Every now and then I come across a tool or program that goes way beyond cool. The program that I’m about to tell you about is such a program. In fact it is completely off the coolness charts.
Actually, I’ve heard about this one for some time, but I just never got around to taking a look at it। Jott.com is a service that allows you to make a call from any phone and send a note to either yourself or somebody that you have set up a your Jott network. It converts your speech into text and sends I dare you or the recipient an e-mail message with an optional text message reminder. You can set the date and time that the text message will be sent to you or the recipient. How convenient is that?
If you are anything like me, you are tasked with an impossible number of things to do every day। Even though I take notes, voice mail, and e-mail myself, occasionally something falls through the cracks. To make matters worse, it is likely to be something important. Jott.com really comes in handy. If I am driving in my car, I can make a quick call ( I have it on speed dial) to Jott.com and send myself ( or someone else) a reminder for whatever it is that needs to be remembered.
It really could not be any easier। Once I have made the call to Jott.com an automated voice asks me; “What would you like to Jott?” Then, I simply say the name of the person ( including myself) that I would like to e-mail. And I simply wait for the automated voice to prompt me to begin my message. When the time is up the automated voice repeats the information to ensure that is correct and then asks me if I want to leave another Jott.
Of course, with any speech recognition program you have to leave some margin for error। In other words don’t expect to write the great American novel while you’re driving down the road. However, Jott.com is likely to approve quite instrumental to how business is done in the coming years.
In both the basic and free version you can leave messages up to fifteen seconds in length. The pro version allows you to record messages up to 30 seconds long. Additionally, there are many other features that can really help you get a handle and keep pace with the frantic schedule that is a byproduct of modern life. You will have to go and see for yourself. It’s easy, it’s free and it totally rocks.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
What to do if you can't open an email attachment ...
"Why can't I open it? "
So you have recieved an important file or document in your email and no matter what you do, it just won't open. Worse yet, it is a Word document, or PDF and you have Word. According to "Murphy's Law" the amount of time that you will have to solve the problem will be inversely proportional to how important it is to get it opened immediately...
Well, there is good news... In most cases it is simply a matter of upgrading the application used to open the file. You can usually tell what program you will need by looking at the file extension. The File Extension is the three to four letters that follow the dot. For example if you received a file called Something.docx, docx is the file extension.
Computers use file extensions to determine what application is needed to open any particular file.
If you can not see the file extension, you can enable them by going to Start > Control Panel > Folder Options and then remove the checkmark from the "Hide Extensions of Known File Types" option.
Here is a list of common file extensions and the programs needed to open them:
| .Doc and .Docx | Microsoft Word | A free upgrade is needed to open .docx files in versions of word older than Word 2007. You can download it here. |
| Adobe Acrobat Reader | If you have problems with this type of file, you may have an outdated or corrupt version | |
| .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .tiff | Anything that will open images. | If you don't have something suitable then try Picasa |
| .psd | Adobe Photoshop | This one is a bit pricey. You can find more information here. |
Good luck & I hope you make that deadline...
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Social Media
Social Media Mania... What is it? Does it work? How can you get in on it? How much time does it take? If you have been asking yourself these questions and more then read on.
Social networking can be rewarding if done correctly. The most important thing is to be consistent and add a little content daily. If you spend 15-20 minutes a day networking online, the dividends can be phenomenal. By simply leaving messages here and there you can make vast improvements to your bottom line.
You see, there are many different things that happen when you begin to post content online.
You will:
Reach people directly –The people that read your articles and postings will begin to develop trust and generally respect you as a professional (this of course depends entirely on you...)
Attain a higher page rank –Ask any SEO (Search Engine Optimazation) professional that is worth his salt and he will tell you that Google is the 800 lb gorilla of search engines and "Link Popularity" is the 800 lb gorilla of Google's page ranking system. More on this later.
Save Money –Paying an SEO company can cost big bucks with little or no gaurantee of any results. By utilizing online guerilla marketing techniques you can produce some serious results assuming you put in the time and energy.
Personalize your business –By using social media to publish your own messages in your own words, you give your business that personal touch. This can go a long way when somebody is making a decision. If there is a positive personal bond (even a slight one) that is often enough to tip the scales in your favor.
Become technically savvy –As a matter of course, by blogging, working on a Facebook profile, posting on forums etc... your technical prowess will increase almost effortlessly. Once you start to enjoy what you do online, you will just start "picking things up". With a little time, you will become ... *gasp* ... proficient...
Make friends and contacts –Yup. From all over the world. There's a lot of good people out there and you may be surprised at the aquaintances you may make. Perhaps even an old long lost friend...
Your results (at first) will probably not be significant as your readership will be low. However, over time, if you keep it up you will see things improve. Slowly at first, and then with more speed until it hits a "Critical Mass". Once it reaches that level your site will gain speed all on it's own.
This will not happen by itself of course. The keys to success are:
Do NOT use your blog/article to directly market business. This is a common mistake by many people when they are in a hurry and just want to get something out there, but people are pretty resiliant to direct online marketing. They have to deal with spam, popups, popunders, banners and a million other distractions. Take your time to be different.
Continuity –Post on a regular basis. Of course it is best if you post every day, but if this is not possible try to post at least weekly (though spend a little more time on it). A cobweb is a spiderweb with no spider... Don't let your blog/site become a cobweb. Maintain new a fresh content.
Be magnetic –Give them a reason to come back. Whether that is new information, photos/content, giveaway or a contest...whatever, just give them a reason to come back!
Be useful –If you take the time to write things that are informative or otherwise useful then you will make yourself an asset to others. This will do a number of things:
Cause others to link to your blog/article thereby increasing the rank of your blog/article.
Based on the increased ranking of your blog/article any links to your actual Web site from that page will have a higher link popularity value ...
The higher ranking will provide your pages with more visibility, which will attract more readers, which will start the whole cycle all over again.
Social Networking is a powerful tool through which you can market your Web site and you business in a cost effective and efficient manner. It is not magic though... It takes persistance and dedication. Just stick to it, spend 20-30 minutes a day, and you will be pleasantly surprised at how rewarding it can be.
Social networking can be rewarding if done correctly. The most important thing is to be consistent and add a little content daily. If you spend 15-20 minutes a day networking online, the dividends can be phenomenal. By simply leaving messages here and there you can make vast improvements to your bottom line.
You see, there are many different things that happen when you begin to post content online.
You will:
Reach people directly –The people that read your articles and postings will begin to develop trust and generally respect you as a professional (this of course depends entirely on you...)
Attain a higher page rank –Ask any SEO (Search Engine Optimazation) professional that is worth his salt and he will tell you that Google is the 800 lb gorilla of search engines and "Link Popularity" is the 800 lb gorilla of Google's page ranking system. More on this later.
Save Money –Paying an SEO company can cost big bucks with little or no gaurantee of any results. By utilizing online guerilla marketing techniques you can produce some serious results assuming you put in the time and energy.
Personalize your business –By using social media to publish your own messages in your own words, you give your business that personal touch. This can go a long way when somebody is making a decision. If there is a positive personal bond (even a slight one) that is often enough to tip the scales in your favor.
Become technically savvy –As a matter of course, by blogging, working on a Facebook profile, posting on forums etc... your technical prowess will increase almost effortlessly. Once you start to enjoy what you do online, you will just start "picking things up". With a little time, you will become ... *gasp* ... proficient...
Make friends and contacts –Yup. From all over the world. There's a lot of good people out there and you may be surprised at the aquaintances you may make. Perhaps even an old long lost friend...
Your results (at first) will probably not be significant as your readership will be low. However, over time, if you keep it up you will see things improve. Slowly at first, and then with more speed until it hits a "Critical Mass". Once it reaches that level your site will gain speed all on it's own.
This will not happen by itself of course. The keys to success are:
Do NOT use your blog/article to directly market business. This is a common mistake by many people when they are in a hurry and just want to get something out there, but people are pretty resiliant to direct online marketing. They have to deal with spam, popups, popunders, banners and a million other distractions. Take your time to be different.
Continuity –Post on a regular basis. Of course it is best if you post every day, but if this is not possible try to post at least weekly (though spend a little more time on it). A cobweb is a spiderweb with no spider... Don't let your blog/site become a cobweb. Maintain new a fresh content.
Be magnetic –Give them a reason to come back. Whether that is new information, photos/content, giveaway or a contest...whatever, just give them a reason to come back!
Be useful –If you take the time to write things that are informative or otherwise useful then you will make yourself an asset to others. This will do a number of things:
Cause others to link to your blog/article thereby increasing the rank of your blog/article.
Based on the increased ranking of your blog/article any links to your actual Web site from that page will have a higher link popularity value ...
The higher ranking will provide your pages with more visibility, which will attract more readers, which will start the whole cycle all over again.
Social Networking is a powerful tool through which you can market your Web site and you business in a cost effective and efficient manner. It is not magic though... It takes persistance and dedication. Just stick to it, spend 20-30 minutes a day, and you will be pleasantly surprised at how rewarding it can be.
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