Time to eliminate the hassle of sharing your screen on a tablet

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Think you can’t use your tablet computer to share screens with your co-workers? Think again. There are several apps available right now than enable you to share your reports, images, documents and videos with co-workers and friends. With one of these screen-sharing apps, you won’t even miss that heavier laptop computer. Whatever screen sharing it can do, your tablet can now do, too. But which screen-sharing apps for iOS should you download? Miguel Leiva-Gomez, a writer for the tech site smallbiz technology, recommends three that should handle all of your screen-sharing needs.

join.me

The join.me app is available in free and “pro” versions. To use this app on the iOS operating system, you’ll need to spend about $20 a month for the “pro” version. But as Leiva-Gomez writes, the investment is worth it. The application allows users to share all their screens with co-workers, and it does it without a steep learning curve. It’s extremely simple to use. The program also includes other bonus features, including instant chat capabilities, Internet calling and file sharing.

Air Sketch

Air Sketch is really a formidable challenger to join.me. This app is another that’s easy to use, according to Leiva-Gomez. It will also transform your tablet into a surprisingly effective whiteboard that comes with five different drawing tools. You’re able to use Air Sketch to display documents, images, videos and presentations in real time, creating a stylish and simple collaborative workspace.

Conference Pad

Conference Pad is a simple but effective screen-sharing program, one that Leiva-Gomez gives high marks. Users can open and present PDFs and documents with simply a few taps. The app also offers some awesome zooming features, allowing users to zoom without having to sacrifice any image quality.

Dealing with a slow Internet connection

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Vacation isn’t always fun and games. Sometimes you need to work. But when you’re stuck at a hotel or resort with a slow Internet connection, this can be challenging. Thankfully, the Lifehacker Web site offers some easy tips for working with a sluggish Internet connection.

Apps, plug-ins

Sometimes, plugins and apps hog your bandwidth. Turn off these features. You can even try installing such programs as AdBlock Plus or FlashBlock. Lifehacker says that these programs can block bandwidth-hogging ads and videos.

Optimization

When you’re experiencing a slow Internet connection, it’s time to adjust your surfing habits. Check out the mobile versions of Web sites. Disable all images. And don’t attempt to watch streaming video or download TV shows or movies.

Be smart

Lifehacker advises, as well, that you re-think the way you work. If you are coping with a slow connection, handle those jobs that don’t need a lot of bandwidth, such as sending Word documents to co-workers or answering e-mails. Save the more bandwidth-intensive jobs – such as editing photos and downloading videos to Web sites – for those moments when your Internet speed isn’t as lethargic.

Airplane laptop user? Protect your back

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Do you fly often for business? If so, most likely you spend too much time typing on your laptop while soaring high in the sky. This is certainly not healthy for your back. Fortunately, the Lifehacker Web site has a tip.

Back Pain

First, no hunching. Hunching to type is what leaves you with a sore back at the end of the day. And if you’re getting work done in on a plane? The natural urge to hunch will be even stronger.

Angle

Lifehacker recommends that you angle your laptop so that your neck remains in a natural and relaxed neutral position. Your objective is to lineup your laptop screen with your eye level. To accomplish this most effectively, you will need a laptop stand. You can get these fairly cheaply, with quality ones retailing for about $20.

Alternatives

But what if you don’t have a lightweight stand and you’re in the air? Well, as Lifehacker says, there’s always that Skymall catalog. Roll up it and tuck it under your laptop. Now you have got a makeshift laptop stand.

How to explain the cult of Evernote?

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You’ve heard of cult movies. Cult bands, too. But have you ever heard of a business app that had its own cult following? Now you have, owing to a recent story by BloombergBusinessweek. The story details the extraordinary popularity of Evernote, a five-year-old organization and note-taking app which has swiftly developed its own cult of ardent users. These users aren’t shy about praising the software to the uninitiated. And Evernote’s chief executive officer isn’t boasting when he says he’d one day like his organization app to boast more than 1 billion followers.

Booming popularity

The BloombergBusinessweek story makes a persuasive case that a real cult continues to grow around Evernote. This might seem odd; considering that, Evernote is just an organizing app. It’s a highly effective and helpful organizing app. But apps that don’t involve angry birds or farms don’t usually attract such dedicated and vocal followings. But Evernote has, with its fans voluntarily promoting the program and recommending it to others. Have a look at tech forums, and you’ll undoubtedly find posts from users praising this app.

Why so hot?

Why so much admiration for what is, fundamentally, a simple note-taking application? The true secret might be the way Evernote allows us to organize ever more busy lives. With Evernote, users can enter a note, image, Web page, video or audio recording into one column, save it in a notebook in another and search for it in a third. And fans of Evernote praise the app’s search function. It even lets you search for words embedded in images. With this simple set-up, then, it’s an easy task to search for upcoming meetings, phone calls, anniversaries and your son’s piano recital.

Changing lifestyles?

And that might be the secret to Evernote’s popularity. It’s very easy to forget meetings, appointments and deadlines when you are juggling the responsibilities of family and work. In the BloombergBusinessweek story, Libin says that he never thinks of the work/life balance because he views work an essential part of life. And a growing number of us think much the same way. Therefore, when life becomes so busy and messy, we need something that will help us navigate it successfully. That something, increasingly, has become Evernote.

Utilizing the New Facebook Graph Search

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Utilizing the New Facebook Graph Search

Facebook is at it again, and this time it’s called Facebook Graph Search. It is their endeavor to sway their search results from a keyword-based model like Google’s, to one where Facebook can make use of its greatest asset, the social interplay between all its users. Still rolling out, Graph Search might not be open to you yet, (still only available in the US, and there’s a waiting list) but it’s on its way sooner than you think. And if you’ve got a business that relies on Facebook at all, you must understand how this could benefit you.

So what is Facebook Graph search?

Facebook Graph Search is a search model where Facebook moves their search results from a model based on keywords, to one where it can use arguably its most valuable asset, the social data of all its users. You see results based upon what your social spheres like, and view. As an example, your search will return with people that share your interests, websites, photos and videos they’ve liked or visited, as well as other connections you may share. These outcomes are unique to you, because they are based solely off yours and your friend’s interests.

How can you take advantage of Facebook Graph search in your marketing?

One of the key takeaways people appear to be gleaning from the release of Graph Search is it goes a long way towards weeding out pages which are trying to game the system. Fake Likes and fans coming from strange locations out of your common spheres, are likely to be viewed with some skepticism. So bid farewell to the “I will get you 30,000 Facebook Likes” industry, where often people found all kinds of new friends and fans from Bangladesh!

If your small business is seriously interested in social media, you stand to reap the benefits of this, as you will be visible on Facebook. Some of the basic methods for you to prepare for Facebook Graph Search are to:

  • Make sure your Facebook page profile is totally filled out with your information, so that users can find and make contact with you.
  • Make sure to engage, not sell your visitors.
  • Be very careful of what is posted online, especially on Facebook itself, as this may come back to embarrass your business greatly!

What are #Hashtags and How to Use Them

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Anyone Know the Right Way to Use #Hashtags?

Know exactly what a #Hashtag is? If you’re not a social media maven, and particularly Twitter, you may not have a clue what a #hashtag is. No need for that to be the case any longer. A hashtag is a # paired with a word or phrase to perform a number of functions. Twitter users affix hashtags to tweets as search conventions, a method of categorizing, and marketing tactics. #Hashtags can also be used in other social media platforms.

#Hashtags guidelines

Make sure the keyword you use is not in use somewhere else, or you may be in for a big surprise. This requires doing a little research (a search on Search.Twitter.com) to determine whether or not that keyword would be a wise decision. Also, don’t use misleading #hashtags, even with significantly trending keywords. This will most certainly not work in your favor. And most importantly, proofread before you create that #hashtag, lest you fall victim to your own hashtag.

4 Ways to market with #hashtags

  1. Make your #hashtags short and direct – Keeping it brief and direct is the proper approach to win with #hashtags. If you need to combine more than one, fine, but don’t string together a small army of them, as that will actually annoy your readers and label you an amateur.
  2. Make them #hashtags to remember – Remarkable #hashtags are much more likely to be shared widely. Give some thought to this and you may get your wish and have it go viral.
  3. Use them on your other social channels – A #hashtag wants desperately to be shared, and you can now do so across multiple social media channels including Facebook, Google , LinkedIn and Pinterest. This can really help to help sear the #hashtag into the brains of your readers.
  4. Use keywords – If you can. It’s not at all times possible, but try and work in your brand or primary keywords.

Creating and making use of memorable #hashtags can keep your brand and conversation before your social media audience, and help perpetuate your campaigns. Try it out today!

Don’t forget these business website essentials

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Is your business’ website turning away customers? Are customers logging on to your website just to abandon your online home because they can’t find what they want? If so, you might need a website upgrade. Remember, the only thing worse than not having a website for your small business is operating a website that is actually turning off your visitors.

Essential ingredients

Fortunately, Entrepreneur Magazine recently offered tips to small business owners struggling with their Websites. The magazine’s advice? Keep your business site simple, easy to find and straightforward to navigate. If you do this, your website can be a tool for building business, not driving it away. The magazine’s first suggestion? Be sure your website immediately tells visitors what your business is and just what it does. You don’t want visitors to have to research your site to determine what services you provide.

Don’t hide

Don’t hide your business’ website behind a perplexing domain name. The simpler your website address, the more likely that prospective customers will find your company’s online home. As an example, if you’re running Green Bay Hardware, make an effort to land the website address www.greenbayhardware.com. That’s a far better choice than the difficult to find www.upperwistools.com. Entrepreneur recommends, too, that your website address end with a .com and that you avoid such distractions as dashes or numbers in your address.

A clear guide

Once customers reach your website, you need to make sure they can find what they are searching for. This simply means including easy-to-find links to your site’s pages and an readily accessible site map. These navigation tools will guide your customers to what they need. And they’ll keep them from fleeing your website – possibly before they order any services or goods – in disappointment.

Don’t ignore your Facebook “Other” folder

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You’re not a impolite person, right? You normally respond to Facebook messages from friends, family members and co-workers, right? Well, maybe not, at least not if you ignore the “Other” folder.

Uncovering the “Other”

If you do not know what Facebook’s “Other” folder is, don’t worry. You’re not the only one. David Pogue, technology columnist for the New York Times, recently talked about how important this folder is. If you’re like the majority of Facebook users, your “Other” folder is full of messages from friends, co-workers, colleagues and family members that you’ve never seen. And many of these could be years old.

Missed messages

Messages fall into the “Other” folder when senders that are not your Facebook friends send you messages. These senders can either pay $1 to Facebook or allow their messages to go to the “Other” folder. Most of the people, of course, choose “Other.”

Find these lost messages

Fortunately, locating the “Other” folder is fairly simple. Pogue says to simply click your “Messages” link on the left side of your Facebook page. After you do, you’ll see, shaded grey, the word “Other.” That’s your “Other” folder. Open it. You may be amazed at what you find.

Strained eyes too common an occurrence at work

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Does your work demand that you stare at a computer screen for hours at a time? If so, eyestrain can become a serious problem. A newly released story by the everon small-business blog says that workers connected to their computers can face a host of problems, from watery eyes to headaches, increased sensitivity to light and difficulty focusing. The good news? Avoiding eyestrain is in fact quite easy, even if you need to stare at the monitor for eight hours. The everon blog provided some simple strategies for reducing the unwanted effects of eyestrain.

20/20/20 Rule

Workers seeking to avoid the problems of eye strain need to follow the 20/20/20 rule. This rule states that employees should every 20 minutes take a 20-second break. And during this quick break, they need to focus their eyes on an object that stands at least 20 feet away. This forces your eyes to focus on something besides a computer screen. In addition, it provides them with a brief workout. The story on everon also indicates that employees can every 20 minutes spend 20 seconds or more walking 20 feet or more, something that will also give a boost to their mental and physical well-being.

Workrave

Workrave received kudos from everon. This app will send a message onto employees’ computer screens telling them when it’s time to take a short eye break. The program will also suggest specific exercises for employees. A more advanced app is EyeLeo. This app will blank employee computer screens when it’s time for their short breaks. Then an animated leopard will guide employees through short eye exercises.

Coffee Break

Another favorite reminder app is Coffee Break, though it is only available for Apple devices. This app will slowly darken your screen as a pre-arranged break time nears. You will be motivated to take that important break as your screen gets darker and darker. Obviously, no app can make you take a health break. Nevertheless, do it for your own benefit. The work will still get done, and the health benefits to turning away from the screen are significant.

Should your meetings be low-tech?

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Do laptops and smartphones hijack your work meetings? Do employees spend time checking e-messages, tweeting their friends and scanning news headlines rather than listening to your strategy to boost profits? Well, you’re far from alone. Technology has impaired many a work meeting.

Going low-tech

Because of this Jake Knapp, design partner at Google Ventures, writes in a current post on the Medium Web site that staff ought to be restricted from carrying technology into meetings. Bosses, then, will have a far less challenging time attracting the interest of their workers.

Bye-bye tablets

Knapp recommends that employees say goodbye to their laptops, smartphones and tablets before entering a meeting. This will make sure they concentrate on what you’re announcing and not a raunchy joke forwarded to them by their best friend.

A timer

To alleviate the jitters of your now tech-less workers, Knapp proposes setting up a timer where everyone can see it. Now, your workers understand that there’s a stop time for the meeting. And when that timer goes off? Keep your end of the bargain; end the meeting.