Whether you were at the Blogalicious 2012 conference this past weekend in Las Vegas, or you’ve taken a look at the slides from my keynote presentation, you probably have a lot of questions about how you can start thinking about yourself not just as a blogger but a media company and start making the transition from free to fee!
I’ve been a fan of Doodle Scheduling for years. Their service is geared toward busy people who struggle to find times for meetings when everyone who needs (or wants) to attend is actually free and can make it. If you’re trying to organize the meeting, you can send out a “poll” of different possible dates and times to all the invitees. They’ll choose which times work for them, and you’ll get a response back showing the time that’s the most convenient for the highest number of attendees.
Since it’s really just a poll, I’ve also used for slightly off-label purposes, like “Where should we go for dinner?” or “Which book should the book club read?” Users can rank their preferences, so while everyone may not get their first choice, you can at least pick an option that nobody totally hates. That kind of diplomacy seems like it’s worth a lot, but Doodle doesn’t charge for their basic level of service. Though they do have a “pro” version of the service that will let users upgrade for a more complete feature set of scheduling tools.
BookMe in Action
They’ve also recently announced an online booking platform for service providers that’s $60 a month (after a month free trial to see if you like it). The idea is that if you’re a small business owner or employee, you probably don’t have a dedicated person to schedule your time – and you’re probably spending tons of time doing it yourself. It’s especially tough if your business is one where people are calling you at all times to schedule. The example Doodle gives is of a hair stylist: if you’re spending all your time booking appointments, how will you actually spend any time doing actual styling?
Doodle calls the service BookMe, and the idea is pretty simple: you set your availability online, as well as time slots others can book. Then your schedule can be filled up without you ever having to answer the phone (and disrupt whatever else you were doing). Doodle recommends BookMe for service providers, but it could also be handy for consultants or bloggers whose job involves a lot of pitch meetings. When you use the service, you do have to confirm the booking for the appointment to be official, so it’s not like you have to take every single appointment others want…though you could!
Four exciting new AT&T devices, all of which sport AT&T’s ultra-fast 4G LTE network, were literally just announced. We don’t have pricing or release dates on any of these devices quite yet, but we’ll be going hands-on with all three phones and the one tab next Thursday at an exclusive AT&T event in NYC. Hopefully we’ll be able to shed some more light on these devices next week, as well as be able to show you some hands on videos of all of them. The official word from the press release is that “[a]ll of these devices will be available from AT&T in the coming months” which sounds like they’ll be here by the end of the year!
Samsung Galaxy Express
Samsung Galaxy Express
While this seems to be placed as a “budget” version of the Samsung Galaxy S III (and will hopefully come in at a budget price) this seems to be a high-end smartphone that makes just a few compromises comapred to its big brother. Sure, you have to accept a 5-megapixel camera instead of the S3’s 8-megapixels, but you get a fast dual core processor, a huge 4.5″ screen (only slightly smaller than the 4.8 incher on the S3), a whopping 2000 mAh battery (the S3 boasts only 100 more mAh), and the same OS, Googl’e Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
Smaller isn’t necessarily worse—the S3 is quite large, and this “baby brother” version may actually turn out to be the better smartphone. I can’t wait to try it out!
Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro
Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro
When we looked at the previous Rugby phone, I called it “the toughest 4G phone on the market.” While it was a little underpowered, it was really the only choice of any phone for those whose phones will take a lot of abuse on the job.
Now, this phone has been massively updated with the latest tech! The new Rugby Pro sports a 4″ AMOLED screen, the 5-megapixel camera (think iPhone 4 quality), and it shoots 720p HD video.
Another cool feature that makes it easy to deploy for business is that it has full EAS corporate email support. You can even encrypt the whole device to prevent data from leaking out if the phone is lost in the field.
This looks like a huge upgrade over the previous Rugby in every respect, and will certainly be “tough” to beat!
Samsung Galaxy Note II
Samsung Galaxy Note II
I had my apprehensions about the first Samsung Galaxy Note. Since then, S-Pen tech has improved quite a bit, at least on the larger 10.1″ Galaxy Note tablet. Will those same imrpovements come to the Note II? I certainly hope so.
This phone is unique in the lineup of new Galaxy devices in that it’s the first that’s shipping with the cutting edge latest version of Google’s Android operating system, Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). I still haven’t gotten that on my Galaxy S3, though reports are that it’s coming any day now.
Just like the previous version, this is a huge superphone with completely maxed out features. Like the dual core speed on the Galaxy S3? The Note II smashes that with quad core. Like the 4.8″ screen on the S3? The Note II bumps it up to a whopping 5.5″ display.
Yeah, it’s a huge phone, but it’s also like having a touch screen and stylus compatible mini laptop in your pocket.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1”
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1″ with 4G LTE on AT&T
Mario and I attended the NYC launch of the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1″. At the time, we didn’t get to do as much testing as we liked and came away with mixed feelings about the tablet. The software didn’t work as smoothly as we would’ve wanted. The S-Pen was improved, but not perfect. The multi-tasking was extremely limited in terms of the number of apps available.
You can read my first impressions on the blog here:
The addition of 4G LTE on AT&T is a huge boon to the device, but that really only brings it up to where the iPad 3 was back when it launched this past Spring. While this is a great tab for Android fanatics (it’s hardware is powerful and it has a great screen), I’d say it’s probably the weakest of the devices that AT&T announced today. Unless the price point can come in at a point lower than the new iPad, I’d say that Apple’s tablet with 4G LTE on AT&T is probably still the way to go.
Today at 1PM Eastern Mario’s hosting a webinar for entrepreneurs talking about how they can use mobile technology to improve their business. He’ll focus on how mobile is letting us get more done from more places, thanks to our phones, tablets, and more. Plus he’ll get deep on topics entrepreneurs need to know about, like cloud storage, Evernote, mobile video, and mobile payments. Plus he’ll cover some great ways to save time as well as some apps to help you better connect with customers via social media.
After you’ve watched, Mario will also host a Twitter Q & A session. He’ll be using the @ATTSmallBiz handle (go follow them!) or you can look for the hashtag #ATTWebinar to keep up on everything going on.
WordPress hoodie, for the ultimate WordPress fan-person.
WordPress is the most popular blogging platform on the Internet: as of this time last year, it powered 22% of all new websites. There’s a good reason too: it’s structure is designed to make it easier to get a site up and running (and keep it running) than if you had to build your own website completely from scratch. Part of that power comes from the plugin system, which extends the WordPress framework to include features programmed by outside developers – kind of like Apple’s App store. There are thousands of plugins, most designed for very narrow purposes, and it can be hard to figure out which ones may help your blog. Our top five favorite suggestions for WordPress plugins to help keep your site running smoothly and securely:
Vaultpress For only $15 a month, the Vaultpress plugin promises continual backup of your entire site, plus a simple one-click site restore if something ever goes terribly wrong. It was created by the team at Automattic…the parent company of WordPress itself.
SEO by Yoast
Wordpress’ design makes it fairly search engine-friendly, but it never hurts to give your rankings a boost. This plugin helps search engines find your content, with a foolproof checklist of steps for each post, including optimizing your post titles, meta descriptions, keyword frequency and url length.
Redirection
It’s bad for your site if people are running into pages that don’t work (404 errors). Redirection lets you check a log of where users encountered 404 errors so you can fix them, and makes it easy to set up page redirects even if you don’t have the technical knowledge.
WP-Optimize
Wordpress stores all of the data you put into your website in a database, but it doesn’t necessarily do a great job of keeping that database clean. But cleaner databases are faster databases. WP-Optimize lets you clean up your database (by deleting things like post revisions and spam comments) without any technical knowledge.
Mobile Pack
There’s a lot of pressure to make sure your site looks good on mobile devices, but it can be a confusing and expensive endeavor – and probably deserves its own blog post! But it’s better to do something then nothing, so try Mobile Pack. It will let you set up your site with a theme designed for mobile devices, and takes are the guesswork out of trying to plan for all the different devices out there. It may not be your dream site, but it’s functional and that’s important.
Do you use WordPress? Are there any WordPress Plugins we missed you love? Let us know!
Infographic, Data from Carbonite’s survey with Wakefield Research
We’ve talked before about how important it is to back up your data (see here, here, and here). But what’s interesting is that so many of us don’t back up our mobile devices: according to a survey from Carbonite and Wakefield Research, 62% of people with camera phones don’t back those photos up anywhere. And that’s just the photos! iCloud backup may help iPhone owners, but for Android users the choices are less straightforward, unless there’s specific backup software associate with your device.
Carbonite has just released a solution for Android (and iOS) users that can take the pain out of backing up video and photos. Just configure the app once to automatically back up photos and videos, and you can access them remotely anytime from any Android or iOS device, plus your computer.
Carbonite is also the maker of a respected backup system for computers, and offers both individual and enterprise solutions. Makers of a respected backup system for individual and enterprise users, subscribers to the primary Carbonite service also receive 24/7 access to all the files they have backed up with Carbonite.
Carbonite mobile also offers Android users some of the same features as iCloud’s “find my phone.” First off, there’s the ability to locate the phone on a map and force it to ring, even if it’s on vibrate or silent. For security, you can use the app the remotely lock the device with a pin number, or to just go all-out and wipe the contents of your phone. It’s worth it if your device is stolen, and less of a big deal if you’ve been backing up your data.
Right now, Carbonite’s mobile solution is free, presumably as a loss leader to get you interested in their home and business backup services. But given that you should be backing up anyway (remember all those articles we just linked to?) it’s not a bad idea to investigate whether Carbonite could be a good comprehensive backup solution for your needs.
Proof of just how hard it is to drive & text: AT&T’s texting while driving simulator at http://www.itcanwaitsimulator.org/
Texting while driving is dangerous. It turns out that in the United States, someone is killed or injured once every five minutes on average in a crash that happens while a driver is texting and driving.
AT&T is looking to raise awareness of the problem with their It Can Wait campaign, where they encourage people to wait until they’re not behind the wheel to text. They also have an online pledge called “No Text on Board” with over 500,000 signatures at itcanwait.com.
We want to do our part to help you be safe too! That’s why we’re giving away a BlueAnt S3 car speakerphone. You can use it to make and receive calls, or to ignore calls while you’re on the road. The built-in vibration sensor knows when you get in the car, so you don’t even have to remember to turn it on. Just get in the car and go!
To enter all you have to do is follow the directions below to follow us on Twitter! But hurry, we’re only accepting submissions till Friday at midnight.
Ball of Light by Sam Collins Media (now eligible for tipping)
Earlier this week, Vimeo announced that they would be launching a virtual “tip jar.” The idea is that if you’re watching a video, you may want to thank the creator for his or her time and hard work with some real, non-virtual cash, payable via PayPal. Vimeo will take a 15% cut for the privilege.
It’s an interesting move by Vimeo, the video site that has built a reputation for “creative” filmmaking and video creation, stressing quality over quantity, and making a commitment to content creators and artists. It sits in a very different video site niche than the YouTube, the dominant player in the field, which is primarily geared quantity, and has actually been playing catch-up in courting more sophisticated video creation.
Their approaches are reflected in the ways creators make money, too. On YouTube creators can sign up to become partners, meaning their videos will have advertising on top. This advertising is secured by YouTube, and they take a cut. There are nuances to this model of course, but primarily it’s driven by the number of views a creator and his or her videos receive, and it relies on a third-party advertiser. That means that if you’re a creator, you need to be getting tons of eyeballs to a video that matches up easily with the kinds of folks an advertiser wants to reach. It’s very much the same model as television.
Vimeo’s virtual tip jar cuts out that 3rd party advertiser, and lets creators appeal directly to fans. That means it’s not just about the number of eyeballs on your videos: it’s about whether those viewers are willing to support you and your work. Think of the Kickstarter model: 2 donors at $100 each are worth the same as 10 donors at $20. And in that environment, success means making yourself accessible to your audience, creating a community, and cultivating the kinds of folks who can and will support you.
If you own an iPhone 4S and don’t plan to upgrade, don’t fear! Now’s actually a good time to go shopping for accessories. Several of our favorites will work even if you decide to upgrade later. For the rest, we wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing sales any second. So now’s the time to start looking to see what’s out there – and get prepared for sale action.
Duracell Powermat Charging System, 20% Off
Duracell Powermat 24 Hour Charging System
You know we love this one! After all we don’t throw huge parties with just anybody. The Powermat gives you wireless charging for your iPhone 4 or 4S, plus a backup battery so you’ll #neverbepowerless.
Mario’s talked about how much he likes the iRig before, but it’s great for anyone looking to do mobile video, interviews and more. The iRig has impressively good sound, even when you use it “in the wild.” It’s only $59.99, and it works with a wide variety of devices, including the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch and all generations of the iPad.
When Twitter rolled out the new header images yesterday with an announcement on the TODAY show, I quickly realized that a lot of people were going to take the Ryan Seacrest route and integrate their Twitter avatars into their header images for a single, seamless header (see image at right). After all, this happened with Facebook Timeline covers as well, sparking some really creative uses of the new format.
In updating not only my own Twitter header, but the ones for Mario, Small Biz Go Mobile and the #SocamShow as well, I ended up creating a Photoshop template to make it quick and easy to design, test, and deploy a variety of new Header images for Twitter.
So I thought I’d share those with you :)
Instructions for Use
These Photoshop templates have four layers: a black background, a place for you to drop your own background image, a simulation of the white outline that Twitter will automatically place around your image, and a layer for you to drop your header image.
To set it up, first drop your background image onto the blank background layer called “Your Background Here” and line it up exactly how you want. Then, using the guides I provided, copy and paste the section inside the guidelines (the area inside the white box) to a new document. This will be your new Twitter profile picture, so save it as a JPG image remember where you put it!
Finally, set up the document so that the white lines around your profile pic and the black background are hidden, showing only your new header image.
I recommend saving this as a PNG image for the best image reproduction (Twitter allows up to a 5MB header file, so even a very large PNG should work just fine) or as a maximum quality JPG image.
To upload your new header, log into your Twitter account, click on the gear icon in the upper right hand corner, and then click on “Settings.” In the menu that appears on the left side of your screen, click on “Design” to see your design settings. The option to upload your new header image can be found here.
Download Links
I’ve provided downloads in two different sizes. The SD one is an exact pixel-for-pixel representation of the final image size that Twitter will display on their website. If you’re looking to work quickly and get something up right away, this is probably the one that you want. The dimensions on this image are 520×260, for reference.
The second download is the HD version, offering the highest resolution image Twitter will accept: 1252×626. I image they’ll be using a higher resolution version for things like retina displays on the iPad 3, so if you want your header image to show up with the maximum image fidelity everywhere it appears, this is the one you’ll want to download.
Whether you were at the Blogalicious 2012 conference this past weekend in Las Vegas, or you’ve taken a look at the slides from my keynote presentation, you probably have a lot of questions about how you can start thinking about yourself not just as a blogger but a media company and start making the transition from free to fee!
Well, I’m here to offer my help and experience in any way I can! I’ve set up a form on Google Docs that will let you ask me anything you need help with. Are you attempting my 21 day challenge and need some guidance along the way? Having trouble booking speaking engagements? Struggling to figure out how to generate revenue with your website? Go ahead and fill out the form to ask me a question!
When Twitter rolled out the new header images yesterday with an announcement on the TODAY show, I quickly realized that a lot of people were going to take the 
These Photoshop templates have four layers: a black background, a place for you to drop your own background image, a simulation of the white outline that Twitter will automatically place around your image, and a layer for you to drop your header image.
Finally, set up the document so that the white lines around your profile pic and the black background are hidden, showing only your new header image.
To upload your new header, log into your Twitter account, click on the gear icon in the upper right hand corner, and then click on “Settings.” In the menu that appears on the left side of your screen, click on “Design” to see your design settings. The option to upload your new header image can be found here.