Boxless

Is Google+ ready for Business Collaboration?

Andrew — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:33:32 +0000

Come and learn WordPress in a day

Andrew — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:51:45 +0000

The web is an increasingly important part of our lives. From shopping to studying, and even socializing. It’s changing everything. Part of the change means that anyone wanting to grow their business needs a credible online brand.

And that starts with a quality website.

Ten years ago, building and maintaining a professional website was time-consuming and expensive. Today’s technology enables you to do it well yourself.

I want to show you how. In a full day of hands-on training you will learn how to update and manage your own site. Find out more about my WordPress Workshop for Smart Businesspeople.

The next workshop is Sunday 25 March.

Book before 4 March and save $100.

[Picture: herzogbr]

Gmail for Business – the remarkable rise of a modern email system

Andrew — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:24:50 +0000

I’m amazed that so many people don’t know about Gmail for Business. Or at least, the number of people who believe that using it requires them to have [yourname]@gmail.com as their email address.

The thing is, Google Apps for Business (the enterprise version of Gmail and Google’s other products) has been around for almost as long as Gmail itself.

And it has always handled any type of email address, such as [yourname]@[yourbusiness.com].

What makes Gmail for Business a ‘modern’ system?

In the late 90s, Microsoft Exchange (Server) and Outlook became the default business email system. That was when data resided on company servers and was typically accessed by staff using software on their work computer.

But over the last few years, business systems have been moving online. Data and applications are now being stored in the ‘cloud’, and accessed via multiple devices such as computers, mobile phones, and tablets.

It’s all part of the so-called post-PC era - which Gmail, along with the rest of the Google Apps suite, was built for.

It just works. Whether you’re using your Dell notebook, your Android phone or your iPad.

Microsoft’s products? Not so much.

And, as this Google Trends chart of 21 February 2012 indicates, the popularity of Google Apps is increasing.

Google Apps searches have been steadily increasing since the product launched in 2006. Meanwhile, searches for Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange have both been steadily declining.

What’s so remarkable about Google Apps for Business?

My clients are initially attracted by the email system – Gmail for Business. I’ve previously explained why.

But then the more they use Google Apps, the more they grow to love other aspects, such as:

the ability to share calendars within (and even outside) their organisation
the way staff can collaborate on documents, spreadsheets and presentations without relying on email
the thousands of other business applications that seamlessly integrate with Google Apps.

In a cloud-based, always-connected world, Gmail for Business is a natural fit.

And if you need more evidence, why not ask one of the four million businesses already using it?

5 reasons to use WordPress.com to build your first website

Andrew — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:49:33 +0000

Have people been telling you to build your website – whether for a small business, a community group, or even just for you – using WordPress?

If not, read my reasons for recommending WordPress – particularly for non-technical people.
If yes, I want to take the WordPress discussion a step further…

Two types of WordPress

It is important to understand that WordPress is effectively available in two ‘flavours’:

The downloadable, self-hosted version accessed via WordPress.org
The version hosted at WordPress.com.

It’s worth reading a detailed explanation of the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. I’m always speaking to people who are confused about the distinction.

WordPress.com

If you’re just after a simple website – and often that’s the best option for a small business – there are five good reasons to consider starting with WordPress.com.

1. It’s much easier to get started

Unlike the WordPress.org-based version, WordPress.com has nothing to download, there’s no separate web server space to rent, and there’s no software to work out how to install.

2. It’s more cost-effective

Because it’s so much easier to get started with, you don’t need to pay an IT consultant to do all the download and installation work.

3. It’s less risky

With the .org version, you (or your IT consultant) is responsible for keep your website secure and backed up. With WordPress.com, that’s all taken care of for you. So, as well as the additional time and cost savings, the risk of irretrievably losing your website is reduced.

4. The trade-off is worth it

There’s no question – the .org version of WordPress provides a lot more flexibility and control than WordPress.com. That said, when you’re building your first website, you’re often unclear on what you actually need. In my experience, it really is a case of less is more. Forsaking some bells and whistles often makes it much easier for your audience to understand what you’re offering.

5. It’s easy to upgrade

If and when you do reach the point where you decide your site needs an online store, a job-board, or whatever else whiz-bang feature, it’s easy to move. WordPress.com has an option called Guided Transfer which – for a fee – automagically migrates your existing website to a self-hosted WordPress.org-based version. After that, the options for extending your site are limited only by your imagination.

Photo by BeautifulFreaks.

Sync your Outlook tasks with Google Apps

Andrew — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:25:34 +0000

If you use Google Apps for Business, you can now sync your tasks between Outlook and Google Apps.

(And, if you also use a BlackBerry, there are a couple of options for accessing those tasks on your mobile device.)

How to build your first WordPress website

Andrew — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 04:11:02 +0000

I recently gave a presentation at WordCamp Gold Coast 2011 called ‘How to build your first WordPress website’.

The slides

Here is a copy of the slides from the presentation.

The live demonstration

Much of the presentation involved building a live demonstration site (see Slide 12) using WordPress.com. Below are the steps I went through to build the site.

View this document on Scribd

Learn how to build a website using WordPress

Andrew — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:30:43 +0000

Did you know that WordPress is a great tool for building your first website – even if you’re not a techie? Do you fancy spending a couple of days on the Gold Coast in early November?

If so, you should check out WordCamp Gold Coast 2011. It’s a two-day conference on the weekend of 5 and 6 November focused on all things WordPress.

I’ll be doing a presentation for newcomers called How to Build Your First Website Using WordPress.

I look forward to seeing you there.

How worried are you about cloud computing security?

Andrew — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:15:37 +0000

When I speak to people about moving their IT systems to the Cloud, they’re often concerned about increased “security risks”.

I’m no security expert. So, I rely on the opinions of people who need to know about this stuff. Accordingly, I recommend this New York Times article by Vivek Kundra. Until last month, Kundra was the Chief Information Officer of the US government, a role in which security considerations are absolutely critical. Kundra states that:

“cloud computing is often far more secure than traditional computing, because companies like Google and Amazon can attract and retain cyber-security personnel of a higher quality than many governmental agencies.”

The good news is that – as Kundra mentions – there are also cost and productivity benefits of moving to the Cloud. He concludes:

“Public and private organizations that preserve the status quo of wasteful spending will be punished, while those that embrace the cloud will be rewarded with substantial savings and 21st-century jobs.”

So ask yourself: if cloud security is good enough for the United States government, is it good enough for your business? Read the full article.

Image credit: spaceodissey.

Why you should build your website using WordPress

Andrew — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:23:20 +0000

Since first learning about it in 2009, I have become a BIG fan of WordPress. So much so that I now build WordPress-based websites for clients.

What is WordPress?

In essence, WordPress is a tool for building websites. It’s what’s known as a Web content management system or a CMS.

There are two “flavours” of WordPress. So it helps to understand the difference.

Self-hosted WordPress – the open source WordPress software that can be downloaded from WordPress.org and installed on any web server. (Setting it up requires some technical expertise.)

WordPress.com – a fully hosted and maintained version of the software that you access at WordPress.com. (Anyone can be up and running quickly and easily on WordPress.com without any technical knowledge.) It’s more limited in what it allows you to do, but it’s a great place to start.

You can read a more detailed explanation.

So why use WordPress?

Here are a few reasons.

It’s easy to use

The WordPress Philosophy is heavily focused on usability – making sure the system “just works” (kind of like Apple). A key tenet is Striving for Simplicity:

We love to challenge ourselves and simplify tasks in ways that are positive for the overall WordPress user experience.

That means it’s much easier to maintain and update a WordPress website than one built on pretty much any other platform.

It’s flexible

By design, WordPress includes less functionality out-of-the-box than other CMSs. Rather than providing a whole lot of overwhelming and unnecessary bloatware, WordPress aims to include ”features that 80% or more of end users will actually appreciate and use.” WordPress’s extensible theme and plugin system then handles any sort of customisation you need. That means your WordPress site can evolve to meet your changing needs.

It’s the most popular CMS platform

By some measures, WordPress has over 50% of the CMS market. Wonderful, but why should I care? Well, a platform that has a large user base creates a flourishing ecosystem of service providers keen to help you develop, maintain and support your website. In turn, the base platform itself is far more likely to evolve and improve over time – reducing the chances of you ending up stranded on an unsupported system.

It’s cheap

WordPress is very cost-effective.

There are no license fees. WordPress is free open source software that anyone can download and use. Even WordPress.com – the hosted service I mentioned earlier – is free to use (although it also has paid upgrades).
Because of its focus on usability, end users become productive on WordPress more quickly than on the other CMSs.
WordPress’s extensible design means it’s possible somebody’s already developed custom functionality that you might need – and you can probably use it for a small fee (or maybe even for free).
The HUGE WordPress community is probably the biggest benefit of all. There are endless free online resources. And if you need more assistance, there are thousands of experienced WordPress professionals available to help you out. What’s more, if you’re not happy with the service of one provider, it’s easy to move your website to someone else.

Go build something

So, now that you know why WordPress is a great choice for your website, it’s time for you to go and build one. (If you’re not technical, you should start with WordPress.com.)

What do you like best about WordPress?

How to use Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office

Andrew — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 12:18:59 +0000

Previously, I talked about what Google Cloud Connect is, and whether it’s useful. Now I want to explain how to actually use it.

Setting up Google Cloud Connect

Download and install the new version of Google Cloud Connect.
When you open Microsoft Word (or Excel or PowerPoint), the Google Cloud Connect bar should be visible below the standard toolbar.
Click the Login button next to the message Welcome to Google Cloud Connect. To get started, login using your Google credentials.
This will display the Approve Access to your Google Account window.
Sign in using your full Gmail or Google Apps email address and password.
This will display the message The Google Cloud Connect application on your computer is requesting access to your Google Account for the product(s) listed below.
Click Grant Access.
This will display the Global Settings window.
To keep the default settings, click OK.
Google Cloud Connect is now installed and set up.

Editing documents

Click the Google Cloud Connect button, and then select Open from Google Docs…
The Open window lists all the documents you have stored in Google Docs. You then simply search for the desired document and click Select.

Cloud Connect also saves a copy of the document to a designated folder on your computer. So next time you can open it straight from that folder and edit it even if you’re offline.

Tips and tricks

Minimise the Google Cloud Connect bar

If you want to save space, you can minimise the Google Cloud Connect bar by clicking the little arrow at the bottom (circled in red below).

Change sync settings

By default, when you create a new document, Google Cloud Connect automatically syncs it with Google Docs. If you only want to sync selected documents you create:

Click the Google Cloud Connect button
Select Global Settings
Under Global Document Options, select Manual (only when sync button is clicked)
Click OK

Change the location of files on your computer

Copies of files you open from Google Docs get saved to your computer. To specify the folder the files get saved to:

Click the Google Cloud Connect button
Select Global Settings
Under Opening Files from Google Docs, click Change next to Save Location
Navigate to the desired folder
Click OK twice