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Evansville Mayoral Discussion on Social media

admin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:48:04 +0000

I’ve been working with the the Social Media Club of Evansville to get the word out about a new mayoral discussion event. On October 24th, from 5:30pm to 8:00pm at the Ridgway University Center in Eykamp Hall, mayoral candidates Rick Davis and Lloyd Winnecke will be discussing transparency and accountability within the Evansville Mayoral Office. The focus will be on how social media and other new media tools can help open the doors to our local government and increase it’s effectiveness.

The event will be open to the public and I would encourage everyone to attend. It’s a unique opportunity to hear what our candidates have to say about accountability within an information age. I am personally interested in how they intend to keep it a 2-way street and encourage feedback through tools like Facebook, Twitter, and others. I don’t think that the election process ends at the polls, it continues through the elected officials term and can be shaped and molded through social media. Accountability in office can only be attained by keeping the doors open and social media gives us that ability.

Evansville Mayoral Discussion Event – Register Now, it’s FREE.

Social Media Risks and Challenges

Google- In Social Media

admin — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:11:56 +0000

So, you want to know who defriended you or removed you from a Circle on Google+? Are you sure you want to know?

Google- (Google Minus) is an application that monitors the circles you are in and notifies you when you are removed. It’s a shame it doesn’t come with a reason, or perhaps its a blessing that you don’t have to enter a reason when removing someone from a circle.

Get Google- http://apps.kynetx.com/installable_apps/4549-GoogleMinus

SMC of Evansville August Meet Up

admin — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:50:13 +0000

It’s been a few months since I’ve been able to attend the Social Media Club of Evansville’s meeting. But I must say, it’s worth the time, especially business owners who are looking to create a local online presence. Monday, August 15th from 6 – 8 PM at Ri Ra Irish Pub, will be the next meeting. I’ve yet to RSVP, but I shall try to attend.

As a note, everyone is just as friendly, outgoing, and welcoming as their online persona. Furthermore, presentations are professionally orchestrated and geared toward teaching and open discussion. Even if you struggle finding Facebook.com, you’ll feel at home learning about how important social media has become to your business and personal reputation.

According to the SMC newsletter, Mondays meeting will focus on YouTube and Real Simple Video and what it means to your marketing efforts. I know how my ventures into video production have turned out, so I’m considering a double dose of Rocky Walls, who will also be presenting at U of E earlier in the day. If you don’t know who Rocky Walls is, he’s the go to guy at Star Media Productions, a business that focuses on online content creation and social media marketing.

For all the gritty details sign up at the official Social Media Club of Evansville Website. The meeting at Ri Ra Irish Pub is free, but the presentation by Rocky Walls at U of E will cost a $20 registration fee.

Stay connected with SMC of Evansville on Twitter by following @smcEVV.

The What: Social Media Club of Evansville August Meeting

The Where: Ri Ra Irish Pub, Downtown Evansville

The When: August 15th, 2011 from 6-8 PM

The Why: YouTube is no longer just a place for laughing babies and skateboarders rendering themselves infertile. Posting video online boosts SEO and SMO, drives traffic to web sites, increases conversion rates, enhances brand value and recognition, and creates more personal audience interaction.

In short, video can change your online audiences into relationships.

Vectren Live Power Outage Site

admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:27:56 +0000

URL: http://www.vectren.com/powerOn.do

Vectren has released access to this webpage that will display the number of people without power.

They call it the Electric Outage Center, unfortunately other than a smattering of tips and information there is no other interaction. There is an obvious report an outage or down power line, but it only instructs you to call their archaic phone system. How hard is it to automate online a report?

Furthermore, after looking at he pages source code I’m not sure how ‘LIVE’ it actually is. It’s just overlaying PNG’s with static picture links. Perhaps someone smarter than me can confirm how legitimate the service actually is.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a17sp0

GMail getting an updated look.

admin — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:31:21 +0000

I’ve been using Google Labs for awhile and tweaking the theme that I use, but I’m not a fan of the upcoming design update. Supposedly a more modern email experience, with broad headings and large buttons. Web 3.0?

Either way, thanks to labs I’ll hopefully be able to keep generic old gmail design for as long as possible. What do you think of the update?

Amplify’d from gmailblog.blogspot.com

See more at gmailblog.blogspot.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a16ypr

2011 Hadi Shriner Fest Jet Header

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:42:09 +0000

Thanks to Justin DuPont for this amazing photo taken at the 2011 Hadi Shriner Fest in Evansville, IN. The 2011 Shriner Fest brought a number of jets, food, and fun to downtown Evansville, unfortunately I was unable to attend. However, throughout the week I heard the jets practicing over head.

Justin snatched up a number of shots from the event, most are simply amazing. It’s just so interesting to see aircraft that close to downtown and people!? At any rate, be sure to checkout his photo stream at Flickr, by following the link below.

Justin DuPont PhotoStream

Link to Photo used for Evansville Blog’s Header

Evansvilleblog Header Update

admin — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:53:56 +0000

On a much more frequent basis I will be using photos from around Evansville to update the header area of this blog. Usually I’ll comb through Flickr for pictures or any that might be submitted to me. *hint *hint

Today’s updated blog header picture was taken by trainchaser and is entitled Evansville River Front 05 May 2011.

Free Text Messages on Android Phones

admin — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:42:23 +0000

I admit, I was one of the last people to finally adopt a smart phone. Here I was with an old cheap phone, barely even capable of sending a text message, let alone capable of taking a quality enough picture worth sharing. So, in January of this year I purchased my first smartphone, an HTC Incredible running the Android OS. It was then that I learned the miracle that is free text messaging and a work around that allowed me to share pictures with my friends.

Google Voice

Google Voice is the service that makes free text messaging possible. Any Android powered phone can simply go to the Android App market place and install Google Voice, that is to say if it didn’t come preloaded.

Once you have Google Voice installed you will need to setup a new number, which will be your new text number. I would recommend forwarding your phone number to this new google provided number as well, which would then in turn forward all calls to your cell phone. Most importantly, again, it’s free when texting through Google Voice.

In my opinion there are only two draw backs to using this system. One, it takes some time to properly setup your new Google number and your cell phone. Next, Google Voice is only capable of sending text messages, not attachments like pictures or files. However, there is a work around, which I will cover next.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a free service that allows you to upload most file types, including images to an online folder. The app available for your Android phone and integrates this service in your Gallery software. Once installed, when sharing a picture, select Dropbox instead of Messages.

After the picture is uploaded to your online folder you can view the image through your App. It’s then possible to share a link to the image in your online folder through the Google Voice application. It’s all very easy to use, once you get it properly setup. By taking a few extra minutes to set it up and a few extra steps when messaging you can have unlimited Text and SMS messaging through your Android phone.

Dropbox – http://dropbox.com
Dropbox Forums Support

Saving Money

After getting everything setup and getting my wife on board we no longer have text messaging plans. We simply use and distribute our Google Voice number to friends and family instead of our actual Verizon provided phone numbers. This saves us a little bit each month, since we would have to pay for our data plans anyway.

Stay tuned to the Evansville Blog for more tips on saving money with technology!

Wicked Witch Bookmark

admin — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:37:40 +0000

Awesome bookmark and worth sharing. Creator promises to make some soon, but with word getting out who knows how she’ll meet demand.

Amplify’d from www.oopsicraftmypants.com

See more at www.oopsicraftmypants.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a132kl

Comments disabled on courierpress.com about 2012 election.

admin — Wed, 11 May 2011 14:15:08 +0000

URL: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/may/08/no-headlin…

According to the front page of CourierPress.com the article, entitled The 2012 Election Can’t Come Soon Enough, had over 200 comments. However, once you go to the actual article page, the comments have been disabled.

Looks like there was most likely a very heated debate going on, perhaps not real constructive either.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a12fg3