Let's Talk Tech http://letstalkproductions.com/blog Online Technical Education Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:11:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 FREE Microsoft Office Software? http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/free-microsoft-office-software/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/free-microsoft-office-software/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:11:30 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/?p=266 Can you really get free Microsoft Office software other than the free 60 day trial version?   Not quite, unless someone buys the software for you.  There is, however, a free online version “Google Docs” that is fully compatible.  No need to download software and no need to purchase a license.  There is one catch.  You have to be connected to the internet in order to use it.  Store your documents online and access them from any computer.  Even share documents.

Check it out for yourself.

Go to http://www.google.com.  (You will need a Gmail account.)

Click on the “more” link dropdown and select Documents.  Here is where you can sign up for a Google account if you don’t have one already.

Once you are in Google Docs you can:

Click on the Create new button to create a new document.

Click on the Upload button to work on a document you already have.

You can also see this page for more info.

]]> http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/free-microsoft-office-software/feed/ 0 What is Search Engine Optimization http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/what-is-search-engine-optimization/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/what-is-search-engine-optimization/#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:16:32 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/?p=264 You just paid to have a gorgeous web site designed.  But where is the traffic?  ”Just build it and the people will come” does not work when it comes to web sites.  There is much time and effort that goes into building traffic for your web site.  This effort should be shared with your web developer.  Search engine optimization is the process of matching your site content with your web page code.

An optimized site does not guarantee the highest placement, but it does guarantee inclusion into the search engines, which means the search engine can find you.  Google has a list of do’s and don’ts that your webmaster should be aware of if you are going to be successful.

So how do you get to the top?  This is the big question.  The answer to this question requires a lot more time than I have to write this article.  However, you should know that it involves several different methods.  Think of your web site as no different than you opening a business and having to find a way for people to know you exist.  You have to register your business, list it with the yellow pages, maybe take out a few newspaper or magazine ads, mailers and everywhere else including word of mouth. Before the internet, we looked up businesses in the yellow pages.  Those businesses who purchased ads stood out.

Now move all those efforts online and this is how you get to the top.  Some common methods employed are Link building, pay per click, optimizing your pages for an organic search, adding a blog to your site, listing your site in all the top search engines, online advertising campaigns, and a few other techniques.  Because there are people who are serious about their web sites being number one, they are constantly monitoring their rankings and modifying their pages to stay ahead of the competition.

If you have quite a bit of time you can optimize your site yourself, but if your time is limited, your web developer will perform this service for you for an extra fee.  Usually around $200 per page depending on what all is involved and whether or not they have to perform research for you.  A good resource to learn more is the Search Engine Watch web site.  The least every web site owner should do is to optimize their pages for select keywords.  Each page should be optimized separately.  Ask about this when you are having your web site designed by an outside company.

]]> http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/what-is-search-engine-optimization/feed/ 0 Someone Accessed Your Email? What to do http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/someone-accessed-your-email-what-to-do/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/someone-accessed-your-email-what-to-do/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:19:43 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/someone-accessed-your-email-what-to-do/ I am a Tech pro! and my email was compromised. Fortunately it was an email address that I haven’t used and not many people have that email address. Here is an article on what to do if you believe your email address has been hacked into. It’s for AOL but you can do the same thing with whoever your internet provider, webmaster, or email service is.  Be sure to change your password regularly, at least every 60 days.

http://mailblog.aol.com/2010/05/17/why-am-i-getting-spam-from-myself/?ncid=txtlnkusmblo00000031

]]> http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/someone-accessed-your-email-what-to-do/feed/ 0 Protect Your Information Online http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/protect-your-information-online/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/protect-your-information-online/#comments Mon, 03 May 2010 23:28:47 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/protect-your-information-online/ We are in the information age and it has both positive and negatives. What did we ever do without computers? Almost every company has either moved or is moving their business transactions online. That means you have to divulge personal information in some cases when you want to do business with a particular company. If that is the case, you can protect yourself by clearing out your “browser cache.” To do so in Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Options and select “Clear Recent History.” To do so in Mozilla, go to Tools and select “Clear Browsing History” for the last hour. That will clear out any personal information you used like credit cards, social security or phone numbers. It’s important to do this immediately after you have finished completing a web form because the computer will hold that information in memory until you erase it. That’s all for now.

]]> http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/protect-your-information-online/feed/ 0 Protect Yourself From SPAM http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/protect-yourself-from-spam/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/protect-yourself-from-spam/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:55:15 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/?p=241 Everyone wants to be social using Facebook, Youtube, My Space, Twitter and other social media.  This is great technology to keep us connected with the world.  It is bad when the information in user profiles are being used by companies to “weed people out” of jobs or when criminal minded people use it to get personal information from people to send SPAM.  You can enjoy the benefits of social media if you will practice a few simple rules. Whatever you say on a social media site can and will be used against you if the opportunity presents itself.  Corporations use social media sites now as part of their background check process.  People place party photos of themselves, other people have the ability to post photos of you, your conversations are posted . . . the list goes on.  All of this information is open and available to the public.  Once it is there, it’s there.  What you think is just between you and your friends or you and your group has just been shared with the world.

Rule #1: Don’t say anything you wouldn’t mind everyone knowing on social media.  That include pictures.

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA WORKS

Social media is a huge web, you connect to me and I am connected with 200 people.  You are connected with 75 people.  So now I am connected with your 75 people plus my 200 and you are connected with my 200 people.  To top it off, all of our people are connected to countless others and it never end.  I now have access to your people, people they are connected to, and any information they shared on their “social” page.  Get the picture?  This is why you need to be selective about the information shared.

Rule #2: Don’t use your main email address.  Get another email address that you use for all of your social media.  Email addresses are often sold as lists to other companies for marketing purposes.

Rule #3: Don’t share personal information like location, address, phone numbers, etc.  All of this can be tied to other information that can link people to you.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Information such as birthday, marital status, kids, home town, high school, etc. are valuable pieces of information for  SPAMMERS or people seeking to steal identity.   Social Media sites are bound by privacy laws, however this does not stop those who want to get information about you from getting it.  Limit the information you provide.  Always use a screen name and not your real name.  Don’t allow your teens and children to use social media.  If you do, educate them and make sure they know not to divulge personal information.

For organizations, it is great if they have their own private network for social purposes.  This way they can control membership and access.  They have the ability to moderate and remove people.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND BUSINESS

The best use for social media I have seen are businesses and Hollywood.  Business can often afford to put security measures in place when using social media.  However they also need to be careful that no one in the organization gives out sensitive information.  You will never see the military using social media.  It is too much of a risk.

EMAIL

Always have a business email address and a personal email address.  If you see something that you want to sign up for but are not sure, then it is good to have a generic email address that you don’t care if SPAM goes to.  Use this email address to sign up for stuff or to give to people you are not sure about.  You can go in and check this email whenever you expect something from it knowing there is the possibility of you having to clean it out regularly or trash it at some point.

HOW SPAM WORKS

Spammers search for random email addresses that they could use to send out junk email to and not have the email traced back to themselves.  Someone sends you an email that is strange, and you are curious and respond.  This is when they know the email address is valid.  They then use your email address to send emails about everything.

Another way SPAM works is that you sign up for a survey or to win a prize and there is a box that you “inadvertently” leave checked.  This checked box says in small print “by checking this box you agree to receive notices from all of our partners and affiliates.”  You have then just opened yourself up to be the recipient of all kinds of junk mail.

One other way is when you upgrade your software or download software and have to enter your email address.  So long story short, make sure you are only giving your email address to reputable companies that won’t sell your email address or be sure to create yourself a “junk” email address to give out to people you are uncertain about.

For organizations, if you want to be social, look into creating your own private social network that you control.  Feel free to post questions you have on the subject and I’ll do my best to answer them or point you to the answer.

]]> http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/protect-yourself-from-spam/feed/ 1 Create A Post in WordPress – (Video Tutorial) http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/create-a-post-in-wordpress-video-tutorial/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/create-a-post-in-wordpress-video-tutorial/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:52:30 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/?p=215 This tutorial shows you how to create a simple post in WordPress.

If you have problems viewing, please indicate with comments below.

Running Time (5 Min)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Additional Titles:

]]> http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/create-a-post-in-wordpress-video-tutorial/feed/ 0 Web Pages Not Displaying Properly? http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/web-pages-not-displaying-properly/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/web-pages-not-displaying-properly/#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:02:30 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/?p=200 Typically web designers create web sites that are accessible to the broadest audience.  However there are times when alternatives need to be provided to the web audience.  Many organizations include as part of their site design alternate pages that would display depending on the browser a person is using.  So a user who is viewing a site through Internet Explorer version 6 (IE6) would see a different set of web pages than a user viewing the site through IE7 or IE8.  Unlike with print design, to achieve a particular look on a web site requires text and graphical information be communicated to the web browser in a certain way in order to be displayed properly.  Older browsers are unable to handle some of the commands that tell a browser to display a page a particular way and so it looks different in different browsers, on different PC’s and even using different monitors.

Part of the design process is to design a site so that it looks the same across the greatest number of technology platforms and then view the finished web sites on all of the most popular browsers to ensure the site will display as intended to the majority audience.  In most cases, an organization may choose to have their site developed for the two or three most popular web browsers.  When this is not possible, an alternate solution is to have a message to the user display on the site with a link to upgrade the user’s browser: “This site is best viewed using Mozilla Firefox version 3.5 –  Download it here.”  This way you ensure your audience is able to view your web site as you intended for them to see it.

In short, different Internet Browsers view web page information differently.  The most common browsers people are currently using are Internet Explorer versions 6, 7 and 8 and Mozilla Firefox on a PC.   On the Mac, people are using Safari and a few people are using Opera.

I have enclosed a link to download the latest version of web browsers that will display most technology:

Internet Explorer Version 8

To check your browser version, from the Internet Explorer Menu click on “HELP” and then click on “ABOUT INTERNET EXPLORER.”  If your browser is version 7 or earlier, please update to version 8.

Mozilla Firefox 3.6

To check to see if you have the latest version of Mozilla, click on “About” and select the option to “check for updates.”

Safari (for Mac or PC)

To check your browser version for Safari, click on the “Safari” menu at the top of your window while your Safari browser window is open and then select “About Safari.”

Please Note: you do not have to enter your email address to download the browsers.

ADJUSTING YOUR MONITOR RESOLUTION:

WINDOWS: To adjust your monitor resolution, right-click on a clean space on your desktop and click “PROPERTIES” to access your desktop settings.  Then click on the “SETTINGS” tab.  Now look for the section that says “screen resolution” and move the slider left or right to the desired resolution.  You can click “apply” to test the changes. Play with it until you get it right and click “OKAY” to keep the setting.  Leave this setting as is once you get the perfect resolution for your monitor.  There is no need to change it again unless you change monitors.

]]> http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/web-pages-not-displaying-properly/feed/ 0 Life is Good http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/life-is-good/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/life-is-good/#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:38:42 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/?p=109 “Life is good, if life is true, to the things that we are CALLED to do.”

I was asked the question once: “If money were no object, what would you be doing today?” The answer to this question may very well be what God’s purpose and calling is for your life. Many people are not happy because they are not living the life they were called to live.

I find that I am happiest when I am doing those things that I know He has purposed me to do.

What has he purposed you to do? Find out and begin doing them.

]]> http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/life-is-good/feed/ 0 Deleting A WordPress Post – (Video Tutorial) http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/deleting-a-wordpress-post-video-tutorial/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/deleting-a-wordpress-post-video-tutorial/#comments Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:03:22 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/?p=178 Deleting a WordPress post is easy.  See for yourself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Download iPhone or Quicktime version (Right-click and “Save target as”)

Additional Video Titles:

    ]]>     http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/deleting-a-wordpress-post-video-tutorial/feed/ 0     Removing a WordPress Post – (Video Tutorial) http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/removing-a-wordpress-post-video-tutorial/ http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/removing-a-wordpress-post-video-tutorial/#comments Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:00:36 +0000 Webmaster http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/?p=174 If you published a WordPress post and change your mind, this tutorial shows you how to remove it from the blog and save it as a “draft” instead until you are ready to publish it again or delete it.

    Click here to view the embedded video.

    Download the iPhone or Quicktime Video (Right-click and “Save target as”)

    Additional Video Titles:

      ]]>       http://letstalkproductions.com/blog/removing-a-wordpress-post-video-tutorial/feed/ 0