Tag: tips

Google Voice – The important part is the voice part

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I’m not going to beat around the bush with this one.  Google Voice is awesome.  Even if you don’t have any idea what it is go sign up for it right now before you even finish reading this.  OK maybe that is a little bit hasty but it does not take away from what a useful product Google Voice is.

The video below will give you some idea, but the one thing they don’t make a big enough deal of in the vid is the fact that you can pick a number from pretty much anywhere.  Need a local number in Maryland but you live in Utah?  Google Voice.  Just let people call you in Maryland and they will get sent to you in Utah.  No worrying about “phone companies” or “money”.  I have no idea how they pull it off but they do.

And, on top of that, the forwarding feature really comes in handy.  I have to admit that the transcribing is not the best and I’ve never used a lot of the features, but you really  can’t beat the central point.  Google Voice gives you reach where you didn’t have it before.  So if you want to tell someone you live really far away so you can’t hang out with them, you can prove it by giving them your far away phone number.  And then never picking up when they call.  Or use Google Voice for good.  Whichever you prefer.  Either way it’s gold!

Namechk – Nobody Wants to be Tom23457

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*That username has already been taken* is perhaps one of the saddest messages one can ever get when signing up for a new online service.  If yours is taken, then you need to use your backup.  And if THAT is taken, then you are stuck with doing something dumb like changing how you spell it or adding a bunch of numbers to the end.

What are your kids and grand kids going to do when they need usernames?  They will ALL be taken, you know?

NameChk is a neat little tool that will either make you very happy or so mad that you throw your laptop out the window.  It does one thing.  It lets you add your username and it will check 159 different online places to see if your name is taken.  I know what you’re saying: “159 places?  I ONLY HAVE TWITTER!”.  Well, that’s because you didn’t know all these places were around.  I’m not saying you will want to claim your own Etsy shop (unless you make quirky pottery, I don’t know) but wouldn’t you like to know that you could?

Now, what do you do if your name is taken on some places that you want to join?  Well, I can tell you that trying to contact the people who took the names does no good at all.  :(  Sooo you might want to just find a name that nobody has and make THAT your new name.  But don’t pick blueberrymanifesto.  It’s taken on some.  I’m not kidding.

YouTube – It’s Not Just Cats

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OK, so it DOES have some pretty good cat videos, but it’s good for a whole lot more.  And if your business needs to show anybody anything, there aren’t a lot of scenarios where the video sharing site doesn’t work.

Now, it’s true that not every business has or needs video, but if you have a product you can highlight or demo, a service you can describe, or even commercials you have done before, making sure they are attached to your YouTube channel and linked from your site is a must.

And if you DO have the kind of business that does a lot of custom work or has products that can be demonstrated, seriously consider using videos to tell the story.  You can create an asset that stays with you and a resource you can leverage forever.

A great example of good use of video can be found at RonI Ergonomic Lifters.  They have a lot of products and a lot of ways to configure them.  They are made for video.  And notice that these aren’t Hollywood productions.  They are people getting the job done in a professional manner.

You can do the same, and you can use YouTube to source suppliers as well.  Spend some time looking around for yourself.  Just don’t blame me if you lose a whole day watching cat videos…