Libby Lines

As I look out my window, I don’t see an almost May scenery…I see snow!  Yes, more snow.  The weather report telling me that it will be 70 by tomorrow doesn’t comfort me because I want 70-degrees and sunny EVERY day in May.  Yes again, I live in Boulder and am therefore spoiled by a perfect balance of seasons and drastic changes that allow us all to be satisfied all the time (if you don’t like the weather, just wait 5 minutes).

So, for this month’s article, I wrote about gardening because I though, hey, it’s April, that’s what we’ll be doing…well, not for a few more hours, at least.

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January article for Women’s Mag -

1. E-mail

Go ahead, clean it up. Create folders to organize your inbox. Options: by sender, topics categories (i.e. family, yoga, travel). Download attachments so you can delete the large e-mails and free up space.

2. Photos

Download images off of your camera so you have space to take more photos. Again, create categories on your computer so you can easily find pictures you’re looking for. Print out images (www.mikescamera.com) so you can show off your grandkids without lugging around your laptop or be stuck with tiny images on your camera screen.

3. Desktop

Surprise: more folders. Creating a folder called “applications” for all of your shortcut icons. Create a folder called “travel,” and then create sub-folders for individual trips. That way, any trip itineraries, confirmation documents and post-vacation photos can all live in one handy place. You may also want to change the icon of the folder to be a quick visual guide.

4. Empty your trash (e-mail and desktop)

When you move items to the trash, your computer creates a new folder for trash items. In order to actively “delete” these items, visit your e-mail and desktop trash folders and click “permanently delete.” While those items will be gone forever, your slate will be clean and your programs will run faster.

5. Organize passwords

I know this goes against your IT-guy’s recommendation, but maybe you want to create a document and jot down all of your passwords. Sometimes personal sanity has to outweigh network security. Another option is to create a “Whisper” file (www.securityconfig.com/whisper-32-114), which is a software program to keep track of all those passwords.

Full Article

I’m now writing a column for women’s magazine.  If you have an idea of a common technical question that you would like me to cover, please contact me.

December 2008

Need a new solution for sharing photos? After being repeatedly scolded, my mom finally stopped sending me three megabyte photos via e-mail.

If you don’t know why that’s a problem (tip: three megabytes is a huge file that can clog up e-mail accounts), read on.

Full Article

The print version of the article also has a chart to select your favorite photo sharing website.

Parrish Construction was beginning the process of reviewing RFP responses to their website redesign when their Marketing Manager attended one of my seminars.  She learned that the Camera was now doing website designs built on WordPress.  We met and she chose us for the project.  It was a long process, mostly the labor-intensive task of the client going through assets to select pictures of their work for the website.  The quality and innovation of work they produce is amazing.  I can see why it was hard to pick the right photos and write the copy.  After months of work by the client, the site is now live and think it was worth all the work!

Visit site

Poppy is a children’s clothing store in Downtown Boulder on Pearl Street.  The clothes there are cute and fashionable and they even have other accessories for expecting mothers.

This is the best place to find a unique gift for parents-to-be.  Poppy has never had a website before and we were excited about the opportunity to work with a fun brand.  Within the first week, we had almost 100 site visitors and 75% of those found Poppy via search engines.  That’s 100 people that had been looking for children’s clothing and we’re now capturing that audience.  We still need to add more content to the site but at least they’re now on the map, literally!

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Poppy is located on Spruce and Broadway, just one block north of Pearl street in downtown Boulder, CO.

I just finished another round of presentations.  The first one was on Search Engine Optimization and focused on the best practices to get your site ranked high for the various search engines.  The second was called Search Engine Marketing but it focused on the keywords and phrases to select for Pay-Per-Click Campaigns.  Finally, the last day focused on eMail Marketing - how to create a list and how to design your email to get in the inbox and drive sales.

EWF International presentation downloadable zip

eMail Marketing downloadable zip

Pay-Per-Click downloadable presentation zip

Search Engine Optimization presentation zip

Boulder Natural Meats produces chicken, pork and beef from local farms.  While not certified organic, it is hormone-free, free range, locally produced and tastes great.  Philosophies from companies like Sunflower Farmers Market are putting more emphasis on the importance on getting food that is produced locally because of the impact (or lack thereof) on the environment relative to importing food from a great distance.

Their website was first built in all-flash and was not friendly for the search engines.  While it was beautiful, my client found that users were literally searching for his products and that SEO (search engine optimization) was extremely important so we re-did the entire site on a WordPress platform so it was scalable, editable and searchable by spiders.

Another site we recently completed that has this same philosophy is Licious Organics.  The owner, Lauri, promotes a natural and organic product - much of the fruit is even produced in her back yard.  The packaging is glass containers which can be returned for a 25 cent deposit.  She boasts a zero impact product and is not available at Sunflower Markets.

Visit Boulder Natural Meats

Visit Licous Organics

Savvy Travel in Boulder just launched a new site. They focus on those feeling like dealing with the details takes the fun out of vacation. Destinations include Mexico, Costa Rica, Europe as well as cruises - let these ladies take care of you and book your flight, hotel and even find you an all-inclusive package.

Visit the site

Yup, it’s that time of year.  School is back in session.  One school that I recently got the honor of touring is the Alexander Dawson School in Lafayette (just outside of Boulder and very near to Erie). It’s a beautiful campus and boasts great academics at this k-12 private school.  Too bad I’m out of high school and have years before I even think about where my non-existent kids will be going to school.

Chicago Hair is a hair salon in Boulder, Colorado which specializes in hair color, cuts and any other techniques that are all the rage. They’re cutting edge (like the pun?) and are located in the North Boulder area - Holiday Park locale.