I picked up a new client the other day, and ran into a situation that I’ve seen MUCH too often:
ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES,
and LACK OF TRAINING.

This client is in the throes of opening up a retail location, where 2 businesses will be location – Event Planning and Photography (focusing on Babies and Weddings). They are hoping to add a bakery later on.

The owner had already paid someone to design the logos and setup 3 initial websites plus a brochure. The designer had to move to Germany, however – and the owner was not comfortable working remotely (although I’m sure the designer could have done this!).

What I found when arriving onsite reminded me of the importance of staying organized with your data. They had data strewn across 3 different machines, weren’t sure of where the logo file were – in fact, weren’t even sure what format the files were in. It also took some time to find the login information for the GoDaddy account to see what had already been setup.

[As an aside - the original designer also signed them up for "account protection" - which means that we will have to jump through some serious legal hoops before we can get the domains transferred over to MidGaHosting.com - a MUCH friendlier and less expensive option].

The staff are also in some serious need of training in basic computer processes – and some decisions need to be made regarding file management, network sharing, printer setups – all with an  eye to increasing efficiency. After all, the less time spent LOOKING for a file means more time WORKING on it, right?

Small Biz is a tough market, yet so very important to our country. It is a TOUGH decision to spend money on training because it is an intangible thing – yet having on-site training from a GOOD trainer can pay extraordinary dividends in terms of efficiency gains and aggravation reduction!

I’ll be talking with the client after the dust settles about doing some onsite training. It’ll be interesting and fun!

This is a quick-and-dirty summary of how to automatically update your Facebook Page with entries from a blog.

BACKGROUND: I have several website that are WordPress based, and thus have an RSS feed as part of the setup. Several others are using Feedburner to distribute the feed as well.

There are also some Facebook pages setup as an auxiliary web presence – See the HamSandwichTees Website vs. the Facebook Page for an example.

What I wanted to do was to add an entry to the website, and then have it automatically transfer in to the Facebook Page.

Here’s how:

• Login to Facebook
• Click Pages (left menu)
• Click on the Page you wish to edit
• Click EDIT PAGE button – top right
• Click APPS link on left menu
• Find the NOTES app – click the “Go to App” link
• Click EDIT IMPORT SETTINGS link on left sidebar.
• Add in the appropriate RSS link (something like http://hamsandwichtees.com/feed/)

 

I will be teaching 2 sets of computer courses Summer 2011 at the Georgia College Macon Campus.  These are 2 “sets” of classes designed to help you make your computer work better, and to help you see the possibilities of using the tools better.

Small Biz Tech

You are a small business owner and know you really need to get your technology more integrated into your workflow- or you need a basic introduction to websites in plain English, including why you would want to have one, how to go about getting one inexpensively and the pluses and minuses of all those decisions you have to make . Or, you’d like to know more about Microsoft Office, or even if you HAVE to have it! These classes in “plain English” will help you get up to speed. Bring your questions, ideas and vague notions-we’ll try to get them all covered!

Day 1 – Websites: Why and How? Most business owners know they “need” a website but many don’t have a megabuck budget to get one created. And then there’s the question of what to do with it after it’s completed? This class takes a look at some easy online solutions and offers suggestions for how to create a website, what to do with it, what it should have and how and why to keep it up to date.

Day 2 – Practical Online Marketing There’s a ton of hype on information “out there” telling you all the things you should be doing online. The problem is that the only way you can get all of it done is to ignore both your business AND your life! We’ll explore several options and discuss how to best spend your time marketing your business, including websites, blogs, all of that social media stuff like Facebook and Twitter, and perhaps even touch on online advertising.

Day 3 – Small Biz Tech I: Working Your Machine Not really sure how to work your machine? Let’s take a look (and practice!) at all the “basics” of using a computer – things like Windows, your mouse, printing, saving documents, applications (finding, installing and uninstalling), the internet, email, downloading files, installing new software, finding quality free or inexpensive software, dealing with file formats (what’s a PNG anyway?”), etc. Bring your questions – we’ll try get them all answered!

Day 4 – Small Biz Tech 2: So You Have a Computer What do you do with it? Let’s take a look at what you are doing and come up with additional possibilities for using this tool better and perhaps using it in more ways! We’ll take a NON-TECHNICAL look at things like networking, printing, sharing files, Internet searches (how do you quit wasting time looking for information online?) and even look at free software that might be useful! Do you really NEED Microsoft Office? Do you NEED to use Windows? Maybe, or maybe not!

Day 5 – Excel and Spreadsheets Part I: the Basics in Plain English Learn the basics of using a spreadsheet, why it’s a useful tool, what it can be used for, and the concepts for creating a well-designed and easy to use spreadsheet. We’ll practice designing a basic budget during the class, and even see how many days old you are (but we won’t tell!) Questions? We’ll get them answered!

Day 6 – Excel and Spreadsheets Part 2: Sheet, Functions and Being Useful Learn more Excel including dealing with multiple sheets and when that’s needed, built in functions like SUM, MIN, MAX, COUNT and PMT, and tricks to make your spreadsheet useful.

Day 7 – Excel and Spreadsheets Part 3: Charts, Pictures and Stats, Oh My! Learn to create charts, what type to create, how to make them look good and even use those charts in other programs or online.

Day 8 – PowerPoint: Get Beyond the Prefab and Get Your Point Across Almost everyone knows the basics of PowerPoint, but far too many people stop there. We will spend some time playing with the features that you can use to easily customize your presentations. We’ll also look at a process to follow when creating a presentation that can save time, and we’ll discuss some of the design and presentation issues so your project will be far better than average. Bring your questions!

July 12 – August 4, 2011 – Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, 8 Sessions

CLICK HERE for more information and to sign up!

This Digital Life: A Beginner’s Guide to Home Computers

This is a series of classes focused on people who are curious about computers, don’t know much about them and want to ask the really simple questions but are too embarrassed to ask, or who are tired of asking their kids for help. These classes have a lot of hands-on plus a lot of “plain English” explanations of how to work computers to get some things done. So bring your “how to” and “why” questions – we’ll get them answered! Optional, but useful – bring a thumb drive to each class (also known as a flash drive.)

Day 1 – How to Work the Blinkin’ Computer Learn to turn your computer on, understand basic technology, print documents and pages, save what you’ve been working on without losing your mind, use a flash/thumb drive, connect new gizmos to your computer, and understand basic networking.

Day 2 – Online, Social and Safe We’ll cover the different ways you can keep up without getting overwhelmed with email, the web and all of that Facebook and Twitter stuff-what they are, how to stay safe online, how to use them and why they can be fun!

Day 3 – Practical Internet: Quit Wasting Time Unless You Want To Have you ever felt like you wasted time searching for something on the Internet or ever wanted an easy way to create a website? Then this is the class for you! Well take a look at these activities and actually practice online.

Day 4 – Digital Pictures So you’ve taken all those pictures with your digital camera. Now what do you do with them? We’ll explore a variety of things from editing software to posting those pictures online. Bring some digital photos with you that you’d like to experiment with, or we’ll have some for you to use.

July 11 – August 1, 2011 – Mondays from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, 4 Sessions

Click here for more information and to sign up!

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

GCSU Continuing Education

Their Facebook page

I teach Powerpoint as part of Mercer University’s CSC125 class, and have studied presenting for a number of years as part of my teaching in various locales and situations.

I find it fascinating how the technology has changed over the years. granted, I’m a bit of a maverick – I selected Astound to use for presenting way back in 1998 because it was cross-platform and way ahead of Powerpoint in terms of animation and video playback. I’ve used one of the tools mentioned below for a couple of years, and am planning on checking out the other soon.

Both use the “freemium” model – accounts are free for basic functionality, and advanced features are available for a subscription.

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Slideshare.net allows you to upload presentation files in several formats – Powerpoint, of course, but also Keynote. Others can easily view them and navigate through the presentation in a web browser. The coolest feature, though, is the “Screencast” – where you upload the presention into Slideshare.net, upload an mp3 file to a web-enabled location, and then use an intuitive interface to link the two together.

Here’s an example of quickie presentation I threw together for my Mercer class – I was out sick, but needed to go ahead and cover the material.

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PREZI.com is something I just found this week. It allows easy creation of ZOOMING presentations, which are visually interesting (as long as they are designed well!).

The descriptions below are not exact wordings – but they do give the gist of what you have to click. This came from a friend whow anted to know how to transfer his iTunes library from his old PC to his new Macbook.

——-

Pop a thumb drive into your PC.

On your PC:
My Documents–>My Music–>iTunes
One of those folders inside iTunes has all of your audio files. Copy them onto the flash drive.

Eject the flash drive, and pop it into your Mac.

On your Mac:
Open up iTunes. Open up the preferences, and make sure “Copy files into the library” is checked. I also suggest checking “Keep the library organized”.
Slide the itunes window over to the side.
Open up a window to your flash/thumb drive.
Highlight all of those folders that contain your audio (Command-A is a keyboardshortcut). Click-n-drag them into the iTunes window.
Wait a while.
It may ask you about authorizing this machine blah blah blah. Allow it – you might have to add an AppleID and password.

OTHER RESOURCES
http://reviews.cnet.com/ipod/9602-12576_7-0.html?messageID=2510455&kw=ipod
http://lifehacker.com/242468/geek-to-live–how-to-move-an-itunes-library-from-a-pc-to-mac-and-back
http://www.jakebouma.com/2008/04/05/how-to-move-your-itunes-library-from-a-pc-to-a-mac-without-losing-metadata-ratings-playcounts/

I have a client – who is slowly migrating from using 4 different email services to using the webmail that comes with his hosting (SmarterMail Enterprise) – ask me about sending out one email to a bunch of his contacts. He couldn’t figure out an easy way to do it.

As with most things, this required him to do some setup before it would actually work. In this case, I shot a video of how to do it because that’s how my client best learns new information (typing up a long email with instructions isn’t of much help).

I suggested he setup an Excel spreadsheet and have his assistant type in all of his contacts (which are seriously scattered between several machines and webmail services like hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc.). She would then save the file as a CSV, which SmarterMail can import.

The key bit o’ info was that you can add a category to each contact in SmarterMail. After adding a category (“mail list”) to the desired contacts, it’s easy to select all of the contacts in a specific category when typing up a new email.

This took a bit of research, but is a prime example of one of the services I offer my clients. I take an existing situation and try to connect the dots – showing them how to take advantage of the technology they have, or offering some alternative methods (In this case, I listed MailChimp as an option). There is often a “cheaper than inexpensive” service online that you can use to accomplish something.

Check with me an ask about what I can do for you!

I have a client who called with some computer issues, and their situation serves as the inspiration for this entry.

This is a small business, with a couple of people in the office taking care of “just about everything”.

So, if you want to keep your office from working well, do these things:

1) Put the absolute minimum of RAM in your computers. (One machine has 260K for the OS – Windows2000). This will make your office personnel spend most of their time WAITING for their machines to do anything.

2) Never train them in anything. That way they won’t know anything about tools that will help them do their work – like Outlook, or web browsers, or….

3) Don’t share ANYTHING, even though they are on a network already. This way one person will have to wait until the other machine is open to get anything done.

4) Never backup anything. That way you’ll REALLY be hosed when (not if) a machine breaks down!

5) Don’t setup any standard communication lines – like a REAL email address based on the business’s domain. That way no one will know how to contact anyone – they’ll all be using yahoo, or hotmail, or…….

6) Don’t crosstrain – don’t let anyone know what anyone else is doing, especially in terms of websites, usernames, and passwords!

7) Don’t setup guest accounts on your machines – that way anyone who walks by can mess around with the machine.

So how is YOUR office doing? Need some help? Contact the MaconMacGuy for some mostly intelligent help!