Working Solo Missing a Blogger

Even thought I am not one the those bloggers that writes 10+ posts per week I do normally manage to get between 2-4 out per week.  This past couple of weeks (and into the next one) it has been a little quiter than usual.

This is purely because the rugby league team that I am a trainer with has been playing in their finals series and has made it to the Grand Final this Saturday night.  There is a great deal of organisation taking place and even more rubbing and taping of players than normal. 

My role as one of the trainers to try and keep the players as fit to play as possible – this means strapping shoulders, knees, ankles, wrists …..
rubbing out all the tight hamstrings, quads, backs, shoulders …. keeping them hydrated through the game (seeing me shuffing on and off the field must be a funny site) …. dealing with game day injuries, providing ice, stopping bleeding and dealing with any broken bits (count so far this year is 2 broken collarbones, 6 broken fingers, 1 broken wrist, 3 broken noses …)

So for the next while the Arncliffe Scots A Grade will have my attention.  I have even managed to grab some time and design a grand final day t-shirt for them.

Catch you again soon.

Practical Use of Technology – Travelling Labels

Are you interested in a practical, low tech use of technology the next time you are travelling?

I was speaking with Warren, a friend of my parents, last night …. he wanted to confirm their address so he could send them postcards while he was travelling on holidays. 

Now this is nothing out of the ordinary.  We have all done the obligatory postcard from somewhere.  But it can be a hassle remembering all the addresses (especially postal codes).  You could take your adress book with all the details, or do like Warren does.

Before he leaves he makes address labels using his word processing software and the pre-packaged labels (think Avery and the like) you can buy at most office supplies stores.

When it comes time to send out the postcards he just -

• buys the card,
• writes a quick note (the weather is here wish you were beautiful .. or the other way around),
• slaps on the address label,
• the stamp, and
• sticks in in the nearest post box. 

It is that easy.

There might be another use for the pre-addressed labels -  if you are a parent and your kids are going on their OE (overseas experience) you could always give them a sheet of labels as they step out the door (it might be the only way they remember to stay in touch).

See, technology can have some very practical and low tech uses.

PS>  Next time you’re travelling send me a card )

Q&A – How Do I Delete Cookies?

Question – I’ve been told that one of the cookies set on my PC may have expired and that I need to delete it?  I’m not really sure what a cookie is, let alone how to delete it?  Can you help me? – Chris

Deleting cookies is a relatively straightforward process, once you know where to look of course.

A cookie is a file created by an Internet site to store information on your computer, such as your preferences when visiting that site.  Or it might only contain a record of the pages you looked at within the site you visited, to help the site customize the view for you the next time you visit.

If you want to choose the cookie that you need to delete you can do that via your browser.

For Internet Explorer
1.  Click on the Tools menu and choose Internet Options

2.  On the General tab, click Settings, and then click View files.

3.  Select the cookie you want to delete, and then, on the File menu, click Delete

For Firefox
1.  Click on the Tools menu and choose Options

2.  Click on Privacy

3.  On the Cookies Tab, click View Cookies

4.  Select the cookie you want to delete, and then click on the Remove Cookies Button

Comments – Sometimes they are too good to hide

To some of you, who read this site through the RSS feed reader of your choice, comments made by others may go unseen.  For others of you, that have a small or non-existent understanding of the capabilities for 2-way communication that resides within a blog technology, comments are often hidden in the draw called “I don’t know what I don’t know”.

So … I have decided to bring to the fore a few of the comments from the past several weeks and allow you to participate in the wisdom of these regular readers of Working Solo.  Over the course of this week I will be highlighting comments on some of the favourite posts (based on visits), from some of my favourite people.

Post – Online Success – Is it really about the technology? Part 1

Paula Gregorowicz | Jun 23, 2006
I think online success has more to do with basic principles of attraction, marketing, customer service, and relationships than any technology of the day. I have been deeply involved with technology both in a corporate setting and now with my own business. The rate of innovation is thus that you never really “catch up” especially for people looking to be ahead of the curve. For some that creates a ton of overwhelm and burnout and eats into their bottom line because most small businesses aren’t technology focused — they are good at what they do and technology is a tool for them to do that better (or be more profitable doing it).

I believe if we really focus on “why” we are choosing to use a certain technology we’ll be much more successful. What part of our business cycle are we trying to enable with a given technology solution? Once we answer that, then it is a matter of choosing a proverbial hammer or screwdriver from the technology toolbox. While there are many choices, a thoughtful evaluation will often lead to a workable solution. I’m not sure there really is a “best” platform, software, etc. After all, I can screw in the screw of my bookshelf successful with a manual screwdriver OR an electric one. Both get the job done.

Technology can easily be seductive and work against you if you’re not careful. If you keep your eyes and priorities on the bigger picture, though technology can be a good friend opening up connections with people and possibilities that didn’t exist 10 years ago.

Karen Wallace | Jun 23, 2006
this is a very thought provoking article. I knew when I went into business for myself that I was no tech expert. Quite the opposite. But if I let myself think about all the options and what I may be missing out on because I wasnt using the best or latest techo thingumy, then I could quickly get very overwhelmed and even depressed.

So, I don’t let myself think about it, and I utilise the skills of someone with a heap of knowledge, interest and expertise in the technology area (hmmm – that wouldnt be you would it??) to provide me with the technology to get the job done without anything fancy ‘just because it is the latest thing’.

With someone like you on my side, I dont feel that technology is a burden, but I know that I would definitely feel on very thin ice if I didnt have that reassurance.

I think success online is about successfully communicating your message and having a conversation – I love your sentence about conversations being active, interesting and thoughtful. Basic, sound technology can aid us in this – but in the end it all boils down to us and our message (with a little help from our friends).

Ben Yoskovitz | Jun 28, 2006
Technology is a tool, nothing more. It enables you to do things, like a hammer enables you to nail something to a wall. It’s not the end, it’s just part of the means.

When someone says, “It’s all about Web 2.0…” I would suggest running away. First, that doesn’t mean anything. Second, that person is bound to talk tech till you’re blue in the face.

The Web is a way of reaching people and engaging people unlike anything we’ve ever really had. Technology is part of that, and business owners need to understand it to a degree, but technology isn’t the end point.

Chris Owen | Jul 16, 2006
Like Karen I’d be really struggling without your good self there to sort the wood fromn the trees for me. Or should that be the bytes from the megabytes?

Nothing will work effectively and long term if you don’t build relationships with conversations of some kind(sorry the relationship coach will just hop off her soapbox now!) and that applies in the tech world as well.

Phil Gerbyshak | Jul 21, 2006
Outstanding post Leah! It is all about the ACTUAL interactions with your customers, who cares how you do it. Blogs, newsletters, websites, brochures, cell phones, VOIP, Instant Messaging, e-mails…Whatever it takes to better communicate with your clients is what you should do. No more, no less. If you won’t, someone else will. It’s all about the clients, not about me, after all.

More Free Stuff! Great Icon Graphics

So you may not be interested in the image creation applications (see previous post) as you actually need some form of creative skills for those.  But you still want nice, professional images for presentations, reports, webs …..

Then you need the good folk at the Icon Factory.  Not only do they do cutting-edge graphics and icons for some of the worlds-best brands, they also look after the small end of town (like you and I) by providing over 270 (currently) freeware icon sets.  Since 1996 they have released over 7,000 free icons.  These guys are good!

While you are there take a look at the new site design.  A great example of blog-meets-website (something I am encouraging more clients and small business owners to do).  You can learn a lot about what works well from having a detailed look at this site.

BTW – I should give a time warning with the recommendation of the Icon Factory.  You could use up hours just browsing if you are not careful (yes there is THAT much good stuff on the site).

How Not to Spend Big on Photoshop

Based on the response to the post about Gliffy (the online drawing application) it seems that you like links to free or low-cost applications.

Since a comment on that post from Jonathon at MyMoneyBlog looking for a tool that would create nice looking graphics (such as graphs for presentations) I have had my eye open for something that might be a low/no-cost option to applications such as Photoshop.

Well this morning I found something that might just fit the bill if you are looking to create and manipulate images – GIMP. (That’s Wilber the GIMP mascot over on the right).

So what is GIMP you ask?

  GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It
  is a freely distributed program for such tasks
  as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

No matter the flavour of computer technology you use there is a GIMP for that system – Windows, Mac, Unix ….

Now it may not have all the bells and whisles of Photoshop or other Pro-level software but for most of us it should do the trick.  Even if you don’t need it for your business it would be a great idea for the home computer and a way to develop some creative and computing skills in the kids.

I hope this helps in ongoing battle to keep your tech costs down.