I am not often the most organized of people. I access the internet from several different locations on several different systems. I do quite a bit of reading and research online and I’m forever finding articles, blogs, and information that I want to keep. With SpringPad, I can organize all of that information and have it at the touch of my fingertips no matter where I’m at.

I downloaded the springpad app to my phone, and I have it added to my tool bar at home and at work.

• I have a notebook for recipes that I find online.
• I have a work notebook for all of my SEO, Website development information.
• I also have a gift idea section for Christmas and birthdays.
• You could have a list of movies you want to see or a section for books that you want to read.
• What about a list of house renovations and companies that provide the services you are looking for?
• Takeout menus for restaurants nearby.
• It makes weekly meal planning a breeze.
• My idea garden. While I’m anxiously waiting for Mothers Day to start planting, I’m blissfully organizing and planning what I want to plant and where to purchase the plants I’m looking for.

There are so many things that you need to keep track of every day. It can be a bit overwhelming. But with SpringPad, I keep everything together and organized. I have consolidated my digital life into one service.

If Evernote is a super advanced filing cabinet, then Springpad is a super advanced personal assistant. SpringPad captures things and organizes them for later; it also figures out what you’re saving and tries to put it into context to help you use it. If you add a specific product to Springpad (say, an iPad 3), Springpad will provide a link to buy it on Amazon, a link to CNET’s review of the product, and a price comparison tool that checks a number of other outlets.

Springpad supports note-taking, task syncing, and web clipping all in one package. SpringPad also supports checklists. Then there is the to-do list and events that you can sync with your Google Calendar. You can set up alerts for pretty much anything.

So take a look. Try SpringPad. It will organize your digital life.

Foodie’s can post all of their favorite recipes or find amazing new recipes to try. Not to mention all of the great links to recipe blogs. Crafters can share ideas, and find a plethora of DIY projects.

Are you planning to remodel or need inspiration for decorating your home? Pinterest has amazing home decorating ideas. While on Pinterest, I found a website that has decorating, remodeling, design and gardening ideas. http://www.houzz.com/ is now one of my favorite sites to visit.

Fashionistas can find new wardrobe and accessory ideas. Not to mention all the latest new beauty products.

How To Guide for PINTEREST

1. Request an invite. You can sign up and request an invite from Pinterest. But it does take some time. If you want an invite, feel free to send me a post or email me.

2. Set up an account. I recommend signing in using your Facebook or Twitter account.

3. Find your Friends on Pinterest. It truly matters who you friend on Pinterest. Because their likes and pins will show up when you log in. So finding people who have similar interests is extremely beneficial.

4. Create your Pin Boards. This is like making a bulletin board of everything you like. Make sure your boards are relevant to the subject or title. The titles should be descriptive so others understand the subject matter.

5. Start Pinning. You can repin pins that others have posted or you can create your own pins. One of the easiest ways to create your own pins is to download Pinterest bookmarklet to your tool bar and while you are on a site where you want to pin something, you just click on the pin it button in the tool bar and then select the picture you want to pin, then select which board you want to pin it to and put relevant information in the text area describing your pin and post.

Good luck and Happy Pinning!

Have you gotten on board the QR Train? Qr codes or Quick Response codes are those black and white boxes that are popping up everywhere from department store windows, cereal boxes, even on the back of work vans or semi truck trailers. QR Codes are an electronically encoded link to information. Everyone is using a smart phone these days. These QR Codes enable smart phone users to link to information via the camera on their smartphone.

First you need a QR Reader application downloaded to your phone. I actually use an app called Barcode Scanner.

Once the app is installed, you open the application and point the camera towards the barcode or QR code and the application will direct you to the website or electronic information encoded in the barcode.

Ideas for Using QR Codes in your Business

1. QR Codes can offer your customers coupons. You have also made it point and click simple to get your customers to your website. No hassle of texting in the url, just point and click and the application will take you to the website.

2. Another use for QR codes wold be to put your contact information into a QR code and have it printed on your business cards. Then point and click and your customers instantly have all of your contact information added to their phone.

3. I’ve recently made QR codes for a company to put on their printed collateral and brochures for conventions/seminars, so people visiting their booth can instantly view the company website.

4. It would also be beneficial to take people to a landing page to sign up for special products, coupons or promotions. The customer got something of value, and you gathered their customer information for further marketing.

5. You could share an e-book, or link to a facebook “like” button.

6. You could put a QR code on your product packaging or materials.

7. A Restaurant owner could use a QR code in the window of their restaurant that links to the menu.

8. You could offer directions to your business.

9. Customer feedback forms or a poll.

10. Your QR code could link to installation instructions or link to re-order parts.

11. Airlines are using them on their boarding pass, you could use them on tickets for admission to an event.

12. My favorite use is in department store windows. The link in the code takes you to a page where you can order everything that the mannequin in the window is wearing. How cool is that?

The possibilities are endless. Are you ready to try it out? All you need is a QR Code Generator and it’s free! The QR code Generator I prefer is GOQR.me It’s easy to use, gives you text, url, business card options, along with size and pixel options. Give it a try. I would love to hear your ideas for QR code use.

Simply Steph @ Google+

2. Have you heard of schema? Schema.org is getting more and more recognition.  Google, Yahoo and Bing announced they would all start recognizing this microdata format.  When readers read the information on your website, they comprehend and understand what they are reading, but the bots and crawlers don’t.   The main function of schema is to define the data on your website for the web crawlers.  It tells them this is an address, this is a product being sold, and this is a recipe.  See Schema’s full hierarchy of schemas at http://schema.org/docs/full.html.

3. Are you HTML 5 compliant?  HTML 5 is easy to implement.  The doc type:  <!doctype html> and the character set is  <meta charset=”UTF-8″>.  For additional information see: http://webdesign.about.com/od/html5/a/html_5_whats_new.htm

4. Is your website mobile compatible?  Is it hard to navigate on your cell phone?  Is it hard to read? I highly recommend having a mobile version of your website.  This last quarter there were more smartphones sold than PCs. More and more people are accessing the internet via their phone and your website needs to be functional and appealing to those mobile users.  If it’s too difficult to read or navigate, or if it’s simply not appealing, your potential customers will find somewhere else to shop.

5. Social Media –Make sure you have a Facebook company page, a twitter account, make sure your company and personal information are on linked in.  Social media is the new pc revolution and if you aren’t on board you will be left behind.  Google+ also has some valuable real estate.  All of which affects your company’s marketing campaign and your SEO.  Want some free advertising?  Use your company’s target specific white papers, fact sheets, etc to market to specific groups on linked in.  Best of all, it’s free.

6. Pay close attention to your page titles.  Make sure your key words are in the title of the page.  Preferably in the first few words.  Be specific.

7. Make sure you have relevant content above the fold.  Above the fold is the term used to describe the view of the website when it opens.  Below the fold is the content on the page that you have to scroll down to see.  It’s like a newspaper.  One of Google’s new algorithm changes made in January 2012 was to give high relevance to content above the fold.  If there are a bunch of ads up top and little content you will get dinged and dropped in rankings by Google.

8. Check your site with Woorank found in Google Chrome.  They rank your website and give you many suggestions to improve your site.

9. Make sure you have high keyword relevancy and density in your website.  Especially in your h1, h2, h3 tags.

10. Look for broken links with Xenu’s link sleuth. Download Xenu, it’s free. Open xenu and click on file.  Type in your website URL  and then click ok.  Scroll through the list and if it says it’s broken, right click on the line and it will tell you where the link is and what the link says so you can find and correct the problem.

Simply Steph @ Google+

Pirate's Treasure Map

Geocaching is essentially going on a treasure hunt.   As a little kid, who didn’t want to follow a treasure map?  The difference is that you get to use cool tech gadgets to find the X and sometimes you have to solve some clues or decipher a code here and there in order to find the “treasure”.  As an added bonus, sometimes the locations are often in a beautiful location with a scenic view, or some have some historical significance.  So you are not only out of the house, getting exercise, exploring a new area, but you get to experience beautiful scenery and perhaps learn some history along the way.

To begin this adventure, you have to sign up on the official website (for free) at http://www.geocaching.com.

Once you sign up, you can look up cache sites by address, postal code, state or country.  Yes I said country. They are doing this all over the world!  I live in a very rural area so I didn’t think there would be anything close to me.  But as it turns out, I have a cache site less than a mile away and 11 within five miles of my house.  My kids and I drove to Tennessee for a short vacation with family and there was a cache within 500 ft of our hotel.  They are literally everywhere.

What do you need to go geocaching? It does take one piece of equipment, a GPS device.  I use my Droid Evo.  It actually has a geocaching app and I’m pretty sure that most other smart phones do as well.  So if you have a Smartphone with a data plan you are already set.   It’s also helpful to have a pen or pencil with you.

A cache is usually an airtight container with a log book inside of it that you sign to say you found the cache.  Some of them have little treasures.  The rule is if you take something out, you must replace it with something of equal or greater value.

After you find the cache, don’t forget to either sign in online or via your phone app and comment on the cache.  Many people just type TFTC which is geo speak for Thanks for the cache.  To find translations and learn all you need to know about geocaching, make sure to read the Guide after you sign up.

A few notes:

1.  Some caches are in public areas and in order to protect the cache you have to use a bit of stealth.

2.  If you are looking for a geocache and there is a hint that seems to be encoded, the key is this:

The key to unlock the geocache code

3.  A waypoint is a reference point for a physical location on Earth. Waypoints are defined by a set of coordinates: longitude, latitude and sometimes altitude.  Every geocache listed on the website is a waypoint.

4.  There are several different kinds of caches.  Look online to figure out which type of cache you want to look for.   There are also different difficulty and terrain levels.

5.  Consider the weather and dress accordingly, take bug spray and last but not least watch out for poison Ivy!   (I’m a mom, I have to add these warnings.  I just can’t help myself.)

Enjoy and happy hunting!

© Steph Hooper and Aspen-Studio 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Steph Hooper] and [Aspen-Studio] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Simply Steph @ Google+

Automatic geo tagging can happen on smart phones because it is enabled by default or people just don’t know that they have the option. So unfortunately, people often share a great deal more information about their location than they mean to.  Did you proudly post a picture of that new car?  Now people know exactly where to go to steal it.  Are you an attractive young woman posting pictures of her daily routine?  A stalker now knows the path you take to work and home again.  Have you been taking photos of your younger children at home, at school etc?  A child molester knows where to find your children to the extreme of even knowing what park you frequent, what playground or city pool.

The simple way to turn this option off was to go to camera settings and turn off geo tag photos.

I opened the application, clicked the menu button then settings and scrolled down to geo tag photos and unchecked the box.  That was for my droid evo.

If you have a different kind of smart phone, there is a list of how to disable geo tag settings found on this website:  http://icanstalku.com/how.php

Be safe, be smart and protect your children.

© Steph Hooper and Aspen-Studio 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Steph Hooper] and [Aspen-Studio] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 
Simply Steph @ Google+

Branding so Consumers Remember You

Have you noticed that many music artists are singing their own name in their lyrics? Branding has become such an important aspect in today’s consumer market that even music artists are utilizing it. You may find it a bit  irritating, but I bet you remember who sings the song.  A brand is basically the perceived experience associated with any entity.  The goal is to make that perceived experience a positive one.   When a brand appeals to the consumer’s experiences, emotions, or values, it creates a connection between consumers and the brand.

Brand names must be meaningful and memorable in a positive relevant sense.  The creative aspect of a brand design or logo must be of good quality, but the creative element is not everything. Sometimes the best solution is the simplest one, because customers understand it. Always ask yourself this question. Will people understand this brand or logo communication? Will it be meaningful to my target audience, and does it truly fit with what I’m trying to do in my business?

Brand marketing is what propels your business into the public consciousness. Brand marketing is basically a formula.  Start examining brand marketing strategies.  What are the objectives that you hope to achieve with your brand? Once you determine your brand strategy and objective, fine-tune your business model and business practices, to reflect that brand.  A strong brand is invaluable as companies compete for the same customers. It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all, your brand is the source of a promise to your customer.

© Steph Hooper and Aspen-Studio 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Steph Hooper] and [Aspen-Studio] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 
Simply Steph @ Google+

My Favorite FTP Client

For those of you who work with websites, you know how time consuming it can be to make changes to your websites.  I was using the FTP client that was associated with the hosting client and it would take 10 minutes to log in and get the ftp client loaded.  If I needed to make several changes, the hosting client would time out and I would need to log back in.  It was crazy and such a wast of time.  I also didn’t want to utilize something that would require extensive technical skill just to set up.

I recently came across FIREFTP and I just can’t say enough great things about this FTP Client.  If you use Mozilla FireFox as your browser than this is the ftp client for you.  First of all, you need FireFox to run Fire-FTP. It’s used as an extension to the FireFox browser.

To install Fire FTP, go to http://fireftp.mozdev.org and click on the ‘Download FireFTP’ link on the main page.

Let the page finish loading in order to click the Install link. FireFox might display a thin yellow bar at the top saying that it has blocked installation – you will need to click on the button on the far right to add Fire FTP to your “white list” of sites that you approve of.

Once you have installed Fire Ftp, then under the accounts menu, select “Create an account…”

Go to the “Host” field and enter in the name of the server you wish to connect to.

After that’s done, if you wish to log on anonymously, check the Anonymous box. However, most times you will need to enter your login and password as well so enter those in the appropriate fields.

Click Ok to save the account information and to close the dialog.

Finally, click the “Connect” button to make the connection to your site.

Once you’ve connected,  the local files are on your left and the remote files are on your right. You can click on a local file and press the arrow pointing to the right to upload a file to the server.
You can also click on a file on the right side and press the arrow pointing to the left to download a file from the server to your computer.

What I love about this FTP client is that it’s fast, easy and it allows me to keep several different website’s ftp information available so no matter which website I’m uploading new files to it’s all just a click away.

© Steph Hooper and Aspen-Studio 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Steph Hooper] and [Aspen-Studio] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Simply Steph @ Google+