Meeting Notes from 01/28/10

Our meeting went well. We had two new people show up. Welcome Joseph and Ann.

This meeting had no set topic. We talked about various things, based on questions from the group. One of the questions that came up was about the new "IPad" from Apple. I went out and found some Youtube video clips about it.

• This video clip is of Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple) unveiling the "IPad":   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNnBlMB3L84.  
• Here is a link for the IPad technical specs: http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/.
• This video clip is from Mad TV and it is called "IPad" and was created about 5 years:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTzhXMbOWHE.

The new IPad looks pretty slick and cool, but I would want to know more about what its technical specs (what ports does it, etc..) and pricing. Perhaps I'll do a more detailed post on the IPad.

For now, we have a winter storm approaching, so I need to do a few things to prepare for it. I hope everyone stays warm and has what they need.

Next Elevate Computer Learning Meeting - 01/28/10

Our next meeting is Jan 28th, 2010 at the public library on main street in Greeneville, TN 37744 and it starts at 5:00 pm. Come out and join us.

Using Social Networks to Grow Your Business

I thought I would post something that I found on the Mountain Xpress facebook page. It is a workshop on using social newtworks to grow your business. I thought this may be of interest to some of you. I'm thinking about going myself. If anyone is considering going, let me know. Maybe we can car pool or meet there.

Here is the information on the workshop:

* Tuesday, Feb. 9 (going forward, the second Tuesday of the month)
* Tomato Jam Cafe, 379 Biltmore Ave. (in the Doctor's Park)
* 6:30-8:30 p.m.
* $15 per person; bring a laptop or web-enabled device
* RSVP requested: jsaylor@mountainx.com
* Facebook: search Social Media Jams
* Twitter: http://twitter.com/SocialMediaJams,  @socialmediajams

A monthly workshop series teaching businesses and people how to use blogs, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for fun and profit launches Feb. 9 at Tomato Jam Cafe.

Co-sponsored by the Mountain Xpress, Tomato Jam Cafe and Skyrunner, the Jams offer homegrown social media expertise in everything from how small businesses can use Twitter to how to use Google Analytics to drive more traffic to your website.

"We want to harness local talent and expertise from people already using social media effectively right here in Asheville," said Social Media Jams organizer Jennifer Saylor, who leads community initiatives for Mountain Xpress. "These workshops are presented by local experts, for local users of all levels."

Leading the first workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 9 is Wendy Lou Gillespie of Creative Imp Works, whose social media clients include Monkeywhale.com, TEDxAsheville and Asheville Vaudeville. Her kickoff workshop will teach small business owners how to use online tools like Twitter and Facebook to grow their business in new ways.

Tomato Jam Cafe offers a limited food menu for the kickoff Jam, complete with dessert.

Sending Large Files Over the Internet

Have you ever tried to send large files through your email and then have it rejected, saying there isn't enough space. There is a solution - "You Send It" web site.

This web site offers several account types, including a free account. The free account has restrictions, but for most of you in our group, I think this free account will more than meet your needs.

The free account/plan is the "Lite" one. Here are the features of the Lite plan:

• Plenty of size - Send files up to 100 MB with a 1 GB monthly download limit.
• Downloads - Allow up to 100 downloads of every file.
• Address book - Keep track of your friends' and family's email addresses in one handy location.
• Files remain available for 7 days - Give your recipients a week to download the files you've sent.

"You Send It" (YSI) offers a couple of methods of sending files once you have signed up for one of their plans. You can download one of their plug-ins (a program that expands the functionality of another program), which they have a nice of list of plug-ins, such as Adobe Acrobat, IPhone, Photoshop, Microsoft Suite, etc.. To see what plug-ins are available check out this link: http://www.yousendit.com/cms/plugin-addin&s=30051.

You can also login into your new free YSI account and you can send files right from your accounts web page.

There is also a third option, they offer a standalone program that you can download and install and run it buy itself and send files.

So, as you can they provide a lot of ways of sending large files and all these options are pretty easy to use. You just need to pick one that works best for you. I don't get any kick backs - smile. I just like sharing information about useful things (from my perspective anyway) you can do on your computer and the internet.

If you have large photos, mp3 or video you need to send out and it is 100 mg or less, you may want to consider using "You Send It". Here is the link for signing up for the free account/plan: https://www.yousendit.com/cms/liteaccount&s=50027. 

If you give "You Send It" a try, let the group know by sharing with us how it worked for you.

I recently used it and it worked great for me. I needed to send some large images to an art show, and this option worked great and it saved me from having to burn a CD and mailing it out. Pretty cool.

If the group is interested in seeing this in action, we could go over it at our next meeting, which is this Thursday. Enjoy!

Meeting Notes for 01/14/10

We had our first meeting of the year yesterday. We met for the first time at the Greeneville Public Library in Greeneville, TN. It went well. We really like the place. The lighting was great. Tables are nice and big and work well. All in all, it was a nice and comfortable place to have a meeting and the price is right for our group - free.

Thanks again go to Diane for making this suggesting (moving our meeting to the library) and checking with the library to obtain permission. I did follow up with them. They were very open to idea of meeting there.

Counting me, there were 4 people were present at this meeting. We didn't have a topic on our agenda, so I just decided to keep things open and let folks throw out questions. We only had a few questions, what internet service options are available in the area and USB memory sticks verses CD/Storage. How are the best ways to use these medias.

We didn't create a topics list for the year. For now, we have didn't to keep things open and if someone has something they would really like to cover, they can email a few days prior to the meeting, so I have time to put something together, if it is needed. Otherwise things will be much more informal and I'll just answer questions as they come up.

We did spend part of the meeting just talking about life and getting to know one another a little better. We found out that Diane just purchased a new home here in Greeneville. Congratulations Diane!

Our next meeting is scheduled for Jan 28, 2010 and it will be at the Greeneville Public Library in Greeneville TN and we start at 5:00 pm. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.

Until then, stay warm and live life joyfully.

Touching Base

It has been a while since I have made a blog post. With the holiday season and all the snow we have been getting (we currently have 7 inches on the ground and it is still coming down), I really haven't been getting on the computer much.

If you are interested in seeing some of our snow, I took a bunch of photos and I made a slide show that I have up on youtube. Here is the link to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6VNv9buMo.  I hope you enjoy it.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I sure did. It wasn't too crazy, just really nice. I got to spend time with family and friends and we ate to much and laughed lots. It was really good medicine.

I ran across a web site today that has been up real long and I thought some of you from the group may be interested in the link. It is on "Writing". Here is the web site link: http://www.thegreatsmokiesreview.org/.  

We need to be thinking about our first meeting of the year. I would like to come up with a list of topics for the year (we can always add or change anything on the list as we go through the year, if we need to), so come with your thinking caps on. We are going to try having the meeting at the Library again. It didn't work out last time, but I'm willing to give it another try and if it doesn't work out this time, I'll have to re-think things.

So our first meeting of the year is schedule for Jan 14th, 2010 at the Greenville, TN library on Main Street. We'll get started at 5:00 pm.

I look forward to seeing everyone.

Stay warm.....