I know that some people are skeptical of anything that Microsoft puts out by nature… and the fact that it’s a free tool can make people even more skeptical. That being said, if you blog on any kind of regular basis, you HAVE to give Microsoft Live Writer a try! it’s a fantastic tool that allows you to upkeep your blog and even your website without any more than the knowledge of how to use a basic word processing program.
I could write about some of the other options that are out there, but why? Windows Live Writer has all of the text editing features of a full-blown word processor. WLW also has great features to insert and manipulate images, including adding effects, rotating, adding borders and more. WLW also works with most blogging platforms including Blogger, Typepad and WordPress whether hosting it yourself or on the WordPress.com platform.
Some other advantages to using Windows Live Writer include that it also give you the ability to post at a later date by setting the publish date. This can come in handy when you have a couple of topics you want to write about, but want to space out when they are actually posted to your blog. It also gives you the ability to manage multiple blogs, and even lets you add/edit pages in WordPress, making this tool a viable option for a content management system that can be used with no knowledge of HTML and just a basic familiarity of a word processor. WLW also has numerous plug-ins available, and the library is growing. These plug-ins can help you accomplish many feats including adding social media sharing options for your readers.
One complaint that I have about WLW is one of the advantages that it has is the ability to preview your article before you post it with the theme from your blog. This is an absolutely great feature, with the only problem being that I’ve never been able to get it to work with any of my blogs. I’m sure there are some variables in play that are unique to me, because I have not seen a lot of others complaining that they cannot get this feature to work… but for me, I’m still trying with no luck.
Even if the preview feature never works for me, Window Live Writer is still head and shoulders above all of the other editors that I’ve tested. I recommend giving it a try, even if you currently edit your posts directly through a browser. You may find that you can actually write better articles, more quickly by using Windows Live Writer.
This the presentation slides from a training that I did for the Ann Arbor Jaycees on using Google Docs. The main reason I posted it here on the blog, is because I wanted to demonstrate to the attendees I could, design the training presentation, present it and post it online here, all from within Google Docs. It really represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the functionality of Google Docs. The only real limit to its uses is how much imagination you put into it.
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Web design is important and keeping your website content current and fresh is even more important. Luckily, today there are great tools that will help with both. In today’s world you and your staff need to have the ability to maintain your content and make updates. With great tools like WordPress and Joomla! this is very achievable with very little technical knowledge. These tools are extremely user-friendly and we can show you how to use them to keep your site current, fresh and relevant.
Here is a list of important concepts to keep in mind when constructing your website:
Content is King. If you haven’t heard this a million times already, be prepared to. It’s repeated so often because it’s true. You need to make sure that your website is conveying the message that you are trying to get across. You have to make sure your content is relevant and fresh. Nothing turns off a website visitor more than to arrive at your site to find material that is weeks, months or even years old.
Easy Navigation. Visitors must be able to find what they are looking for fairly quickly, and without getting frustrated. How many times have you started to click around on a website looking for something only to get frustrated and head back to Google to start your search over? This can be avoided my putting some thought into your navigation scheme.
Website Design. Yes, I know I said that content is King, but if content is King, navigation is the Queen, and the design is the Prince. Most visitors will make a decision as to whether our not to stay on your site in the first 4 seconds of bringing it up. That’s right, just FOUR seconds. If you do not have a current looking site that is inviting, they will be gone before you know it. This can only be accomplished with a nice, clean and professional design.
The ultimate goal is to tie all of these things together by having content that is relevant to the topic at hand, easily navigable, in a clean and professional design. These three factors will determine more about how many visits your sites get than all of the other things you can do combined.
What is it?
Google Apps is a great tool for businesses of all sizes, but especially good for small businesses and non-profits due to the fact that there is a free version. Google provides email, an office suite (including a word processor, spreadsheet program, presentation designer, and more), video storage (for the paid version) and it’s all on your own domain so potential clients, website visitors, and anyone else will have no idea that your email is being hosted by Google, and for free! It may or may not be a full-time replacement for your Microsoft or other office suite, but its getting closer every day.
What can it do for me?
Here are some of the reasons you should consider using Google Apps for your domain:
1. Gmail
- Google Apps for Domains makes it totally transparent that you’re using Gmail as your email provider
- You are provided with over 7GB of email storage
- It features great spam protection, without installing any additional software
- Your email will have the same great search capability that Google web searches offer
- Access it from anywhere you have web access
- IMAP/POP3 option. You don’t have to use the web interface. You can still use your favorite email client (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc…)
- Google Talk, the Google chat application is integrated into the web page
2. Google Docs
- Create, edit and update documents, spreadsheets and presentions online
- Online Storage. No need to worry about making off-site backups!
- Collaboration. You can share your documents with anyone and allow them to view and/or edit.
- Share documents privately or publish them publicly.
- Access your documents from any place you have web access
- Offline option, you can view and edit documents even when you can’t connect to the web
3. Calendar
- Share your calendar with others
- Sync with your mobile devices
- Create events and invite others
- Publish your calendar and even embed it in your website
4. 3rd Party integration and tools
- The Google Apps Marketplace has been launched and is growing quickly
- You can find 3rd Party applications that work with Google Apps, many of which are free
There is also some pretty good free support for Google Apps and other Google products on their support forum.
The Bottom Line
Google Apps is a great product that can save you money and increase your productivity. And as I mentioned, it’s FREE. There really isn’t a reason not to try it. We recommend it to all of our clients, and in fact, we do not even host email any longer. I encourage you to check out Google Apps for Domains and see how it can help you run your business better.
Leave a note and let everyone know how you have or will use Google Apps to help you and/or your business.
Google has done it again (I think). Google, in an attempt to keep people in their gmail, where of course the google ads reside, has added social media to the gmail home page. The video looks promising and I’m excited to try this out. The only downside is, Google is rolling it out in waves, so it is hard to say when it will show up in your gmail page. I’m sure I’ll write something more when I’ve seen it in action! Has anyone else actually used this yet?
Posting this from my Motorola Droid. Awesome phone. The picture of my lovely daughter is a bonus.
I got my Droid just a couple of days ago so I am still getting used to it, but I have to say so far I like it a lot and may end up loving it. It has been an adjustment getting used to the qwerty keyboard and touchscreen but keep in mind I’m migrating from a Samsung Flipshot, which is basically a flip phone.
Here are the top 5 things I like about the droid.
5. Its on the Verizon network. I don’t have any horror stories about the AT&T network as some do that have steered me away from the iPhone but I do have a wife and a lot of friends on Verizon which means I save hundreds of minutes per month by also being on verizon.
4. A phone with a qwerty keyboard. This would have been higher on the list but I’ve actually discovered that while the keyboard is great for some of the Droid capabilities, such as web browsing, it actually makes it harder to shoot out a quick text message. Id prefer my good old standard phone numbered keypad.
3. Web browsing. Now I’m not saying that the Droid mobile browsing is going to replace a laptop any time soon, the screen is small, navigation is a bit difficult and some plugins such as Java and Flash players that we’ve grown used to being quick to add to your browser aren’t so quickly accessible if at all (although it may be that I just haven’t learned those tricks yet). But the browser does do the trick when you need to check scores, get some quick info about something or even order a Netflix movie for your internet ready Blueray player.
2. Messaging and email. This performs better than I ever expected. I use three different gmail accounts, voice mail, text messaging, and Google Talk and my Droid let’s me know when I get a new message on any of them! Its a great central message system!
1. The apps. This is where the Droid really shines and what puts it in competition with the iPhone. With apps for all of the things you’d expect like Facebook, Twitter and streaming audio the Droid is a really good tool, but when you throw in other apps like the barcode scanner to help you comparison shop and the blogging tool that I’m using to post this very article, the Droid becomes a tool you can’t live without.
Overall the Droid is great and if you’re on the Verizon network, it is, in my opinion the phone to have!
You need to have an online presence and we can get you online quickly and inexpensively. You also need to have an email address that is @yourdomain.com. If you’re using an email provided by a third party, such as @yahoo.com, @gmail.com, @att.net, etc… you are losing credibility with your customers and just as importantly your potential customers.
Whether you use us here at Cyber Limelight, do it yourself, or hire someone else to do it. Here is a list of the Must Haves to be in business today:
- A professional looking website
- An email contact that uses your domain (e.g. your_name@your_domain.com)
- Good content that describes what you do and how people can contact you to hire you or buy from you
These are the bare bones basics of what you need as far as an online presence in the 21st century.
Below are some suggested items that will help you increase website traffic and in turn, increase sales:
- A Blog (this is not necessary, but very very encouraged). This allows you to build a relationship with your customers, keep them informed about your products and services and increase sales.
- A Facebook page. This is just one more way to build a following and get your message to those that are interested in it (potential customers)
- A Twitter account. If you don’t “get” Twitter, that’s okay. Open the account, post updates about your company, products and services and let the rest take care of itself. You can find more information on using Twitter for business at business.twitter.com
- Sign up for a LinkedIn account. This is a business networking tool that helps you build your business contacts.
There are plenty of other social media networking sites out there, but I’d suggest starting with these, and working on building a following, and attracting the people that are interested in what you and your company has to offer.
