Sound quality in virtual meetings can be all over the place because some people use good headsets, some people use the microphone on their computers, and some people use speaker phones (No!).
The thing is, people sound fine to themselves on these calls: even the worst offenders have no idea how bad they sound.
Assessing […]
I travel a lot for business. In 2008 it was mostly just one trip per year, in 2016 it was three, and in 2018 it was up to thirteen. While some of this travel is to visit family or to attend concerts, most is to attend large meetings that span much of a week.
This […]
The company my partner and I run provides writing, editing, layout, general marketing, and other services to all kinds of companies, but most of our clients are in high tech, including several clients in the supercomputing industry. Whenever I bring in a new editor, booth helper, or anyone else, I send this mini-glossary of industry […]
Most blogs contain posts which are discrete stories or articles that, while they might share common topics, are intended to be read on their own, not as part of a linear progression. For these blogs, unless you have set up some order, the posts are in an unstructured list that your users can either read […]
I’ve heard recently from some friends who blog that they are discouraged that they don’t have much engagement with their readers. With no feedback or interaction, they are wondering why they should even bother. This started a conversation that focussed on answering just one simple question: Why do you blog?
Batch processing of images in Affinity photo is really easy. A perfect use case for this is to change the size of an entire folder of images for use in your blog.
Everyone knows that if you are starting a business, your first step is a business plan. This is true no matter what size your business will be and what you plan to do. But too often, would-be entrepreneurs get mired in this step and never seem to get anywhere.
The newer the iPad, the better — but as long as you are not having issues, older models are perfectly fine for most users. When the next version of the operating system comes out in Fall 2017, it will be compatible with most of the recent models. But how old is too old?
I am approaching the 30th anniversary of when I started to work as a consultant in my home. Over the years, I have often been asked by envious rat-race-runners how to break free of the grind and work from home.
Years ago, I managed documentation projects for a group within a major multinational corporation. All of our documents (and web content) were localized into Chinese, Portuguese, and Russian.
When you work for a company with enterprise tools, almost everyone has the exact same kind of computer with the same tools. It’s very comfy how everything works seamlessly together; and if this is your experience, you probably have no idea how challenging a calendar can be.
Every morning, the first thing I do after I get dressed is put on my bluetooth headset. Rather then the Borgesque ear-dongle, I use a headset that goes around my neck, then only put the earbuds in when I get a call or want to listen to music (or white noise). I wear it all day, and […]
Part of being a professional is knowing when to move on and to do so in a professional way.
Taking a job, whether as an employee or as a contractor, is not the same thing as entering into a marriage. You are there to do your best work for your employer or client, but if […]
Event management has become a big part of what I do. One thing I stress is that every event needs a documented plan: it starts with strategy and then dives into the tactics. Not only does this give everyone a single “plan of record” to refer to as they work on the show, it helps you with planning […]
A few months ago I needed to quickly come up to speed on using the GoToWebinar platform for a client. Webinars are all the rage these days, so this was a nice bit of knowledge to get into place and I was happy for the opportunity. So, as I typically do, I am sharing […]
I spend most of my working day reading, writing, sending, and managing email — so the tool I use must be as efficient as possible. When I was on Windows, I was an Outlook power-user. I really came to hate Windows back then so switched over to Mac. I loved everything about my new Mac experience… except I […]
Use quality images from stock photography websites to give your blog posts and collateral a more polished look and attract more eyes to your content.
Especially if you are a Windows user tired of struggling with the Delete vs. Backspace thing, or if you are looking for a way to use your iPad as a mini laptop: the Brydge+ is the keyboard for you.
Using week numbers is a great way to refer to weeks when scheduling projects. Enable this feature in outlook for a convenient week-number reference.
Everyone knows that project slips are sometimes unavoidable and so the agencies plan for this, but major schedule delays cause a ripple effect of problems for the freelancers and other resources on your project.
Writing and publishing can be a very rewarding experience, but it takes a lot of work! I was recently asked for some information on how to get started in self-publishing. As I often do, I am posting my answer here.
13 tips to help you plan your new blog or newsletter before you launch it to make sure it projects the professional image that you want to portray.
We are a melting pot of lots of things including faiths and we are all free to express that. Just go into it knowing that not everybody in your audience will agree with your sentiment, and some folks will feel uncomfortable about it.
Choose a color for your brand that is meaningful to you and that you love, but take the extra step to choose the most easily reproducible shade of that color that you can.
Quick Steps are yet another handy tool in Outlook to help you keep your mass of messages organized. Combined with PSTs, tagged searching, and the other Outlook features I’ve written about here, Quick Steps helps Outlook be a great hub for your email communications.
Repurposing existing design work for another deliverable is a great way not only to make better use of your design budget, it helps you achieve a consistent look and feel across projects. But this means having to do some up-front planning and having to keep your projects organized. Keep your files clean as you work, or plan on time after the deliverable is sent off to clean up the files.
What are the common-sense rules to naming files? Does it really matter? Even though your computer allows you great flexibility in naming files, think ahead to how the file will be used. Take pity on the user that will have to type that name into a web browser, and be mindful of how the name will look once the escape codes are entered in place of spaces.
Want your clients to be happy with your PowerPoint templates? Give your client flexibility by inserting graphics as individual elements: Don’t merge all your graphics into a single graphic. Also, be sure not to call it a “template” until it really is a template.
Sellers and bloggers need your feedback and comments, so take the time to give feedback when you can. For sellers on sites such as Amazon, feedback that “everything was as expected” is better than no feedback at all. Be sure to place blame (and credit) where it belongs, and try to stay constructive and fair.
Comment Spam: I Give Up
I have a spam problem. I get about 20-30 comments every week! The thing is, 99.8% of those comments are from bots or from people posting bogus comments.So I am closing it down. No more comments. But I want to hear from you!