online account. Done. You’re organized.

Shoebox monthly plans range from $9.95/month to $49.95/month (and yep, there is indeed a free plan as well–but the functionality is limited). Learn more at www.shoeboxed.com.

1. http://tinyurl.com/447ytv6 - A lovely YouTube collection of ten deadly Do-It-Yourself gadgets. We’re talking bacon bazookas, automatic shaving helmets, and homemade TSA scanners here. Oh, the things you can learn from the internet.
2. http://tinyurl.com/43rhfqe - Easy to follow tips that will help you navigate about your PowerPoint presentation’s slides more easily.
3. http://tinyurl.com/44jm7ms - Curious to know the difference between the web’s 3 primary image file types? Do you know your jpegs from your gifs from your pngs? Do you know when you should be using each one? This (very) short post should help clear things up.
4. http://tinyurl.com/2bnodba - The Ten Commandments… of Twitter. The Commandments include: “Thou shalt not use DM autoresponders,” “Thou shalt not sell out”, and “Thou shalt not beg for retweets”.
5. http://setster.com – Setster allows small business owners to make appointments 24 hours a day directly from their websites through streamlined online appointment software.

We buy tons of items online now - everything from clothes to books to new cars - but when it comes to the basics, most of us still shop at the local stores. When you’re out of toilet paper, you’re just out of toilet paper. Placing an order when you realize there’s no more, then waiting 3 -5 days for more rolls to arrive isn’t an appealing option.

There’s a (much) better way. Tell Alice how many people are in your household and what products you typically use. Alice uses this information to estimate when you’re likely running low on essentials like toilet paper, toothpaste, trash bags and other household items, then emails you a reminder before you push that final bit of toothpaste onto your toothbrush. This means you’ll have your replacement tube of toothpaste long before you actually need it.

Will you pay extra for this convenience? Are the costs for household items purchased through Alice.com higher than at the local stores? Nope. When you purchase through Alice, you’re typically purchasing directly from the manufacturers. You’re saving money.

What makes Alice even sweeter (much, much sweeter, actually) is that the site automatically looks for coupons and other deals that fit your needs. If there’s a sale on Dawn dish detergent this week, Alice might ask you if you want to make your purchase a little early in order to take advantage of the lower price.

Best of all? Two words: FREE SHIPPING.

What can Alice help with? Bathroom supplies (facial tissue, dental floss, shaving cream…), kitchen supplies (paper towels, dish liquid, trash bags…), medicine cabinet items (bandages, contact solution…), and some laundry, pantry, nursery, and office supplies as well.

Let’s recap this amazing service. Alice…

1. saves you from your own forgetfulness by keeping track of your household needs.
2. saves you time; less shopping is always a good thing.
3. saves you money: you buy direct from the manufacturers.
4. saves you even more money: it’s constantly scanning for coupons and discounts on products that fit your needs.

What’s not to like? Learn more about Alice at www.Alice.com.

This is a quick tip, whether you’re writing an email to your best friend or sending a marketing campaign to a 10,000-subscribers mailing list. Think about what people will see first: the subject line.

“Hey - here’s a link” tells your cousin absolutely nothing. “The best bourbon chocolate cake recipe in the world!” tells her what she can expect. Planning lunch with a coworker? Try something like: “1pm lunch on Friday at Joe’s Crab Shack?”

The same idea applies when sending email newsletters to your customers. “Newsletter” as the subject line is, well, a bit lacking. Instead, mention a current topic or event, announce a new product, or entice readers with a specific offer or discount. “March Celebrity Newsletter” is a snore. “Exclusive interview with Charlie Sheen” compels readers to open the email. (Well… yes, you’re right. That title will only compel some readers to open the email, but you catch my drift.)

Fresh, informative subject lines make a great first impression and can increase your email-open rate. Remember to keep it short and sweet-50 characters or less is a good rule of thumb.

*Bonus: If the “from” address is your full company name (instead of, say, a specific employee’s name), you won’t have to waste precious space repeating the company name in the subject line!

1. http://tinyurl.com/4bb5489 - What you need to know before you buy an iPad2.
2. http://tinyurl.com/63vjgzn - A horse named “Arrrrr” (yes, really!), a horse race, and an announcer with a great sense of humor. This is your weekly laugh-out-loud video!
3. http://ecogeek.org/ - Thoughtful website that covers the latest news on how technology and nature can work together for good.
4. http://tinyurl.com/4784roa - “Compared to you, most people seem dumb”—a great read.
5. http://tinyurl.com/nfnnne - Mesmerizing examples of photo manipulation art.

Craigslist.org, in all its bare-bones simplistic glory, is one of the most-visited websites in the world. Perhaps you’ve used it to find an apartment, to sell your old TV, or to seek out a new pet puppy.

Below is a link to an article that can help you find better deals on Craigslist. I’ll highlight two tips here, and then you can mosey on over to the article for more buying and bargaining pointers.

-    Don’t be afraid to bargain. Find out what price the item is currently selling for on other sites and let a seller know that you’re willing to pay that price.
-    If you don’t have extra cash to spend, try bartering. Whether it’s bartering services or products-or a combination of the two-you may not have to exchange cold, hard cash to get what you want.

Find additional tips and suggestions for getting the more out of Craigslist here: http://tinyurl.com/4lh7dou. A few of the links are outdated, but the core content is still useful and relevant.