Category Archives: News

What are people saying?

How is Your Business Rated?

What Customers Say Can Affect you Business
Want to Find Out How Your Business Rated ? One of the oldest adages is ‘The Customer is always right.’ Is it still true in the context of todays’ social media? Lets take a look at the effect of what customers say can have on your online profile. Lets further look as to how this can have an effect on your business.
When chatting with your customers, it goes without saying to listen to what they have to tell you. If they are raving about your service or product the it is the right time to simply tell them you are on YELP, Google +, and TripAdvisor. They already know what to do! You don’t have to ask and some of the fine print in the social websites discourages fishing for ratings.  So, encouraging them to rate your business on YELP.com,  TripAdvisor.com,  UrbanSpoon.comFourSquare.com,  Google PLus and Google.com is really not necessary.  When you ask customers directly about how you are doing, or did, be prepared for feedback. there are always some customers who Continue reading

GIMP – Photoshop for FREE! Even Better!

GIMP - Photoshop for FREE

Wilber The GIMP Mascot

GIMP – Graphic Image Manipulation Program is the open source equivalent of Photoshop for Free. For most people GIMP can do everything, and I mean everything you need. From photo re-sizing, re-sampling, changing colors, removing red eye, cropping, layering, making collages, converting from one type to another, and so much more. With all those options available it can be a bit overwhelming, however driving the space shuttle would also be overwhelming. So, target whatever you want to do and learn a few controls and features at a time. As with any good software, a bit of training can go a long way. The people who say “I will play with it and figure it out” will have varied degrees of success. For best results I recommend training, with someone who knows GIMP, with the GIMP site and GIMP Quickies, or YOUTUBE training videos.

So what are the cons you ask? Continue reading

LinkedIn – A Key to Your Digital Footprint

Your Digital Footprint is key to being found on the internet. You LinkedIn profile is foundational to Your Digital Footprint. In an Interview at Cherent Ranch Studio, Charley Carlin give some of the whys about LinkedIn, including why you want, whether you know it or not, a visible digital footprint through LinkedIn.

Your Digital Footprint


 

Social Media 101 – Part 1 – The Buzz

Social Media Beginnings – Where to Start

Social Media Beginnings - Where to Start?

Social Media Beginnings – Where to Start?

Social Media Beginnings, The Question is what is it? Where do I start? It is the Buzz of this year (and probably several years) is the phrase Social Media. Everyone is an expert. Speakers everywhere are casting their nets to rake in clients. Webinars promise the answer. Social Media secrets are being revealed by executives and movement leaders everywhere. Each guru has their set of ‘secrets.’ The desire to find the magic bullet can be so intense that the research can go on and on and on. The list of things to do, sites to register, pages to write, search engine optimization tricks, branding , site metrics, return on investment, and a hundred more items seem to be beckoning to consume every minute of your day. What is one to do? Continue reading

Social Media Beginnings – Step ZERO

Social Media Beginnings for All

Social Media Beginnings

With the catchphrase of Social Media circulating wildly about, I find definitions vary all over the map. Rather than tie anything down and take anyone on about the best definition I like to think of Social Media as communication. Communication with friends, prospects, customers, clients, vendors, suppliers and family. Social Media has been around for thousands of years, just under a few different names. Sitting around the campfire, people would tell stories about what was important to them. Whether it was their family, the local hunting grounds, the weather or the encounters of the day it was Social and it was Communication. Moving forward often travelers were a source of stories and communications from far away places that most would never visit. Social Media in another era is the newspapers that were inhaled from front to back to see what else might be happening it the town and far away places.  Move to another era and the radio was a key source of the communications about happenings and prospects for the future. Magazines, newspapers, television, satellite, and internet now bombard many with so much communications that people are overwhelmed and even freaked out by the volume and the constant pinging. So what is one to do?
Work on the basics first. As simple as that statement sounds over and over again I encounter people ignoring the basics.
Announce your intentions. Tell everyone you know, encounter, run into, or do business with of your intentions. For the small business this is so critical, especially since your customers may be only in your town, or neighborhood, depending upon your business.
Simple Encounter One:
I tell of one fellow who upon simply telling his facebook friends a tiny bit (a single posting) about his business to be sure they all knew. Well he had been a bit slow on business, when a small flood of requests for work poured in. He got several comments – ‘I did not know you did that’ – concerning his service. Note this was an auto detailer. Since that initial single posting, He has had a nice increase in business. Oh was that simple and easy. Looking for a piece of instant upgrade and no cost. That one is hard to beat.
Simple Encounter Two:
 While I was working with an insurance salesman who was desiring more business and he knew he needed this ‘Social Media’ thing and he wanted work done upon his facebook and twitter accounts. He had set up accounts over a year before, and they have only languished. I had encountered him before and asked if he had my card. He said yes and started looking through a giant pile of business cards. Are those leads I asked? Yes they are he replied. I said call them all first and add them to you address book properly grouped and get back to me if you still need help.
Woman-with-a-Broom-100xAn old Russian proverb is:
If you want a clean world, clean your own doorstep.
To translate this into social media lingo, clean up your connections, tell people you are in business and follow up with all your leads first, meanwhile lets start to build your digital footprint. See you in our next posting on Starting Your Social Media Profile.
As Always,
Charley Carlin

Charley Carlin

Charley Carlin


About the Author:

As Social Media Guide empowering others on the Internet is a passion. Charley lives in beautiful San Luis Obispo County on the central coast of California. Charley is regularly seen every December in a full red suit and hat.  Clear Thought, Clear Vision, and Consistent Action are his mantra. He and his wife, Anet,  travel the southwest extensively.

Beware – Microsoft is NOT Calling You!

Virus Scam Alert

Virus Scam Microsoft is not calling

Beware of the Scam Calls that come in telling you that they are from Microsoft and your computer is either infected, or about to crash. They have a story that tells you about how they are Microsoft and your computer has come up on their screens and blah blah blah. This is a complete and total scam. So please listen up.

Continue reading

Linkedin – One Million Connections!

Linkedin-logoImagine … everyone wants a million connections, a million friends, and a million a month flowing in effortlessly. Many search for the magic bullet, secret tip, little know tidbit of knowledge, ultimate marketing plan that will overnight skyrocket them into the number one position on the internet. Fame and fortune can be yours, says the ad, just click here and give us your credit card and we will turn you into an instant success. Just follow our simple directions.

Have any of you ever heard any of these claims? Continue reading

Why Use Linkedin ?

Who needs Linkedin?

Linkedin – Who Needs it and why?

Why Use LinkedIn ? This is a question that is asked quite often. Some believe that LinkedIn is only for those looking for a job. Often people think they are too busy to take the time to create a good profile. On and on excuses go and why argue. Everyone gets to make their own choices. So lets take a look and why utilization of LinkedIn is such a valuable tool for today’s business people. Whether you are fully employed, secure and happy with your job, or a job seeker LinkedIn can help you. Whether you are an independent consultant,  a Realtor, a plumber, a programmer, a health care professional, an actor or a recent graduate, LinkedIn is a tool to help further your career and those to whom you are connected.

In today’s world it is not uncommon to look up or Google someone to see what Continue reading

Why Use Yelp?

Why Use YELP? - The Urban Guide

Why Use Yelp?

Why Use Yelp ?

Why Use YELP ?  you might ask as many have. Lets watch YELP as it enables you to share your insights so others will have an inside guide to places to visit and even places to not visit. My wife and I have used YELP all across the nation and have had stellar results in locating wonderful restaurants, parks, monuments, museums, and more. Often locating places we might never have known about, or even considered. This is a really wonderful experience. Sharing our experiences on YELP gives some of our experience to others.

What is YELP?

YELP is an online urban city guide that allows people express their opinions about businesses and share those opinions with the world. Many use YELP to locate great restaurants or businesses based upon the reviews of others. Everyone can participate in sharing their knowledge about businesses, places, and locations where they have experiences.

Why Use Yelp ?

It is more than a good idea, it is a life enhancing reference to help make decisions the simply increase the quantity and quality of life’s adventures.

YELP.com is rated as the 137th busiest site in the world and the 30th busiest site in the United States. YELP Shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

from the Mission in San Juan Capistrano Gardens

What is Open Source?

In brief, open source software is software which meets the following criteria:

  1. Unrestricted redistribution. Open source software can be redistributed either for free or at a profit.
  2. Source code. The source code (i.e. “blueprints”) for the software must be made available.
  3. Derived works. The source code can be used to produce derived works.

For the complete details of what open source is, please refer to the open source definition as provided by the Open Source Initiative (OSI):http://www.opensource.org
OpenOffice.org is OSI-approved as conforming to the open source definition.

Thanks
Charley Carlin

Open Source Software

Open Source

As software has been a sizable investment for many companies it is quite important that we address the open source software programs and their capabilities. Imagine being able to do all things required to run your home or business. Well you don’t have to imagine  for long as the software is here and available now. The savings per PC are nice however, when you multiply the savings throughout an office the savings are huge.

Open Source Programs and Open License Software


Recommended by The Web Game

  • WordPress – for creating websites
  • Open Office – for word processing – spreadsheets – presetnations – data bases
  • Gimp – for photo manipulation
  • Filezilla – for FTP (File transfer Protocol)
  • Android – for cell phones and tablets
  • Audacity – for audio manipulation
  • CutePDF – for creation of PDF documents
  • VLC – for playing movies and media

This list is always under update and is part of our support for Open Source which delivers wonderful function software for all applications without the cost of licensing.

As Always, Charley

What is WordPress?

WordPressWordPress can be anything you want it to be. This may seem like an odd statement, but as you look at WordPress sites around the world you can easily see that WordPress can be anything from a very advanced complex site to a basic blog, with all flavors in between. One of the big keys here is that you can have a WordPress site and begin posting information almost immediately  and the site can grow as you do! WordPress is part of an Open Source  Initiative software to build maintain and update websites. it is used by millions worldwide. WordPress powers, at last count, over 15% of the world’s websites. The software is free and open source and was first developed by Matthew Charles “Matt” Mullenweg.
As Always, Charley