The Bella Buzz: Successful Web Design, Internet and Social Media Marketing Strategies from Desiree Scales, CEO--Bella Web Design, Inc.

A Conversation about Our Upgrade to Windows 7 for a Happier New Business Year

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The first 2010 edition of The Bella Buzz Podcast of 2010 brings to light the computer operating system upgrades that both Desiree and Joe went through during the holiday break. Stemming from good advice accumulated over the years, reformatting the hard drive or conducting the manual process of updating the files and clearing the desk always makes for a fresh start to the new year. 

This year, we both decided to upgrade to the new Windows 7 operating system as a next logical step during our holiday break. This also provides the opportunity to try out the Windows Office 2010 Online beta that is available which is free until October for anyone willing to be a guinea pig. (We can say it works very well.)

Desiree went through an upgrade from Vista to the 64-bit version of Windows, while Joe was jumping all the way from XP to the 32-bit version, which is simply a limitation of the software and hardware combination.

Both went through a full install process, in Desiree's case getting an entirely new hard drive that she installed into the computer case, while the installation process for an XP to 7 jump requires a complete formatting of the drive to complete. This can be a very scary process. The key is to make sure all of the important data has been backed up to an external drive, getting the system drive to a clean state, installing the operating system, and finally re-importing all Settings and Data.  All of the steps are clearly outlined in the accompanying documentation to Windows 7.

The real take away from our experience is that it CAN be done by anyone with a fair amount of know-how. (In Desiree's case, a screwdriver came in handy to take out the old drives and replace it with a new one.) Credit goes to the Microsoft team for making this a realistic process to successfully achieve.

NOTE: During the podcast we discuss the ability for Windows 7 to operate with a simultaneous Virtual XP mode. The reason as specified was to continue to use Quickbooks 2008.  Since the time of that recording I have been able to install and successfully use my version of Quickbooks within Windows 7.  The word from Intuit, the makers of Quickbooks, is that they do not "support" the version compatibility.

During this process, it was discovered that "it's not always what it seems".  Some of the challenges with the use of the computer in the past were blamed on the old operating system, when in fact it really was a result of putting numerous Add-Ons in the Firefox browser. These additional programs for the browser can have some great benefits and are written by some extraordinary coders. However, in various combinations and configurations it can greatly reduce the browsers reliability, and since an enormous amount of time is spent computing in the cloud, the speed of a browser can be a major factor in effectiveness.

If you are considering making this upgrade, we recommend that you pay attention to which version of Windows 7 is best for you amongst the Home, Professional and Ultimate editions.  They also have a nice three pack option which allows for upgrades to three machines with one license. 

Desiree gets into her use of Windows 7 new feature Home Group a little bit.  If you need to share files and printers among a group of computers using Windows 7, this option might be for you.

Please tell us about your experiences with upgrading to Windows 7. How did it go for you?

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

The Top Five Technology Stories of 2009

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During the month of December, it is appropriate to take a look back and a look forward. In this first part of our series, Desiree and Joe  talk about the five biggest technology news stories of 2009 that made a significant contribution to the technology map moving forward. We also discuss what they might mean as we move into 2010 in our next podcast.

This is in no particular order as per the importance of the topic.

1)  The rollout of Google Wave

With much fanfare and hype, the developers at Google announced a new product that was going to be the "next generation of email!"  The technorati were in a ferver over getting one of the limited number of invites, some even looking to purchase invites on eBay.  Slowly but surely the invites were being distributed and people had a chance to get a look at what Google Wave was all about.

At this point Wave continues to be an enigma to even the most ardent supporters.  There is no question that it is still a work in progress so even something as simple as an immediate notification of a new Wave is missing. 

There are some applications that appear to be best use cases. For example, if there is a need for a collaborative environment where multiple people need to be passing information back and forth with a single final output. Desiree's nephew Kyle is attending The University of Illinois-Chicago and has determined that Wave can be beneficial in his study group, so we extend the invitation to him to appear on an edition of The Bella Buzz to give us a review of their usage.

2) Twitter as a news source

When the news of the Iranian election uprisings broke this past June, right here on the Bella Buzz we called it possibly one of the biggest news stories of the year ... and our prediction turned out to be correct. The story from our perspective is actually broader than just the population of Iran taking to the streets (and still in the streets), the story was more about how Twitter posts and cell phone video uploads distributed the coverage far in advance of anything that the mainstream media could provide. It was such a blatant shift in our expectations of news organizations, that actually CNN went on the air to defend their actions.

By the time of Michael Jackson's passing later that month, we had come to expect that the pervasive, simple nature of Twitter would be getting the message around quicker than a news report.

3)  Facebook reaching 350 Million Users

In an open letter from Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg at the beginning of December, he stated that "more than 350 million people around the world are using Facebook to share their lives online."

This might in fact turn out to be the year that really puts Facebook over the top.  What was once the playground of college students, then early adopters, has now extended to baby boomers and beyond.  Facebook has fast become the way to connect, re-connect and to stay in touch.

Part of the reason for the expansion is adding functionality outside of the walls of Facebook such as Facebook Connect.  By allowing web sites to incorporate a login function using Facebook credentials, it extends the content from the site back into Facebook.  Web site owners like the ability to build a community that will port their content in front of a News Feed of potentially 350 million, while simultaneously making it easy for users to sign up for a Facebook account.

4) NASA adopts Social Media

Somewhere in the halls of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration there was a smart decision made. There was a decision to implement some social media strategies to help the general population rediscover the exciting missions taking place in our space program.

Programs that used these tools include the Mars Phoenix lander, sending out tweets during it's trips around the Martian surface and its demise.

There was Astronaut Mike Massimino, known as @Astro_Mike. He continues to use Twitter to distribute information about his endeavors. He is getting lots of votes currently on Mashable for his nominated Tweet of the Year.

The coolest implementation happened around the anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing.  NASA developed an interactive web site, We Choose the Moon.org, complete with actual audio as it happened in 1969. They also established Twitter accounts for each of the parties as if they were using Twitter to communicate; Apollo CapCom,  Apollo Spacecraft, and the Eagle Lander.

Upon announcement of the 2010 NASA Budget, an additional $2 billion has been added to NASA's 2009 and 2010 budgets under the Obama administration.  President Obama nominated Charles Bolden as NASA Administrator.

5) Google Android Phones

The new open source operating system for mobile phones has reached the mass market.  The release of  the Droid phone from Verizon is the first in what will be a line of many phones that are incorporating the Apps and useability currently found in the iPhone. There is a now a decision to be made at the end of the AT&T contracts that users had to sign when they acquired an iPhone.  The decision now can be simply which carrier works best for me, which has the plan that I want, and which phone gives me the best value. 

Please let us know if we've missed any stories you would consider most important this year. Leave us a comment with any stories you think deserve a mention!   Look for next week's episode for the predictions for 2010 and beyond!

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

Improving Business Communications with Google Voice

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 It's all about Google Voice telephony service on the Bella Buzz Podcast today.  Hosts Desiree and Joe talk about their experiences using the free service that allows for phone calls to find them wherever they may be, using one phone number. 

This service was once called Grand Central until it was purchased by Google in the summer of 2007. They have refined and scaled the service so that it is becoming more readily available via invitation. (Complete this form here to get on the waiting list.)

With a Google Voice account you can have one phone number -- forever.  As they say in the video below, the number is tied to you, not a device or a location. This free service can easily be set up to provide you with complete control over which phone rings and when it rings, voicemail transcription service, caller grouping that provides customized greetings, sms notification of messages and many more detailed functionalities.

Having a Google Voice number removes the concerns about losing contact with people who may have an old business card with an office number or a different cell phone number.

The biggest challenge out of the gate using a Google Voice number is getting all of your contacts and family to use it.  Of course the easy ways are to include the number as part of an email signature and business card, but you may also need some help with the process.  Here is a Lifehacker article about easing the transition.

There have been some regulatory as well as business relationship controversies about the service that we point out.  Initially battles developed over the use of Google Voice on the iPhone, with AT&T concerned over ability to text and talk for free via an App. The rationale behind the banning of the app is that the functionality is too similar to that of the iPhone. Google still continues to claim they've been banned, while Apple states it's under review.

Currently, the battle also incorporates Net Neutrality concerns regarding phone service getting blocked based upon specific locations.

For someone starting a new business, Google services provides you with a complete operational dashboard that includes phone, documents, email and the list goes on and on. It is a way to get off the ground immediately and just another way to keep your business in the cloud.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

Taking Your Business to the Cloud and Beyond

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This week the Bella Buzz podcast gets into the tools and technologies that can be classified using the term "cloud computing." Cloud computing moves the application or software off of the desktop and places it onto the internet where users interact completely through a web browser.  This technology has proven to be a very efficient and affordable way to ensure that companies have access to information wherever there is an internet connection.

The transition to cloud computing has been a slow but steady one as applications are built that can compete with the desktop apps in terms of performance.  Microsoft's Office suite with Outlook, Word, and Excel can be replicated entirely on line through the Google Apps engine which is where Joe has transitioned all of his email and documents.

The straw that broke the camel's back was the second crash of the Outlook PST file.  Another option needed to be explored and that lead to using Google Apps for the company document systems.  This allowed ultimately for Fluid Media to go to a virtual environment where there is no longer a physical office address with a networked server set up to share information within the company.  With a cloud computing setup, employees work from a remote office and access and collaborate on proposals, presentations, any type of document on the web.

Desiree uses the Google presentation application which is like Powerpoint, and can make the presentation via an internet connection on the spot.

Two common concerns among those considering whether to use cloud applications are usability and security. Usability continues to improve as features are updated and added bringing them closer and closer to the same user experience as the Office products.  You will still find a bit of adjustment to using them, but over time they become minor.  The security issue is truly the crux of the transition to more cloud based activity.

If cloud based applications are going to become the prevalent form of computing in the future, it is going to take diligence on the part of the providers regarding security.  The minute there is a breach of trust or a significant breakdown in protection of documents that are in the cloud .. the entire category could break down.  New adopters will be slow to come, large corporations will be hesitant and suspicious, and we will see a complete reversal of this trend.  With this in mind, it is fair to say that the focus for any company providing cloud based services is security.

There can be some confusion over which version of Google apps we are discussing.  What was once called Google Apps for Domains is a service that allows for mapping a domain main name to an account.  This provides a company with the ability to manage access, sharing rules, and sets up the account so that emails appear from the company's domain email address rather than the generic Gmail address.  Something that Desiree echoes as being extremely important for maintaining a business brand.

The future of the adoption of web based computing can be foretold in announcements about Google Wave and the Chrome operating system.

Desiree has had tremendous results from using Salesforce as a CRM (customer relationship management) tool.  She is able to manage her business leads to ensure that the proper team member handles the communication, follows up with the contact or numerous other ways to manage a customer through this cloud-based technology.

GoToMyPC is a great tool for those who need access to a remote computer. It may not necessarily be cloud computing by definition, but it's a great way to stay completely synched up with documents no matter what machine you are on.  Basecamp is a related project management tool that can help clients through a long development process. Desiree's clients love the fact that they know exactly what to expect during a project by using this tool to collaborate and set up a timeline that can be shared by everyone involved in a Bella Web Design project.

Jungledisk is a service that will allow you to back up data to the Amazon S3 service so that you have a backup tool in the cloud, especially if you have large files to work with like photos, podcasts, video files etc.. Could computing doesn't necessarily have to be apps in the cloud, it can simply be using the massive amount of storage capacity that is available to you.

How about you? Have you moved to the cloud or simply considering it? Drop us a note in the comments to let us know how you feel about the future of cloud computing.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

Web 2.0 and What it Means to CEOs and Entreprenuers

Want to know more about Web 2.0? Seems like the hot topic around the web. I found a great video about it which explains a little more from the perspective of CEOs and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. Take a look:

Great iPhone Article and Why Steve Jobs Gets It Right Every Time

Take a look at this article at Time Magazine Online. This totally explains why Steve Jobs is a leader in his field and will continue to be. Steve looks for things that are broken and then finds a solution. If most of us did that in our own businesses on a consistent basis, imagine how much farther off we'd be! How many times have you seen a situation or used a product that didn't work and wonder if it was you and not the other way around? Anyway, great article. Enjoy!

5 Technology Discoveries That Changed My Business in 2006

I am writing this as part of the ProBlogger Group Writing Project for 2006. (Learn more here.) Darren's first assignment is to ask to us to review the past or predict the future. Since I'm not feeling very swami-ish tonight, (I have a cold!) I chose the former and will tell you of the 5 Technology Discoveries that Changed my Business in 2006.

1. The Treo 700 --This really helped me organize my life! I have all my activities on this phone/PDA and it keeps my schedule in front of me every time I make a call. Its been invaluable for my business.
2. My Bluetooth Headset--This has helped me use my Treo 650 with no wires while driving my car and allowed me to become more efficient in returning and making sales calls.
3. Podcasting--I listen to podcasts while driving to learn more about my business. I call it University de KIA. (Catch the theme here? I'm in my car a lot!) I can learn anything from how to make a good presentation to how to write a good blog. There are podcasts on everything you could ever imagine.
4. Vonage/IP Telephony--Helped me save A LOT of money on phone calls each month. Plus they have features that you can run through a simple web interface like call forwarding and I can also get my voicemails via email. Very cool!
5. This Blog--I can't tell you how much this blog has changed my business in the last 2 months. My leads have doubled since I started the blog because it has established my credibility in the field of web design/search engine submission. If you have good writing skills and some extra time (HA HA!) to write your own blog about your particular niche, I highly recommend starting one.

So those are my top 5. If you want to post yours in the comments, please feel free to share!

Why Spam is Growing and Taking Over Our Email

Rob sent me this this morning (my "man-behind-the-scenes" husband):

Spam returns Worldwide spam traffic has doubled this year despite a broad push to stamp out junk e-mails. It now accounts for 9 of every 10 e-mails sent over the Internet. Three years ago, Microsoft's Bill Gates said the problem would be "solved by 2006." Spammers have sidestepped software that spots suspect senders by routing messages through computers infected with rogue programs so they will relay spam without their owners' knowledge. "Imagine an archvillain who has a new thumbprint every time he puts his thumb down," said Patrick Peterson, vice president of technology for Ironport. (The New York Times, free registration required) Read it here: http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/business/16940

Keep in mind also that a lot of viruses that have been sent around over the past two years are starting to work on computers of people who are unaware that they are actually living inside the computer or email program. These viruses are sending out mass amounts of Spam using regular folk's computers as the "host" computer at massive rates..

Although the Internet has made our lives easier and created a lot of new industry, the dark side is that people have capitalized on it and are using it in a wasteful way. Let's hope our government starts to crack down on some of these spammers soon.

Internet Inventor Worried about World Wide Web

I read this story yesterday at the Taipei Times which caught my attention:

The creator of the World Wide Web said on Thursday night that the Internet is in danger of being corrupted by fraudsters, liars and cheats. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the Briton who founded the Web in the early 1990s, says that if the Internet is left to develop unchecked, "bad phenomena" will erode its usefulness.

Berners-Lee's creation has transformed the way millions of people work, do business and entertain themselves.

But he warns that "there is a great danger that it becomes a place where untruths start to spread more than truths, or it becomes a place which becomes increasingly unfair in some way."

He singles out the rise of blogging as one of the most difficult areas for the continuing development of the Web, because of the risks associated with inaccurate, defamatory and uncheckable information.

Berners-Lee believes devotees of blogging sites take too much information on trust.

"The blogging world works by people reading blogs and linking to them. You're taking suggestions of what you read from people you trust. That, if you like, is a very simple system, but in fact the technology must help us express much more complicated feelings about who we'll trust with what," he said.

I both agree and disagree with this statement.

Yes, the web is fraught with people who create blogs and other sites to mislead and scam people, but I really believe the percentage of this is much lower than those of us posting information that is reliable and good.

I think that its also pretty realistic to say, once you start reading something, that your gut knows when your reading a bunch of bunk.

It all comes down to common sense. Does the information you're reading really help you or make sense? You can pretty much figure it out in the first paragraph. If it doesn't sound right you can always go to Google to research it or just move on. Its easy to click the close button on your browser. Easier than shutting off your Aunt Margaret who goes on and on about how you'll catch a cold if you go outside without a coat. (More bunk that has been proven by researchers to be untrue.)

However, the article goes on to say Sir. Berners-Lee is doing a study on protecting the WWW from these types of sites and blogs with bad information. I'm glad someone is stepping up to the plate. I just received a scam email this morning from a company that sent me what looked like a bill for search engine submission. Made me pretty mad and sad that more and more people are thinking up ways to get into our pockets.

I think the Internet as a whole is a good thing. I know its changed my life immensely and I can't wait to see what someone thinks of next. I'll keep you posted!

Great Article Comparing IE 7 and Firefox 2.0

Found a great article this morning comparing IE 7 and Firefox 2.0 back to back.

The lowdown:

• Firefox now has a SPELLCHECKER!!! LOVE IT!
• Firefox is still faster than IE
• This one is REALLY important to our team: Site compatibility. Internet Explorer 6 was known for not being compliant with Web standards, and while IE7 improves on that, it still doesn't play as well with others as Firefox. However, there's a caveat here.
  Because IE6 has such a huge base of users, many Web developers have drafted sites that appear "broken" in Firefox. As a result, with the improvements that have been made in IE7, there are now more sites that appear broken in the newer browser as well. Also, many sites may not recognize IE7, or even think its an older version of Internet Explorer, and not display properly as a result.

  As a result, the advantage here goes to Firefox 2.0. Interesting...

• Firefox still has more Add-Ons such as themes, download managers, video managers, etc.
• Firefox is more secure than IE (anything is more secure than Microsoft!)

The only thing that IE really had going for it was the interface and tabbing of pages. That was about it. Looks like Firefox is the winner AGAIN!