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I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me

You may have seen all the recent TV ads for PC optimization and making your computer faster. While I would never purchase the services of these “Johnny Come Latelys” (because I don’t think their online scans are much more than a fear-based sales tool), they prosper because spyware is one of the fastest-growing internet threats. Read more

Off The Grid: Surviving Without a Smartphone

I can’t help but grin (just a little) when I see Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs hold a press conference to defend the ‘magical’ iPhone 4, which has been plagued by reception issues when gripped a certain way. This, on top of the naturally minimal coverage of ATT’s 3G network have only added to my aversion to the iPhone.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Apple - kinda. Last December, I invested in a MacBook Pro - which I’m still trying to learn how to use. It’s not as easy to ‘Switch to Mac’ as they’d have you believe. Still lovin’ my iPod, though. Read more

Why you need Facebook Ads

If you are planning to start a business, you need to know that although the internet may potentially generate sales for you, it doesn’t mean that you will be able to achieve success immediately. As with any business, you still need to work on marketing. If you want to become successful, you need to market it on the web. Read more

Here’s a Quick Way to Backup your Website in 10 Minutes

If you weren’t paying attention, you may have missed it. Did I say “Back Up Your Website?” Yep. Bet you really never think about that, do you? I mean, the hosting guys do that automatically, don’t they?

Read more

Replay Telecorder for Skype – a Must-Have SKYPE extension

For the past three years, I’ve recommended using SKYPE, a voice over Internet protocol service as an alternative to Ma Bell.  For the most part this has worked very well for me with the exception of a few missed calls or poor quality calls during Internet outages. Read more

PodCamp 2010

I made my annual pilgrimage to “PodCamp Nashville” this past Saturday. This is one of two big “New Media” events I really look forward to, because New Media - meaning blogging, podcasting, and web video is still in its infancy Read more

Business Branding Online

Business branding online is similar and yet different from typical marketing strategies. Therefore, a unique approach is required for this method of promoting your business brand. One of the benefits of using web tools Read more

Online Fundraising - What’s the Deal?

The nature of the Internet as a far-reaching tool lures many non-profit organizations to do online fundraising. Almost instantly, many charitable organizations Read more

Steganograpy - A picture hides 1000 words

For the “James Bond” in you - or perhaps just catering to your sneaky side, let’s talk about a fun way to encode and decode messages - or maybe important information you don’t want just anyone to see. Read more

Online Marketing - Are you a ‘Good Guy’?

Online Marketing strategies fall into two main arenas, one called ‘white hat’, the other ‘black hat’. As the names imply, the white hat crowd are known to Read more

What is Search Engine Optimization?

A lot of businesses, both online and off are relying on the internet to Read more

Tech Gifts

For the ladies….

Need a little extra room in your closet?  How about dumping some of those shoes?  No, I didn’t think so.  But here’s a way you can shrink the footprint of your pump collection.  Read more

Gone Phishing

In recent years, social networking sites have grown enormously popular, their features becoming invaluable parts of many lives. While these benefits have been enormous in the areas of keeping us connected, they also serve as fertile ground for criminals eager to take advantage of those same connections. Read more

Radiation from Your Crackberry?

If you’re as old as I am, you may remember a time when cellular phones were not quite as common as they are today.   You know, back when they were huge bag phones that you carried around in your purse, coat pocket, or just kept in your car. Carrying and using your phone out of state was really out of the question because

Read more

Save a Tree, Read an E-book

With increasing concern for the environment and a desire to save money, reading e-books instead of their bound and print counterparts is becoming a hot trend. While many people still use traditional books to read, there are a lot of people who prefer the digital format for various reasons. Read more

Windows 7 Tips

With the official announcement of the Windows 7 release, many people are wondering how easy the upgrade process will be.  Here are some tips to help make the upgrade from Windows XP or Windows Vista to Windows 7 virtually painless. Read more

How To Take Advantage of Real Time Search

“Real-time searches”?   A real-time search engine will help you see what people are talking about “right now” on sites like Twitter. If you want to make sure your site pops on these searches, you’ve got to “get in the now,” so to speak. Doing so is going to make your website a lot more popular and get you a lot more traffic — which in turn makes you more visible and will bring in more customers, too. Read more

The Business of Social Media

Who says social media is just social? More and more businesses and corporations are using social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and others as a viable means of promoting their interests. Read more

US Intensifies Cybersecurity Initiative

President Barack Obama has announced the establishment of a top-level government office in the White House to handle specific cybersecurity functions and initiatives. The announcement of the new post is apparently aimed at protecting the country’s information networks and infrastructure. Read more

Shameful Email Scams

They come on a fairly regular basis, but now - with people (and businesses) scrambling to make their dollar go just a bit farther - they’re here with a vengeance. Yes, the low-life pond scum who prey on the unsuspecting - the email con-artists. Read more

Have a Business? Don’t Do This to Your Email Signature!

If you send out email, you may be aware of the power of your email signature. A lot of business owners, (even if it’s just a side-job) use their email signature (a feature in most email applications) to show their contact information, which can save them the effort of having to type it manually into every single email.

Some business owners also use their email signature to post information about their offerings, or to advertise big discounts or sales that their customers might want to hear about or be updated on.

An email signature acts as an identifier, and if used well, it can be a great way for you to post information about yourself and get a lot of people to visit your website. However, you can also overestimate the power of this email signature, and if you do not make your email signature carefully and with your audience in mind, then no one will visit your website. If you are interested in promoting your website through a great email signature, then here are a few tips that you may want to take into account when knowing what not to do.

- Be considerate of people who have to work with slow Internet connections: avoid placing multimedia files in your email signature.

Some email software will allow you to place photos and videos in your email signature. If you are working with people who have fast Internet connections, these files can load properly and quickly. But if you are working with people who are still using dial-up Internet, then you put off email recipients, making them endure a long wait - or worse - your information is blocked altogether.  Save them this trouble by keeping your email signature to a text-only format.

- Don’t overload on the text, either. You may be tempted to put in paragraphs and paragraphs of text, with smilies and other emoticons that you think will make your signature look ‘cute.’

- Don’t just hyperlink: type your website address. Some website owners will often put the words ‘click here’ and hyperlink it to the website. This may not show up when email readers select a ‘text only’ option when reading their emails. Keep your website address readable.

- You don’t have to overload on text formatting in order to make your email signature nice to look at and appealing. Stay simple, and avoid colors. Again, if you have email readers who have the ‘text only’ option on, all your colors and formats will be gone.

- Stay with three lines of text, and avoid going for more than this. Think of the compactness of a dog tag: dog’s name on one line, owner’s name on the next, and then contact information on the last line.

About the Author:

Ken Ivey, aka “the Web Czar” - is a veteran technology addict, consultant, and President of MidTN Technology, a Murfreesboro web design and marketing firm.  His website is www.kenivey.com

Facebook: An Effective Tool to Increase Your Sales

Today, the internet is one of the most popular places for businesses to advertise in. Virtually every website has some form of advertising. This is called internet marketing.

If you have a business and want to effectively market your products or services, you will see that the internet can be one huge bulletin board that you can advertise in. Here, you will be able to virtually advertise anything and it is open for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Read more

Technology, Twitter, and Twisters

Good Friday was a very challenging day for Murfreesboro, and we’ll all remember it for some time to come.  The devastating power of an F4 tornado that ripped through several neighborhoods, forever changing (literally) the landscape. The rapid and effective response of the Emergency Services. The outpouring of community support. Yes, the events of Good Friday are now indelibly etched in Murfreesboro’s history. Read more

Earn Cash with Affiliate Marketing

Tired of the rat race, or just need a little extra coin?  Whatever your reason may be, affiliate marketing can be a viable path to follow. Read more

What You Need to Know About Online Coupon Codes

If you have ever bought groceries or read magazines, chances are that you have encountered at least one discount coupon in your life. With the advent of online shopping, this remarkable way to save money on purchases has also gotten an upgrade in the form of coupon codes. Read more

Time Management Tools

While technology is at its most advanced state today, there remains to be a lot of things for us to juggle. For most family-oriented people, there is the burden of juggling work, career, family and other factors involved in one’s social life.

Successful people are often asked about what their secret to success is. And more often than not, they have the same response, and that is ‘time management’. (I suspect it’s really Money management). Although this is almost an expected response, many are still baffled at how time management really works.

Time management is simply the proper allocation of time for certain priorities. First, the priorities have to be arranged in a certain way where it is clustered into sectors and listed according to urgency and importance. For example, the important parts of your life might be family, career, your home, your art, and your hobbies. Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits” book series is a great place for prioritization help.

After that, you will need help from some time management tools designed to aid you in the correct process of prioritization AND remembering that order.

Quick-and-Easy Reminders

There are people who need lots of reminders when it comes to taking care of business. For the tech-minded, your computer probably has a reminder system - properly set up, it can alert you of impending commitments - if you don’t NEED a reminder to SET the reminder. (Happens to me a lot). Cell phones have built-in organizers, and I remember the day when my Casio watch kept me on-time with multiple alarms! For the ‘Old School’ crowd, post-its are available in different variants, and even the good old refrigerator door magnets have come in a lot of forms.

What is important is that the frequency of the reminding is now being increased. I’m currently reading a book titled “Margin - Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives” by Dr. Richard Swenson. He explains that ‘Progress’ is always giving us “More and more of everything; faster and faster.” To counteract this, we must learn to say no to some things. For the rest, we can utilize technology to properly channel our activities.

For tasks, even tasks you share among family or team members, visit www.rememberthemilk.com. It’s like a task list on steroids. It’s easy, and can be used online or offline. Your tasks can even by synced on your iPhone.

David Allen of www.davidco.com created “GTD, or Getting Things Done” which is a methodology that has developed a cult-like following. His system can be implemented in various ways on your tech devices; but many also use a paper version adapted to index cards. It reminds me of the good ‘ole days when a Reporter carried a long notebook instead of a BlackBerry. This index card system has an infinite battery life and is never offline or out of range, unlike my “Smart” phone.

About the Author:
Ken Ivey, aka “the Web Czar” - is a veteran technology addict, consultant, and President of MidTN Technology, a Murfreesboro web design and marketing firm. His website is www.kenivey.com

How to Start a Home Based Virtual Assistant Business

With job layoffs in the news, I thought it was time for some advice about how to launch a practical home-based business that isn’t a scam, is in high demand, and doesn’t cost a fortune to start. Read more

An online degree - Pros and cons

Online degrees are all the rage right now. Before, the only courses available over the internet were those that were either computer-related or those that were vocational or technical in nature; now there are many different kinds of courses that are patterned after university courses. Read more

Accepting Credit Cards: How This Can Help Your Small Business Grow

For a lot of people who are just starting to launch a small business venture, it may seem quite intimidating to start accepting credit cards as a means of payment from customers right away. After all, it takes a lot of hard work to have your company certified for merchant status from a number of banks to be able to accept credit payments. Read more

Social Networking and Pets

Chances are you’re already a member of a social networking site like MySpace or Facebook. Aside from humans, did you know that your pet can also have their own profile?

Read more

Mind Mapping Software

In today’s modern world, the need for almost all kinds of software is greatly in demand, including mind mapping software. The software used for mind mapping is quite important especially in project planning, brainstorming, creative writing, and business processes. Read more

Considering a Career in Computer Programming?

Computer programming is one of the most important and exciting careers today.  It is also a field that offers plenty of job opportunities for graduates.  It’s one of the best fields of endeavor for people who love technology and are willing to try out new things. Read more

Smartphone Shoot-Out – G1 vs iPhone

Smartphones are mobile phones with all the technological bells and whistles.  These phones come complete with operating system software comparable to the average PC Read more

Solid State Drives - Are They Worth Upgrading?

If you’ve shopped for a laptop computer anytime recently, you may have seen solid state “hard drives”, one of the newest innovations in computer information storage. However, there’s not a lot of basic information on these drives immediately available. So, how do they compare to older technology in cost, speed, durability, size, and other important factors? Read more

Family Photo Fun Online

Are you looking for a great way that you can have fun with the whole family?  Well, you may want to check some of the great websites out there that allow you to have some family photo fun online. There are so many different options available that you are sure to avoid boredom and everyone can get involved! Read more

Ultra-Mobile Computing - From Your Keychain

USB flash drive computing is one of the most rapidly emerging and growing personal computer technologies out there today. Being portable with your computer power has never been easier or more secure. The USB flash drive is small, very light, and able to download-upload-store an unbelievable amount of information for its minuscule physical dimensions.

Read more

2009 Could Rock Your Search

There has recently been some buzz about what Google has in store next year. According to Bruce Clay, a well known search analyst, very soon you will see that “ranking is dead”.   Ranking is the position a website holds on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) when you type in a search request in Google, or other search engines.  Those web pages with higher rank typically get visited more - so ranking is pretty important to those who depend on web traffic for their business’ livelihood.

Read more

How to Find Old Friends on the Internet

If you have fond memories of someone and you want to talk again, or if you simply want to see how they are and what they have done over the years, you will find that the internet is a great resource.  Whether they are old friends, old classmates or even old army buddies, you will find that you can use the internet to track them down.   Read more

Technology and the Perfect Thanksgiving Dinner

The autumn season brings football, colorful leaves, crisp, cool weather and wonderful holidays. One of the favorite times of years for many families is Thanksgiving and being a participant in a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Read more

Voting Technology in America

By the time you read this, the US Presidential Election will have happened.  Thank God!  I’ve had enough of the political wrangling –McCain this, and Obama that.  Leave me alone already!

Read more

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