Let Us Facebook

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at 9:21 AM | Category: Meryl's Notes Blog, Social Media 1 comment

snowing facebook 271x300 Let Us FacebookWith the holiday season upon us and many of us spending less time online, on blogs and elsewhere — I decided to make a Facebook edition of “Let It Snow.” I’ve also done Twitter and blog versions: Let Us Tweet (Dragon unNaturally Speaking makes an appearance here) and Let Us Blog. Again, apologies to “Let It Snow” lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne.

Let Us Facebook

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But Facebook is so delightful,
And since we’ve no place to book,
Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook!

Updates don’t show signs of stopping,
And I’ve seen some pics for swapping,
Messages and invites pour in, so I must go look,
Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook!

When we finally connect in Facebook chat,
Your links, jokes and videos make me laugh.
But now I really have to scat.
Tomorrow, I’ll post that funny infograph.

The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, logging off we’re still defying.
But as long as Facebook fills with gobbledygook,
Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook! Let us Facebook!

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Links: Thanksgiving 2011

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011 at 5:31 PM | Category: Links, Meryl's Notes Blog No comments

charlie brown thanksgiving 300x247 Links: Thanksgiving 2011Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S., my favorite holiday. No gifts. No services. No dressing up, no stress. Just family, friends, food and football. Yes, my family loves watching the Dallas Cowboys play on Thanksgiving and having a late lunch.

No matter where you’re from, I’m thankful for your time in stopping by here, commenting, contacting me, sharing posts with others. Those in the U.S., I hope you take the time to take in the day and relish it. Those outside of the U.S., I’d love to hear about your traditions or a day that just lets you be with folks you love without stresses of fulfilling duties.

Brain food …

And for fun because we’re allowed …

 

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Outdated Software

Friday, November 11th, 2011 at 10:50 AM | Category: Links, Meryl's Notes Blog, Tech 3 comments

When I bought a Flip camera in 2008, I also grabbed video editing software. Before buying the software, I researched for a good editor that wasn’t fancy or power-packed. Just enough to get the job done without spending much time with the user manual. With new software, I can usually dig right in. However, past experience with editing software involved more reading time than editing time. After talking to a few folks and reading reviews, I went with Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Version 8.

I installed Vegas and never used it. Eventually, I uninstalled it because it took up unneeded resources and space. I decided to do a little winter cleaning by identifying the largest files on the computer. Three HD videos made the list, so that prompted me reinstall the editing software.

It can’t open the .m2ts files. This 2008 software has “HD” on the box, but it couldn’t open these files. I went to the website to see if the company had a patch or upgrade so it could open these files. It turned out they no longer support that version of the software. How hard would it be to create a plug-in to import these HD files? A search of user forums yielded nothing. I guess not too many people are using version 8 or they have cameras that don’t produce .m2st files.

Having learned my lesson that I don’t make time for editing videos, I looked around for freeware and cheap converter to convert these HD files into one Vegas 8 could handle. Unfortunately, no freeware app can handle these big files. Actually, there was one and it failed. Besides, I wasn’t comfortable using it because there had been concerns about the app having malware. (While working on this, I came across 10 Free Apps for Working with Video, but none could solve this problem.)

The trial version of Sony Vegas 11 converted the three big videos into one. Windows Media Player (Scroll way down to MPEG-4 section for why) couldn’t play it. Two other players could. Whew. I’m out of the video editing business. Back to using the old digital camera for videos.

I understand software companies have to draw the line in how long they support older versions of software. Is it fair to stop supporting a three-year-old app? Maybe Sony would’ve had a fan in me if they had a solution other than upgrade to 11.

What’s your take on software and support?

And now for your weekly links …

Brain food …

For fun …

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Links: Rootin’ Tootin’ Rangers 2011 Edition

Friday, October 14th, 2011 at 1:36 PM | Category: Links, Meryl's Notes Blog 1 comment
texas rangers Links: Rootin Tootin Rangers 2011 Edition

Image from flickr user Hawk Eyes

The Texas Rangers made the playoffs again this year. No smack talk from me. I just watch and hope for the best. “Rootin’ Tootin’ Ranger” was the name of a Rangers mascot from the ’70s. Wow, that game on Monday, October 10, blew me away. Would you believe the game’s walk off grand slam was the first in MLB playoff history?

What a series it has been between the Rangers and Tigers! The third base thing and it happened twice! (I won’t bore you with details, but email me if interested.) Then same guy who hit the walk off grand slam almost did the same thing in game four in the top of the 9th. He hit a three-run homer.

Brain food…

And for fun because we’re allowed…

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Links: Hello, October 2011 Edition

Friday, September 30th, 2011 at 9:03 AM | Category: Links, Meryl's Notes Blog 1 comment

Ahh … rough week. Best I let y’all go adventuring through these links.

Brain food…

And for fun because we’re allowed…

 

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Links: Fall 2011 Edition

Friday, September 23rd, 2011 at 9:28 AM | Category: Links, Meryl's Notes Blog No comments
candy corn Links: Fall 2011 Edition

Photo from sxc.hu user Spiders

Can’t believe fall arrived on time in the Dallas area after one of the hottest summers ever. Today is the first time I donned my sweater while working in the office. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about fall aside from changing leaves? For me, it’s candy corn. I know Halloween is over a month away, but somehow it’s become a bad habit for candy corn (and it must be a specific brand) to find its way into my house along with a few candy pumpkins.

Brain food …

For fun because we’re allowed …

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Links: School’s in! 2011 Edition

Friday, August 19th, 2011 at 10:18 AM | Category: Links, Meryl's Notes Blog No comments

School begins on Monday. Yay! Hooray! Too excited? The kids had a good summer. It’s time to return to our regular scheduled programming, only this year it has a few more shows added than I would like. The little guy takes piano, does scouts and goes to religious school twice a week instead of once. The older guy adds football and has to practice twice a day for a big event in February.

colored pencils Links: Schools in! 2011 EditionThe daughter gets busy with her college search and application process. Glad that last one will be done by November — I hope. I know some schools accept applications later on, but the bulk of the work happens this fall. Then, she can sit back and enjoy her senior year.

Me. I’ll be working extra hard to hold on to my sanity on top of mothering, wifing (boy, that looks like wi-fi’ing — you know, be a good wife), volunteering, serving clients as best as possible, chauffeuring, exercising, sleeping.

College has changed drastically from when I applied. I only applied to three schools. After I finished my freshman year, I applied to two schools because I moved to Washington, D.C. Now, kids typically apply to more than five schools. The cost? College tuition inflation multiples faster than regular inflation. In a conversation, someone said that it’s possible fewer kids will go to college in the future because of this. Or, go to community college — which are growing like weeds. I believe it.

Education is important. But not at the expense of your finances and sanity.  What are your thoughts on the state of college education?

Brain food…

  • How to Find an Illustrator for Your Book. I suppose I should save this as I doubt Lane Smith, Chris Von Allsburg or Mo Willems are available or affordable. icon smile Links: Schools in! 2011 Edition
  • 3 Principles for Facebook Fan Pages. This author-focused article gives you the basics to get started, even if it’s with a personal page. Don’t start a page for the sake of it. Do it because you have a strategy and you want to commit to it. Although, he has been talking about social media for a long time, my client didn’t commit to a Facebook page until recently. If you’re into social media and marketing, you might find it useful.
  • Is Free Too High a Price? I love this post as it clearly illustrates the value of giving away an ebook.
  • 10 Things About Having A Writing Blog. George highlights what it means to manage a writing blog.
  • Quiet Theory of Influence. A powerful post on how you can influence in social media without the oily stuff. People will argue against some of the points like the pop ups. I never liked them, but people have tested them and they do work. It’s like “Please RT” in Twitter. Yucky, but has shown to work. But I wouldn’t feel good about it… hence, snake oiliness.

For fun because we’re allowed…

Freelancer’s Guide to SEO – More Visibility, Traffic, and Clients

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Managing Your Reputation

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 at 4:44 PM | Category: Business, Meryl's Notes Blog, Social Media 4 comments

I’ve been reluctant about guest posts because they rarely offer value and most of them write 10 versions of the same article to post everywhere. Not Matt Polsky. Matt did something different. He addressed me by name and his email included specifics about my blog. He also suggested a topic that worked for readers like you. That’s the way to reach a blogger. Take it, Matt.

binoculars 300x182 Managing Your Reputation

Photo from sxc.hu user Thoursie

Businesses should take care in monitoring their brand name. From the first day and throughout the life of the company, managers need to use monitoring apps and searches to watch what is being said about their company. Not only does this apply to large businesses with many employees, but to small businesses and one-person businesses as well.

Ignoring customer comments and views devastate a business’ brand and negatively affect your personal image. Because one-person business owners have a tendency to use both their name and their business’ name simultaneously, online reputation management grows more important. To protect your name and business’ name, use the following online reputation management techniques.

Use Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO used to be the go-to for all online reputation management needs. Although it isn’t the only technique to use, it remains important. Following SEO guidelines  allows business owners to make sure that their names appear high in the search engine results and prevent poor press from being easily seen on these same search pages.

Great content and keywords contribute to SEO. After Google’s Panda update, content has become king, the better the content and the more people share it, the better it is for you. A great spot to start for content creation is a blog. Starting a blog is not hard and you can provide your customers with relevant information and show off your expertise.

Businesses researching their competitors look for who is linking to them and what anchor text they are using. However, for someone such as a writer, this would not be a time efficient option since you would have millions of competitors to research. Now if you are a niche writer who write about a certain topic that has fewer  competitors, the research may be worth it.

Dominate Social Media

For individuals who run their businesses under a different title, they need to have an account on numerous social media sites for not only their own personal name, but also for their businesses name. Each of your accounts on these sites, both personal and professional, need to convey the same image that you are a professional providing quality products or services.

While your professional social media sites may be more focused on your products or services, your personal sites need to indicate that you are a professional business owner. This consistency makes it easier for potential customers to find you trustworthy, which will make them more inclined to give you their business. Other reasons why you need to be using social networking sites include:

  • Gain feedback from customers.
  • Engage followers in a positive avenue.
  • Manage and correct any negative press received.
  • Grow ranking factor for search engines.

Remember when working on social networking sites, it is important to keep them frequently updated. A neglected account can be worse than no account at all and lead to negative press. If you receive negative comments, respond immediately and rectify the situation, or at least show you are working to resolve it to make both parties happy. Remember negative comments aren’t the only ones that merit a response. If customers compliment, thank them and work toward turning them into brand advocates.

The rise of social media has made brand management a priority for everyone, even college students seeking employment. Politicians have ruined their careers over tweets, while Facebook photos have costs professionals their jobs. It takes years to build your reputation and merely a bad tweet, comment or photo to ruin it.

About the Guest Blogger

Matt Polsky is the Senior Content and Reputation Manager for VA Mortgage Center.com. Managing VA Mortgage Center reviews, and sharing insights learned from the nation’s leading provider of VA home loans.

How do you manage your reputation? What do you monitor? How do you respond to comments about you or your business?

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Links: Mavs and Dads 2011 Edition

Friday, June 17th, 2011 at 4:51 PM | Category: Books, Business, Life Tips, Links, Marketing, Meryl's Notes Blog, Social Media, Tech, Writing No comments

I was born and bred in Fort Worth. I’ve lived in the Dallas / Fort Worth area for my entire life except for the six years I lived in Washington, DC. So all my favorite teams are the ones from here including the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Stars and the Dallas Mavericks. I stuck with all of ‘em through great years and forgettable years. When folks kept saying the Mavs were a joke and never contenders, I reminded them of the Mavs’ good years in the ’80s with Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Roy Tarpley and Brad Davis.

Thanks to Donald Carter for bringing the team to Dallas. Thanks to Mark Cuban for turning them into champions in a short 11 years. The Mavs almost did it in 2006, you know?

dad usaf Links: Mavs and Dads 2011 Edition

Meryl's Dad in USAF Uniform

Dads. Happy Father’s Day to all the involved dads out there who play catch with the kids, take them to school, help them with homework and be there for them. I’m lucky to be married to one of those dads. My dad (in loving memory) was one, too. We played catch many times, he took me to lots of Texas Ranger games, he embarrassed me on my way to school by waving at me while taking his morning walk and he was always there for me.

Best advice for the week: How to deal with criticism in one single step: “Don’t care. You’re not going to please everybody.” Even the nicest people have a few non-fans. You can produce the most beautiful work product and your boss, editor, client loves it. Someone, somewhere out there will hate it.

Brain food…

For fun because we’re allowed…

 

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Links: Happy 22nd Anniversary 2011 Edition

Friday, June 10th, 2011 at 4:55 PM | Category: Links, Meryl's Notes Blog, Social Media, Tech, Writing 2 comments

Tomorrow, my husband and I celebrate 22 years of wedding bellissimo. I don’t know how I landed such a great partner in life, but I do all I can not to take him for granted. I’ll stop with the mushy gushy. Just know that I did. I am. I will.meryl paul 201012 Links: Happy 22nd Anniversary 2011 Edition

Yes, another short note. I had a post for this week all figured out in my head, but no time to type it up and present it to you. It’s bad enough I went to bed late a couple of times this week because of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. What do you know? I started writing about the book and it turned into a post on book summaries and editorial reviews.

On with the links!

Brain food…

  • Six Reasons You Should Stick with Legacy Publishing: Yes, rejection is so rewarding.
  • How to Be a Successful Ghostwriter: If I had the time, I’d love to pursue ghostwriting. I write because I love the work — not because my name is in print or e-ink. Then again, I may not be the best ghostwriter because it usually involves many phone interviews and listening to recordings. Not an easy feat for moi.
  • How to Write Short Stories: “Dear Michael, The dog is in the oven. Don’t open it, it’s too late. I’m sorry.” Quite an opening, eh?
  • 10 Facebook guides and blogs posts every non-profit should read: Great resource.
  • Do welcome popups work? Personally, I close the popups without a glance. I’ll either leave the site immediately or read the article I came to read and leave. But you can’t argue data. Never hurts to test.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

  • Wave at the Bus: For 170 days, a dad wore a different costume while waving to his 15-year-old son as he stepped into the school bus.
  • 12 Geekiest Wedding Proposals: How appropriate: geek and wedding. As you know my husband and I celebrate our wedding anniversary this weekend and we’re geeks. We met the geeky way: on a BBS.
  • 10 Weirdest iPhone Apps: Another from Oddee. I knew about several… but the others… odddddd… here’s one more: Kick to Pick App that lets babies choose their own name.
  • Infographic: Left-Handed Facts and Statistics: Southpaws ROCK! Yes, I’m one of ‘em. If one parent is left handed, 33% of their offspring will be left-handed: My own personal data. My mom is a lefty, Dad wasn’t. They produced TWO lefties out of three kids. Dear husband is a righty (I know! Mixed marriage.) and I’m a lefty. We have three kids and 0 lefties. Yes, I know we supposedly have a lower lifespan than righties. That’d because everything is designed with a right-hander in mind and we have accidents as a result. icon smile Links: Happy 22nd Anniversary 2011 Edition
  • How to Draw Creative Caricatures: I’m a lefty, but I never could draw decent stuff.
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