Watch this video! So funny yet so true. Thanks to Dean DeLisle for sharing this on LinkedIn.
The Power of Confidence
Just had to share this story I read. Pablo Picasso credited his mother with much of his success. She believed in him from the beginning. She told him, “If you become a soldier, you’ll become a general. If you become a monk, you’ll end up as the Pope.” In Picasso’s own humble way, he ended the story, “Instead I became an artist and wound up as Picasso!”
Where Is My Email Stored?
Here’s the scenario. You write an email in Outlook and send it to your best friend. Your friend then opens the email in her Gmail account.
Where is the email stored? In 4 places.
- Your Outlook (email management software) saves a copy in Sent Items.
- Your server (Cox, CenturyLink, Verizon, etc.) saves a copy in webmail Sent Items.
- Your friend’s server saves a copy in her webmail Inbox.
- Your friend’s Gmail (email management software) saves a copy in Inbox.
You can delete both of your copies if you want to. Delete from Outlook. Log into webmail and delete from webmail.
You can not delete your friend’s copies.
That’s why you always want to THINK before you hit SEND!
Employee Influencer Your Employee, Your Biggest Influencer
“The most recent benchmark report by Influencer Marketing Hub predicts that influencer marketing is expected to grow to be worth $ 21.1 billion.
No wonder 80% of marketers intend to dedicate a budget to influencer marketing in 2023 — without a doubt, you’ve probably set up a budget that’s running already. Yes, right?”
Perceptions and Your Business Email Style
How you communicate online has an impact!
Caution: SmartPhones May Be Hazardous to Your Health
Smartphone use isn’t formally recognized as an addiction – yet. But we have all caught ourselves in addictive behavior. Not long ago, I headed to my bank which is a mere 3 miles from my house. About halfway there I realized I had forgotten my phone. I started to turn around to go get it! REALLY?!?! I used to make cross-country trips without a phone. Now I can’t drive 3 miles to the bank? In town on a sunny day?
The addiction is bad enough in adults but children, teens and young adults are even more susceptible as they have grown up with a phone in their hands.
Why is it hazardous?
- Constant notifications and activity interfere with concentration.
- People become less social when they focus on their phone instead of the people around them. Technology can never replace a friendly face and a smile.
- Children and young adults are particularly damaged as they are still developing social skills and miss experiences that help them grow.
- Scrolling through news feeds can be huge time sucks lowering productivity, happiness and even the amount of sleep you get.
- We literally get a hit of happy hormones (dopamine) from some phone activity. We are training ourselves to want more and more.
- Multiple studies have shown increases in depression, anxiety and other mental health issues are directly related to phone usage time.
- Even communities, cities and social groups lose opportunities when people sit in public spaces using their phones instead of interacting with others.
How do you disconnect?
No, don’t throw away the phone! Small adjustments in your behaviors can have big results. Our lives will become more and more connected to our phones with SmartOvens, Informed Mail Delivery, integrated calendars, etc. etc. etc. So there is no better time than TODAY to start intentionally disconnecting from your phone.
Research recommends these actions:
Notifications
Set notifications from social media platforms, your emails, services to come in a one time once a day instead of separate notifications from each one at each little action. (This will also make you more productive as you get into “email mode” and answer several emails at once.) Not having all those dings and blips on your screen will also lower your stress level.
Hide your social media and email apps
Drag the icons for your social media platforms, email apps, service providers to your 2nd or 3rd screen so you don’t see them all the time. You can even put them into a “Once A Day” folder. Or delete the apps from your phone completely and only access the apps from your laptop.
Hide the phone
There really is some truth in “out of sight, out of mind.” During meals, put everyone’s cell phones in another room. In the office, put the phone behind you and on silent for a set period of time to let you focus on a project.
Make access a little inconvenient
Don’t use biometrics or Facebook ID or other shortcuts for logging in. Make logging in a little bit harder to give yourself time to think “Do I really need to do this right now?” Science shows this small pause reduces phone and app usage!
Gray your screen
We are attracted to colors and images. Set a time – maybe 2 hours behind bedtime – to gray out your screen. It will reduce usage. It will reduce anxiety by making the screen less attractive therefore easier to turn off.
Make a list of tasks or set time limits
Before you pick up the phone, make a list of the tasks you need to do. Don’t just pick it up and “walkabout!” Mindless wondering eats up a lot of time. Setting time limits will also help you focus on what you need to do.
Your support team from Building Bridges Business Solutions and Your Computer Lady want you to be happy, healthy and productive with all of your technology! Call us if you need further assistance!
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- (602) 604-5000
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- (480) 929-0335
Why Creating Competitor Link Gaps Is Just as Important as Closing Them
“In SEO and digital PR, there is a lot of discussion surrounding how and why brands need to close backlink gaps in order to rank high and be competitive in the SERPs.
But what about tackling competitive SEO from the opposite direction by creating link gaps?”
Surviving the Scam Surge
Yes, you are getting hit with more spam emails and calls — and now spam texts — than at any point in the history of these devices. These messages are frequently dangerous! They often try to steal your data, identity and/or money — and the crooks are getting better and better.Here with some tips from security experts on how to protect yourself:
Simply do not answer calls or respond to texts from numbers you don’t recognize. If it’s a legitimate call/text, they’ll leave a message and you can call right back. Even if the area code indicates the number is local, don’t answer.
Likewise, don’t respond to emails from people you don’t recognize. That’s the easiest way for the spammer to verify your email so they can share it with their buddies and hit you with more junk mail. Just delete the message.
Only report as spam if you recognize the sender. For example, if I suddenly get an email from ABC manufacturing and I am sure I didn’t sign up to get their emails, I would report it as spam. I would know they grabbed my email from a membership list somewhere.
Don’t have your actual email show on your website. Instead of Pamela@YourComputerLady.com put “Email Pamela” and make the words a link to the email address. The link opens an email on the visitor’s computer so they can easily email you. But it’s harder for a spammer to grab the link. They’re too lazy to make the extra step.
Verify everything. If you get what looks like a request for information or a bill from a government office or retailer, call that agency or company to verify that it’s real. Scammers try to hit your hot buttons to suck you in. Offers to pay off your student loans or telling you there’s an issue with your online shopping order.
Pay attention even to emails from people you know. I recently received an email from a client. But the subject line was odd and the attachment was a file type she typically wouldn’t send me. Sure enough, when I texted to confirm it was legit, she told me her email had been hacked.
I absolutely, with no reservation, promise you Dell, Microsoft, Apple – hardware and software retailers of that level – will never call you to tell you there is a problem with their computer or with their software. Hang up!
Never click a link in a text from a number you don’t know.
Don’t even respond if you get a robocall that tells you to press a certain key on your phone to stop getting calls. Getting you to click on something is one of the quickest ways for scammers to get your personal information or at least verify that what they have is correct.
You can quickly forward spam text messages to 7726 to report them.
Put your landlines and cell phones on the FTC’s Do Not Call list to avoid telemarketers. Or better yet, do not answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize.
Want more info? Here are some guides on avoiding spam calls and texts and emails.
Source Data: Robokiller. Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios.
Back Up Your Files NOW!
Here’s the rule of thumb for when and where to back up data.
The more important the information
The more often you should back up and
The more distant those back up files should be.
I back up my QuickBooks data every 2 days and every time I do a lot of input. I don’t want to re-build or re-do a lot of entries. So the time it takes to do the back up is a savings compared to the frustration and time required to re-do the work.
If YCL does more than 1 hour of input on a website, we back up the site immediately. No need to risk losing that work!
Really important information like a password list, payroll records, client info, photos of grandchildren, etc. should be in 2 or 3 different places. Maybe a copy on a thumb drive in your office. A copy on Dropbox. A copy on iDrive.
If the thumb drive gets corrupted, you can pull from Dropbox or iDrive. If Dropbox crashes, you can pull from the thumb drive or iDrive.
Yes, even files stored on the cloud should have back ups!
Case in point, I store all of my passwords with LastPass. It’s a great software that I’ve recommended to many of you. A month ago CenturyLink had a nation-wide system disruption that affected the LastPass servers. I couldn’t log in!! The info was still there but I couldn’t get to it. Now I am exporting the passwords once a month and storing them in Dropbox.
I highly recommend that at least one of your back ups be automated. Sync everything with Dropbox. Use iDrive. Buy an external hard drive with back up software. Automating the process will save you time and give you protection even on those super busy days where little tasks get missed.
You can set up Dropbox to automatically sync files from your computer. You can use iDrive or Google Drive to schedule back ups.
Don’t wait for a disaster to happen. Plan and implement your system now for peace of mind.
Request for Reviews
Testimonials have always been an important part of marketing. Today, in our digital world, online reviews are critical. Many prospects check for reviews on Google or Facebook before they even visit a company’s website.Best Option
Ask your clients for reviews right after you finish a project. They are happy and the work is fresh on their minds. Give them the links they need to get to the site or sites you want to build up. Follow up once or twice. People are busy and they may get distracted on the way to
doing the review.
doing the review.
Continuing Efforts
- Put a request for reviews and the appropriate links in your
email signature. - Add a reviews block to your email template so that each email asks for reviews. Use logos and link directly to the sites.
- Add a section on your Home Page with logos and links to review sites. When clients visit your site they get a reminder request.