Archive for March, 2010

Once your Facebook account is open for long enough, you’ll find that your friends list is a mix of family, friends, acquaintances, and business / professional associates. With such a diverse mix of individuals, you may find yourself watching what you say for fear of alienating the wrong crowd. But fear not – there is an easy way to manage who sees the things you say online.

Short of spending all your free time managing multiple Facebook accounts, here are a few tips to make your Facebook-life a little more manageable.

Categorize Your Friends List

Take advantage of Facebook’s categorization features. It may be time consuming initially, depending on the size of your friends list, but setting up lists now will save you time and hassle later.

To set up your lists, go to Account at the top right of your Facebook home page, then Edit Friends, and then select All Connections on the left. Your friends list will appear. Select, and create, lists under the Add to List dropdown.

Lists are crucial to managing your Facebook account. This one step will give you more flexibility when it comes to your online persona. Once your lists are setup, categorize each new friend as you accept the request to avoid having to repeat this process.

Use Privacy Settings for Status Messages

Lists also allow you to manage what you say, and to which group of individuals. Have a fantastic business opportunity, but don’t want to bore your family with the details? Want to talk about your weekend without giving away details of your personal life to your professional associates? By setting the Privacy Settings on your Status Messages, you can accomplish both, and more.

When typing a Status Message, set the Privacy Setting by clicking on the padlock symbol located to the left of the share button. Here you’ll find the option to share your message with Everyone, Friends of Friends, Only Friends, or you can customize who you share your message with. The default is your Facebook default.

To share your Status Message with a particular group of people, select Customize, then select Specific People, and type the name of the list you wish to use. You may also use this feature to share your message with one particular person, instead of all of your friends.

Want to prevent only one group of people from seeing your Status Message? Under this same section, type in the name of the list, or individual person, to exclude from seeing your post under the Hide This From section.

Setup a Fan Page for Your Business

While you could use a list for customers, you’re better off setting a Fan Page for your Business. This allows your customers to connect with you, and gives them access to share information about you to their friends.

To add a page, click on Ads and Pages from the main navigation bar on your Facebook homepage, and then click on the Add a Page button.

Don’t see the Add a Page button? You’re most likely in the Ads Campaign area. Select Pages from the navigation menu, and then click on the Add a Page button.

Now What?

Now that everything is setup and organized, set your Privacy Settings often. Practicing now will ensure you know how to set them when the need arises. If you setup a Fan Page for your business, return often to comment on your industry, your products, and anything else exciting that applies to your business.

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About the Author: Julie Strier is a freelance writer who is interested in helping you enjoy your computer experience. To learn more about her, visit: JulieStrier.com.

Leading Managed Services Provider Selected for Product Line

March 21, 2010 Bakersfield, CA—Today CharTec released the next wave of the select few Managed Service Providers authorized to provide their product line.  CharTec, a Hardware as a Service (HaaS) solution available to hand selected channel members, includes custom hardware, licensing fulfillment, and content filtering all neatly packaged for resale to end user clients.  The product received the prestigious “Innovation of the Year Award” for Managed Services by Business Solution Magazine and three Channel Insider “Bull’s-eye” Awards in 2009.

The CharTec Academy training included rigorous sales process education, meticulous understanding of MSP Best Practices and delivery, and a concentration on presentation performance for MSP’s across the US.   CharTec stresses that not every company applying for the program will be accepted.

This group of attendees received training on the CharTec VMS (Voice Management System), the latest product designed by CharTec engineers for VoIP, as well as the value added products from  Kutenda, ConnectWise, OwnWebNow, Doyenz, and gloStream.

“This is the third wave of 2010 CharTec Partners, and includes a few inaugural Partners, too. Again, we have hand selected them for their ability to properly deliver Managed Services in the channel,” said Alex Rogers, creator and CEO of CharTec.  “They understand the CharTec vision of providing a ‘Beyond HaaS’ experience for their clients and strengthening the IT nation. We are continually impressed by partners who have passion and the ability to execute a totally unique Managed Service offering and we are proud to welcome this next wave into our elite club.”

techQuility is a Managed Service Provider operating in Lake Mary, Florida providing premiere technology services to professional businesses.  The company specializes in true flat-rate monthly services, email spam and virus filtering, backup and disaster recovery, and 24×7x365 support.  “We are so excited to now offer such a value-packed, customizable solution that will help us to better provide peace and calm for our clients.”  -Chris Barber, Owner, techQuility.

As a select CharTec® partner, techQuility received Academy training on the product line in Bakersfield, CA and is now fully authorized to deliver the solution.

A computer is broken in the office, or it is dinosaur ancient and slow, which is almost worse than being broken. You are outside of your warranty period, so you will have to spend money to have it fixed. And while it is only a part (or two) which needs to be replaced, the parts on the market are not compatible with the computer you purchased 5 years ago. It is officially time to upgrade.

But wait….

Don’t waste time because of impulse. Running out and purchasing any computer to fix the problem may actually cause more harm. Instead, take the time to think about what you need now, so that you don’t end up with a computer that flattens the budget, or doesn’t fit your needs.

Ask yourself these questions:

Which software is absolutely critical to my business?

Every business has at least one piece of software it cannot live without. Often it involves a database of some sort. What you need to know is how much machine you need for the software you need. The more software you need, or the more in-depth that software is, the more of a machine you will probably need. More than likely today’s computers can handle yesterday’s software. Instead you may find that your older software isn’t compatible with a newer operating system.

And, if you think that upgrading your OS is an issue that doesn’t apply to you, think again. It may be more expensive to stay with Windows XP. Many companies now charge a fee to downgrade the operating system from Windows 7 to XP. With all the great features Windows 7 has to offer, you may want to also consider upgrading your OS now.

If I need to, is a more current version of the software available?

Depending on the software there may, or may not, be a newer version available. If there is, you then need to assess whether or not you can upgrade. If you run a database, upgrading one computer may require that all computers are upgraded. When that happens, servers (if you have them) need to be assessed for the same reason.

If you don’t have to worry about other computers in the office, you do have to worry about the cost of upgrading your software. Figure out the price of upgrading software to help determine your true budget for a new computer.

What about my other hardware?

If you get a new computer, will your new technology be compatible with your old technology? Just like with software, you should assess your current technologies – wireless routers, peripheral devices, etc. – to make sure they work with your new computer.

At best, be prepared for the worst case scenario. How much would it cost to upgrade your peripheral devices, if you had to buy new everything?

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Of course, the larger hidden cost to upgrading is the time you’re spending figuring out your needs, which means time away from your business. Instead, relax when it comes to your computers. Call techQuility today and allow us to take away your burden of upgrading. Before you know it you’ll be focused again on what matters most to you – your business.

New customers click here for 2 free hours of support!

Soon techQuility will also be able to help alleviate the financial burden of upgrading your computers. There is some hustle and bustle going on behind our doors, so stay tuned in the coming weeks as we reveal our exciting new services aimed to further help you achieve peace and calm with your business IT.

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About the Author: Julie Strier is a freelance writer who is interested in making technology easy to understand. To learn more about her, visit JulieStrier.com.