What About RSS?

RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication.  It can give your business great exposure and visits back to your web site.  It is a traffic generator.

RSS lets subscribers know when something new is placed on your web site so that they can visit your site.  And generating traffic to your business web site is what you want, especially if you are selling online.

I will be soon placing RSS feeds on my site, and if time permits, I will have a "how to" section on doing RSS.

In the mean time, check out my other offerings at http://www.alphacomputer.ca .

Have a great weekend all.

Jeff

Using Twitter?

As a business, are you using Twitter? Say what?  Twitter.com is a web site where you can let your customers know what you are doing.  You can develop contacts who will follow you and your business.

I saw CNN last light using Twitter is get info on people's opinions about the Election.  If they are using it for business, maybe you should look at Twitter also.

I started to Twitter a couple of weeks ago and I have four followers already.  Followers are people who are following your updates to Twitter.  It does not take me long to make updates, and it gets my business name out farther into the Web.

Have a good first day of the week all.

Buying Office Supplies

Yesterday I headed off to Staples to buy office supplies.  For a moment I thought I was at an Obama rally, there where people every where.  I only needed a binder.  Kids are going back to school soon and the stores are going to be a bit busier than usual for the next little while.

Speaking of kids, I have two girls.  How things have changed!  What used to take ten minutes to get out the door, now takes two hours.  Getting to work on time now requires real planning on my part with lots of patience. My girls are great ...I am a parent of teenagers.  Can you identify with that?

Have a great weekend!

Alpha Computer

Overcoming Fear

One of the challenges that I have when training is overcoming fear in my participants.  Many people figure they are one click away from blowing up their computer.  Now I know this is not true, but perception is everything for the learner.

Creating comfort and several successes along the away will greatly increase future computer use and training.  Once a person feels comfortable, they will start exploring and learning on their own.  Hence, Alpha Computer is like booster cables - I get people started.

If you have employees who need training, focus on creating a level of comfort around the computer when helping them and let them experience a few victories.  Once they figure out that the basics of computer use are relatively easy, the rest will be history.

It's Monday, have a great week.

Protecting What You Create

I had a problem with a business stealing/copying one of my videos and using it on YouTube as their own.  They did not acknowledge the source of the video and this went well beyond fair use.  I looked the next day and YouTube appears to have pulled their video.

As a business, you need to protect your creations.  This means you will have to put your name and/or logo everywhere.  I use a alphacomputer.ca logo in all my videos, especially now since this happened.  A title slide alone will not do.

So when ever you create something, get your logo on it.  If some one does steal it, at least your logo will be seen and your business promoted, if but in a weird way. 

Have a great Sunday.

New Microsoft Word Training Videos On Web Site

Just added 4 new Microsoft Word Training videos and alphacomputer.ca web site.  Take a look and let me know what you think about them.  You can find them at http://www.alphacomputer.ca/Microsoft_Word_Training.htm .

Have a great day - weekends coming!

New Excel Videos On alphacomputer.ca Site

I just added new Microsoft Excel videos to my http://www.alphacomputer.ca web site.  One video gives an overview of what Microsoft Excel can do.  I plan to do some videos on Microsoft Word.  It has been real busy this Summer with all the training I have done. Check it out and send me some feedback.

Moving Laptop Computer

It is not a good idea to move your laptop computer while it is turned on and the hard drive is spinning.  If you have to move it any distance, (I am not talking inches), you should turn it off first.  Then turn it back on when you get to where you need to go.  This will avoid harm to your laptop hard drive. 

Solid state hard drives for laptops are coming which will be great.

TO find more info regarding computer tips, go to http://alphacomputer.ca/Alpha_Computer_Blog.htm

Are You Ready For Fall?

Summer is pretty much over as well as the Summer vacations.  It is time to get focused on this new season for business.  So what are you going to do?  What are you doing to improve yourself and your business?

Here's a thought: take a few moments before work,when it is quiet, and think about what you need to do and how you are going to do it.  If you do not plan your day, someone else will!

Continuous Learning For Business

Things in business change so quickly.  That's why as a business, you need to add some time for learning and keeping up with trends that are critical for your business.  Staying still, so to speak, is not an option.  So how do you find the time?

If you drive a lot, trying listening to a training CD.  Plan training times and protect them as best as possible so that other things do not crowd them out.  Plan to get together with someone who can challenge as well as inform you.  Plan to make it happen, and it will happen.  Hope it will happen, and you will be left standing still.

http://www.alphacomputer.ca/Alpha_Computer_Training.htm is my other training blog.

Cheers.

Password Protect Your Laptop

Make sure your put a password on your laptop computer.  If it is lost or stolen, it may help protect your data. 

I got a call from a girl last night asking how to get into a password protected laptop.  She had forgotten her password from three weeks ago.  The alarm bells went off for some reason.  I told her to take it to a repair shop.  At least the repair shop could really check to see if it was her laptop.

So save yourself some grief.  Put a password on your laptop.  Not sure your password is any good?  Check out Microsoft's password checker at: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx .

For more info on computer stuff, check out my web site at: http://www.alphacomputer.ca .