It's amazing how Blogs have broken into the mainstream. It has become a key way that people both consume and distribute information on the Internet. This has released a wave of a whole new form of 'news' that actually competes with the high dollar corporate media that prevails on the television and radio. The Internet has broken the monopoly and brought a truer form of the 'freedom of speech' than ever before.
As one circles the net, you can now be apart of a wave of news and information like no other time in history. Clearly, this news is not always accurate and is riddled with opinion and supposition that you would hopefully not get from the mainstream media. It is from real people expressing their feelings, philosophy, and ideals. It is from people who are sometimes not in 'free' countries that have found a way to express themselves that is unstoppable and global in origin. The power of the Blog has come home in a big way.
In our small pool of people in the Flagstaff and Northern Arizona region, we tend to encourage our clients to consider a Blog as a means to get the word out regularly about what they are doing in both their personal lives and especially in their businesses. We regularly setup Blogs for our clients, customize them to look like their websites, and help them understand the uses of it. Most use only half of the functions of a Blog by posting articles and newsletters, and not allowing others to 'comment' back (much like our own Blog that this is written on). While a few have taken the leap to allowing back and forth communication with the world. In either case, it has shown to be a great way to 'get the word out' about what they are doing.
We have also recently begun using Blogs as a 'distribution source' for lots of the other media out there as well. We have found that an article written on a Blog can hit many resources at once.
The first way to do this is through 'feeds' where the Blogs are pushed into a webpage using a service like FeedBurner or WidgetBox. Click here as an example of our Flagstaff News section on our city guide that uses this function. Most of our clients that have a Blog, also feed that information into their websites. By doing this they not only have additional and interactive information on their websites, but also have created two methods of being listed in the Search Engines (both the Blog itself and the page on their sites are searchable).
Even more recently is the function of feeding a Blog into different Social Media accounts. The latest wave on the Internet is Social Media. Often people have trouble keeping up with making real announcements on them because they are so busy. By using a Blog, you can have an article fed into FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many other sites automatically. This gives you one location to write while posting it in numerous places all at once. A very efficient means of distributing you announcements.
The format of Blog lends itself to being distributed widely. We highly recommend that you use this method to communicate with the world. It is typically a free resource that can be customized to look great and make you seem very professional. It is a true way to get the word out!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Social Media Discussion with Soroptimist: Learn all about business applications on FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Joe Bodin of Flagstaff Central will be the key lecturer at the upcoming luncheon of Soroptimist International of the Arizona Peaks. The topic of discussion will be an overview about Social Media Marketing with a focus on how to use these new applications to enhance and market your business presence on the Internet. The talk will cover a brief overview on the differences between FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It will show you elements of each site, and how to best use these applications in a professional manner to market your business.
The event will be held at the Matterhorn Grill, 103 W Birch, on Thursday, September 17th from Noon to 1 pm. The lunch cost is $12 per person and is primarily open to members or prospective members of Soroptimist.
For more information or to become a member of Soroptimist, please call Diane Jarvis at 928-607-7774. RSVP by Wednesday, September 16th at 2 pm is required to attend the luncheon.
The event will be held at the Matterhorn Grill, 103 W Birch, on Thursday, September 17th from Noon to 1 pm. The lunch cost is $12 per person and is primarily open to members or prospective members of Soroptimist.
For more information or to become a member of Soroptimist, please call Diane Jarvis at 928-607-7774. RSVP by Wednesday, September 16th at 2 pm is required to attend the luncheon.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Social Media Marketing
The latest wave of marketing on the Internet is called "Social Media" or "Viral Marketing". It has sprung up out of nowhere and millions of people have latched onto it because it is much more personal and can have extremely wide reaching results. It is spreading like wildfire and fast becoming one of those "have to" items to succeed on the net. The idea of this form of internet marketing is to become "friends" with hundreds and thousands of people across the world.
Here's a list of some of the more popular Social Media sites: FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo, Orkut (run by Google), Google Groups, Digg (social news), YouTube (video sharing), Flickr (photos sharing), and Yelp (product reviews).
There are many websites that offer this type of service and almost all of them are completely free to sign up. Some of them are generalized about any topic you wish, while others are focused on a specific type of group or genre. We can help you decide which will most effectively meet your needs.
We have found that our clients are a bit reluctant to jump into it themselves, so we now offering help in setting up and maintaining these accounts to maximize your marketing potential. We are focusing on what we call the "top 3" social media sites, but we are also available to help with setting up other accounts.
Go to http://www.reliablewebdesigns.com/5Steps/InternetMarketing/social-media.htm to read up on how we can help you with FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
With all of the above "Social Media" sites, we strongly recommend that you post your own content. You are your best representative, and thus will know what to post and what to respond when others ask questions or post comments. Some of our clients have expressed reservations about the time it will take to do this, but we wish to express to you that you can post as much or as little as you wish. There are no deadlines or rules to how much you must post. As with anything, the more involved you are the more successful it tends to be... Never feel pressured by having to post information. One posting a month with good content is far more effective than daily postings that don't say anything and become junk to the reader.
It is our goal to help you get started into the world of "Social Media" so that you have true success marketing yourself in this new universe.
Here's a list of some of the more popular Social Media sites: FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo, Orkut (run by Google), Google Groups, Digg (social news), YouTube (video sharing), Flickr (photos sharing), and Yelp (product reviews).
There are many websites that offer this type of service and almost all of them are completely free to sign up. Some of them are generalized about any topic you wish, while others are focused on a specific type of group or genre. We can help you decide which will most effectively meet your needs.
We have found that our clients are a bit reluctant to jump into it themselves, so we now offering help in setting up and maintaining these accounts to maximize your marketing potential. We are focusing on what we call the "top 3" social media sites, but we are also available to help with setting up other accounts.
Go to http://www.reliablewebdesigns.com/5Steps/InternetMarketing/social-media.htm to read up on how we can help you with FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Additional Thoughts about Social Media
With all of the above "Social Media" sites, we strongly recommend that you post your own content. You are your best representative, and thus will know what to post and what to respond when others ask questions or post comments. Some of our clients have expressed reservations about the time it will take to do this, but we wish to express to you that you can post as much or as little as you wish. There are no deadlines or rules to how much you must post. As with anything, the more involved you are the more successful it tends to be... Never feel pressured by having to post information. One posting a month with good content is far more effective than daily postings that don't say anything and become junk to the reader.
It is our goal to help you get started into the world of "Social Media" so that you have true success marketing yourself in this new universe.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
There are Changes Coming to Email
A while back some new rules were developed to help reduce spam emails. These new rules have actually been around for a while, but until recently most servers didn't follow them. The reality is that over the course of the next year most servers are going to begin implementing them, so the general public needs to become aware of the changes before they happen. So, we thought it'd be a good idea to tell you about them and explain them in as simple a language as possible.
In an attempt to not techno-babble at you, the two main changes are called: rDNS (Reverse DNS) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework). Both of them do similar things and we don't intend to describe them to you in detail because you can read all about them from a technical point of view somewhere else. In a nutshell, what both of them are designed to do is put some checks on an email when it's sent to make sure that the sender is who they say they are.
Right now anyone could essentially steal your email address and use it to send out spam. They could find your email address somewhere (like on your website), and then put it into their email preferences. Then, they can send out thousands and thousands of junk email about whatever they want. All this going out using your email whether you like it or not, or even know it has been done.
What these new rules or policies are attempting to do is put a stop to this. The idea is that when an email goes out instead of just letting it go, servers will now run a check to make sure your email is legitimate. In essense, they are going to look at your email address and make sure the place it was sent from also matches the domain name in the address.
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Here's examples of how it will check:
Our city guide email address is info@flagstaffcentral.com.
1) Won't Work - If I send an email out having my outgoing preferences be my Internet Provider which is NPG Cable ( mail.npgcable.net ), then my Domain Name and the way I sent it don't match. And thus, my email would not comply to the new rules and would probably bounce back undeliverable.
flagstaffcentral.com does not match npgcable.net - Not Delivered
2) Won't Work - If a spammer tries to send an email out using my Email Address and their outgoing preferences are from their own Internet Provider ( mail.spamidiot.com ), then my Domain Name (in my email) and the way they sent it will not match. And thus, the spam email(s) they are trying to send using my address will not comply and will bounce back undeliverable.
flagstaffcentral.com does not match spamidiot.com - Not Delivered
3) Will Work - If I send an email out having my outgoing preferences be my Web Host ( mail.flagstaffcentral.com ), then my Domain Name and the way I sent it will match. And thus, my email will comply with the new rules and be sent fine.
flagstaffcentral.com does match flagstaffcentral.com - Delivered Successfully!
In an attempt to not techno-babble at you, the two main changes are called: rDNS (Reverse DNS) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework). Both of them do similar things and we don't intend to describe them to you in detail because you can read all about them from a technical point of view somewhere else. In a nutshell, what both of them are designed to do is put some checks on an email when it's sent to make sure that the sender is who they say they are.
Right now anyone could essentially steal your email address and use it to send out spam. They could find your email address somewhere (like on your website), and then put it into their email preferences. Then, they can send out thousands and thousands of junk email about whatever they want. All this going out using your email whether you like it or not, or even know it has been done.
What these new rules or policies are attempting to do is put a stop to this. The idea is that when an email goes out instead of just letting it go, servers will now run a check to make sure your email is legitimate. In essense, they are going to look at your email address and make sure the place it was sent from also matches the domain name in the address.
--------------------------------------
Here's examples of how it will check:
Our city guide email address is info@flagstaffcentral.com.
1) Won't Work - If I send an email out having my outgoing preferences be my Internet Provider which is NPG Cable ( mail.npgcable.net ), then my Domain Name and the way I sent it don't match. And thus, my email would not comply to the new rules and would probably bounce back undeliverable.
flagstaffcentral.com does not match npgcable.net - Not Delivered
2) Won't Work - If a spammer tries to send an email out using my Email Address and their outgoing preferences are from their own Internet Provider ( mail.spamidiot.com ), then my Domain Name (in my email) and the way they sent it will not match. And thus, the spam email(s) they are trying to send using my address will not comply and will bounce back undeliverable.
flagstaffcentral.com does not match spamidiot.com - Not Delivered
3) Will Work - If I send an email out having my outgoing preferences be my Web Host ( mail.flagstaffcentral.com ), then my Domain Name and the way I sent it will match. And thus, my email will comply with the new rules and be sent fine.
flagstaffcentral.com does match flagstaffcentral.com - Delivered Successfully!
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You can see why this is good. It may cut a whole mess of spam off the internet and protect your email address at the same time. But, the problem is that most people don't know about these new rules. As they are implemented, more and more people are going to experience bounce backs on their legitimate emails because they have not changed their email preferences.
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So what do you do:
1) Using WebMail - If you are using a WebMail based system like Gmail or Hotmail, then there isn't anything you need to do. Your email address will have Gmail or Hotmail in it, and when you send it you are sending right through their website so your Domain Name and the way you send it will match.
2) Using Email Software (like Outlook) - If you are using some sort of email software like Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Thunderbird, etc... then you will need to change your "Outgoing SMTP" preferences. This setting must have the matching Domain as within your Email Address. So, you should contact either your Internet Provider (if you use their email addresses) or your Web Host (if you use your own domain within your email address).
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We hope this article helps you understand the coming changes to how Emails will be "Checked" by servers in the near future. There's no telling when your server will implement the new rules or when the servers you are sending email to will begin doing it, so it's best to begin getting your email preferences ready today.
We hope this article helps you understand the coming changes to how Emails will be "Checked" by servers in the near future. There's no telling when your server will implement the new rules or when the servers you are sending email to will begin doing it, so it's best to begin getting your email preferences ready today.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Backing Up Your Address Book
It's obviously very important to back up your data periodically to an external source. There are lots of options for this including external hardrives, cd/dvd roms, or even buying into an online resource that allows you to save your files on their system. Each of these have their pros and cons... Regardless of which version you choose, I have found the one thing everyone forgets to back up is their "Address Book".
Everyone spends years and years compiling the contact information for all of the people they correspond with, but then forget completely to save that data on an external source. Most backups that people do don't actually include the data files of something like Outlook, Eudora, or whatever email program you are using. Most people only back up things like My Documents, and rarely get everything on their hardrives because it's just too much stuff to constantly keep.
So, what's the solution? Do a specific backup of your Address Book!!!!!
Almost every email program has an "Export" function that allows you to turn your Address Book content into a "file" that can then easily be included in your normal backup process. In Outlook, this is under [File] [Import and Export]. Almost all email programs have this somewhere.
When you find it within your program, simply follow the Export process. It is highly recommended that once you get to choose the "file type" that you choose to back it up as a CSV (Comma Delimited File). The reason is that this is a fairly universal file format that can be uploaded back into most email programs and also can be opened in Excel. This way you can pull it into whatever program you choose, or even make edits or preview it in a chart format.
As you are saving it as a "file", I also recommend you consider naming that file by the "date" first and then whatever you want to call it. For example, if I were to do it today I would call my file "2009-04-25 My Address Book". By doing this, your file system will then "alphabetize it" by the date. Thus, when you do it next month it will put them in order. This way you always know when you saved it last, and can jump back in time easily if you need to.
After all is said and done, and you've begun to back up your contacts. Make sure to simply add it into the back up process you've regularly chosen to save all of your data. This way, you can always recover if your computer crashes, your email software stops working, or whatever strange computer blurp happens to you.
Don't forget to back up your Address book! It's important!!!!
Everyone spends years and years compiling the contact information for all of the people they correspond with, but then forget completely to save that data on an external source. Most backups that people do don't actually include the data files of something like Outlook, Eudora, or whatever email program you are using. Most people only back up things like My Documents, and rarely get everything on their hardrives because it's just too much stuff to constantly keep.
So, what's the solution? Do a specific backup of your Address Book!!!!!
Almost every email program has an "Export" function that allows you to turn your Address Book content into a "file" that can then easily be included in your normal backup process. In Outlook, this is under [File] [Import and Export]. Almost all email programs have this somewhere.
When you find it within your program, simply follow the Export process. It is highly recommended that once you get to choose the "file type" that you choose to back it up as a CSV (Comma Delimited File). The reason is that this is a fairly universal file format that can be uploaded back into most email programs and also can be opened in Excel. This way you can pull it into whatever program you choose, or even make edits or preview it in a chart format.
As you are saving it as a "file", I also recommend you consider naming that file by the "date" first and then whatever you want to call it. For example, if I were to do it today I would call my file "2009-04-25 My Address Book". By doing this, your file system will then "alphabetize it" by the date. Thus, when you do it next month it will put them in order. This way you always know when you saved it last, and can jump back in time easily if you need to.
After all is said and done, and you've begun to back up your contacts. Make sure to simply add it into the back up process you've regularly chosen to save all of your data. This way, you can always recover if your computer crashes, your email software stops working, or whatever strange computer blurp happens to you.
Don't forget to back up your Address book! It's important!!!!
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