Well luckily, Excel can help you temporarily hide all of the information you don't need – see below for instructions on how to filter the plethora of data on your spreadsheet.
Blogging certainly isn't what it used to be. When blogging first took off in the late 90's/ early 2000's you were sure to be reading more diary like entries on platforms like Open Diary and Xanga. I'm sure if we took a moment to look through all of those entries there would be good laughs…and maybe some serious cringing. Over time blogging became a generally accepted way to share information, news, and also bits and pieces (or maybe more than that) of your personal life.
In today's world of Internet Marketing everyone wants to do everything possible to be found on the internet. According to Search Engine Journal, SEO jobs have soared in the past year with a 43% increase from 2017. I'm sure you've read or heard somewhere blogs are a sure way to keep your website current and an easy way to get keywords on your site. While there is some truth to that it's good to know the whole story.
Google Analytics is a free tool that shows you how well your website is doing and how many visits you get in a day, but it also does so much more. It can tell you how long a visit lasted as well as how many people have viewed your website. And it's seriously free, but you have the ability to upgrade to a paid plan, Google 360.
There is no denying that mobile devices are ubiquitous, and it should come as no surprise that mobile internet browsing has now surpassed that of desktop use. According to Statcounter Website Analytics, as of September 2018, worldwide usage stats are as follows:
Google, being the enigma that it is, seems to subtly remind us how intertwined it is in our everyday lives. Whether it's by showing you an ad for something that crossed your mind 2 hours ago or giving you a suggested search for something you discussed with your coworker yesterday, Google never fails to impress with its…. observant…. abilities.
However, when it comes down to it, being in Google's good graces is one of the best things you can do for your business. If you think about it from a consumer standpoint, the first thing you do when you are searching for a service is "Google it". From there you look in the sought-after "box". This lists the service providers closest to you in order from closest to the city center outward. You might glance through the reviews, maybe click the company with the most or highest reviews. Then you work your way down the search results, usually stopping when company websites that haven't been updated since 2010 start popping up (maybe around page 3?). So how do you keep out of the Flash Mob era crowds on the web?Do you remember those huge Yellow Pages® books from the past that were delivered to your doorstep? If you needed a plumber, a doctor, an HVAC company or a full-service business technology company, it was the only way to find one before the internet came along. But what was it that made you choose the one you chose? Most likely it was a full-page ad or a catchy logo instead of a printed name and phone number. A picture or a logo held a lot of power in the Yellow Pages because they represented the very first visual impression of a company.
Now, when people search the internet for a business and land on your website, the same concept still holds true: what is going to set your website apart from all the rest? Your logo. It's your identity and it needs to personify who you are and what your company represents. A strong, well thought-out logo will capture the attention of potential customers and they will most likely want to hang around and get to know you better by taking a closer look at your website. This is how branding gets started.
Microsoft tried to do too many things, too soon with Windows 8. Its desktop "tiles" resembled those used on a tablet or phone, but they confused people. Tablets were trendy, but crossovers were like genetically modified cats (the horror!); nobody knew quite what to do with them.
After being swatted on the nose often enough over Windows 8, Microsoft introduced Windows 10 this year. It's the first true hybrid version of an operating system that shares the best features of a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, and an XBox One. Think of it as the Labradoodle of the tech world: loyal, friendly, easy to bond with, but without the endless shedding and whatever it is that makes people sneeze.
Have you ever had one of those weeks when there's so much to do that you have cereal for dinner... every night? If you're an entrepreneur, of course you have! And part of the reason for that is because you take pride in your work, have a good work ethic, and want to ensure your customers are happy with the results.
Around our office, we have a lot of late nights. Lucky for me, I never have to resort to cereal for my own dinner, but the take-out food and caffeinated beverages consumed by some people in my office are always an indication that we're on a deadline, or we're trying to re-work a design that someone wants to tweak.
As someone with hypersensitive hearing, it's easy for me to hear beyond the words of a conversation, which means that if someone is really happy – or really frustrated – I know about it pretty quickly.
Sometimes people sound frustrated when they bring their new laptops or tablets to a meeting, and they've forgotten a cord, can't find a file, or find out their new device isn't compatible with their existing software. Business people like it when their applications work, when they can see the screen, and when they don't have to plug it into the wall to make sure it runs during an entire meeting.
If there's one thing I've learned through my years of being the ears of Technical Resource Solutions, it's that there's cheap and then there's value – and cheap can end up costing more in the long run.
Last month, we talked about resisting the DIY route for your website. This month, we'll talk about the difference between a trained, experienced professional and someone who knows "just enough to be dangerous."
When someone meets you for the first time, it's likely that they are making a lot of assumptions about you based on your appearance: the clothes you wear, how you style your hair, the car you drive. Whether they choose to do business with you often is based on their first impression, even before you say a word.
A lot of people come into our office, and I sit and listen intently at every meeting while they talk about the things they want in a website, and the things they don't; the things they like about other people's websites – and the things they absolutely don't like.
Where I have the advantage, you see, is that dogs have an uncanny sense for people's emotions. If someone feels confident, I can tell. And when they are unsure about something, well, I know that, too. And a lot of people are really unsure about what they want in a website!
In my last Blog entry, I speculated about the ongoing costs of Windows 10 after the initial Free for the First Year Free announcement. Well, there's more, and it's good news.
Microsoft started their "Technical Preview" program for Windows 10 back in October, 2014. We've been running the various new builds of this (on the Fast track) on several Virtual Machines here at the office to get a taste of what it's like prior to its official release, expected to be some time this summer.
Anyone was able to sign up for this "beta" test, but it is highly recommended that you don't use this OS on a computer that you expect to work all the time. Since this is beta software, it WILL fail sometimes as the bugs are worked out.
In our technology driven society the need for training would seem obvious. Most companies provide some kind of handbook, tutorial, or even on-the-job training for program and process changes.
One of the things I feel very fortunate about is that I was introduced to technology at a young age and at a depth that both interested me and challenged me in ways I didn't know something could. I attended a computer summer camp at UC Santa Cruz leading into my Freshman year in high school and had the opportunity to take two years of programming classes (in the BASIC and Pascal languages) in my Junior and Senior years. This was between 1982 and 1985.
Everyone uses passwords to access all sorts of information on their computer, online, at the bank machine, and many other places. One of the most common complaints we hear is that people have to remember too many passwords and as a result they tend to use the same one for everything. To make things worse, that password is often not a very strong one, leaving them vulnerable to loss of data, identity theft, and hijacked online accounts.
This spring we learned about the Heartbleed bug and that in light of the bug, reminded that we should change our passwords. All of them. Immediately, if not sooner.
Changing a password can be overwhelming because we all want to make sure it is something we can remember. Changing *all* of our passwords is even more daunting.
The mouse was a fantastic invention. Back in 1981, the first one was introduced for use with a Personal Computer; in fact, you can go as far back as 1964 to find the first prototypes, invented by Douglas Engelbart. Today, you can hardly get a computer without one and some features require a pointing device of some kind to access. But most features can still be accessed by keyboard alone, and many are more efficient when accessed via keyboard shortcuts. This month I share a few of my favorites with you.
Microsoft is listed as the #35 company in the world for 2013, according to the Fortune 500, but sometimes their product branding can be unclear. There are two different services that they offer and both are called Office 365, but the two are almost completely different from a feature set. In this article, I will describe each and what the appropriate uses are for them.
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