Virtual Views - The View From Here : November 2008

Normally, I love the holidays.  However, I have a new daughter-in-law who begins planning the holiday meals months in advance.  She buys Martha Stewart magazines and religiously watches the Food Network Channel; oohing and aahing and making little notes in every margin on every page.  She prepares her grocery list well in advance to make sure she has every little item for her Thanksgiving feast.

"Look, I'm going to put cheesecloth on my turkey to make it moist and brown."  "Do you know where I can find a brining bag?"  "Oooo!  Carmelized carrots!"  Good grief.  At my house, you know dinner's ready when the smoke alarms go off.

Okay, I get it.  She's young. She'll learn.  Once you start to cook, they'll get used to eating and you'll have to continue doing it for the rest of your life.  No, way.  Not for me!

I've been asked to bring pies, mashed potatoes and dinner rolls. So, here's my plan:

Grocery List

• Marie Calendar pie crust - get it in the frozen food section.  God bless you, Marie.
• Canned Apple Pie filling
• Ready-made pumpkin pie filling - whoever thought of this was nothing less than a genius!
• Rolls - Go to the bakery section.
• Potatoes - real ones.  Don't want to go through the disappointed stares and glares of last year when I brought mashed potatoes in a tub.  Hey!  I added butter.  I thought they were great. 
• Wine - Lots of wine.  I wasn't asked to bring it.  It'll just be my little surprise.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

    
 

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Pamela Cendejas

Since the introduction of the Internet, a "no waiting in line", (otherwise known as instant gratification mentality) has become the norm.  Internet users will not stay on a site that has a long load time. Be sure to design your website so that when an end-user finds you, they do not have to wait for more than 10 seconds to view your site.
 
90% of those accessing the Internet have broadband connections. The reason people have turned away from dial-up Internet access is quite simply - time. Dial-up became a thing of the past because of long download times. With mobile phones now offering Internet access, everyones expects to see your website and see it now. They will not "wait in line" for your site to become available.
 
Images can cause your site to load slowly; be sure to optimize them. The kilobites, not the pixels, is what you need to pay attention to. You may need to limit the number of images on a page as well.
 
If you are offering ebooks or reports, make sure these download in a reasonable time. Website visitors may wait for the download because the information is free, but a long download time may mean they will not be back. Speaking of download times, here's a link to a great little service I found called Scribd where you can upload your ebooks and other large files for free. 
 
The bottom line is this - no one likes waiting in line. The Internet user does not see any reason to "wait in line" when your competition is only a click away. 

    
 

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Pamela Cendejas

Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz taught us that there is no place like home and website visitors are saying the same thing.
 
It is very frustrating to website visitors when they become "lost" and cannot return home.  Be sure that your website visitor can always return to your home page from any page within your website.
 
A navigation bar that appears on every page is my preference. Since we read left to right, I feel the navigation bar is best suited there. If you are not using a navigation bar, then be sure you place a link at the end of each page that directs your website visitor back to your homepage. Make sure the link is very visible.
 
A link to your home page is also to your advantage. "Home" may help you with your search engine optimization.  Every page on your website that contains a link to "home" is giving your home page more link value. To take full advantage of this, do not use "home", "return to homepage" or the like.  Instead use the keywords that you are striving to get ranking for. Example: "Second Self Virtual Assistance Home Page
 
We would all get lost and never be able to find home without a good map. Consider adding a site map to your content pages. Site maps are very helpful tools for your website visitor and also have the advantage of making search engines happy.

    
 

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Pamela Cendejas

Many of us have heard about social networking, but are not really sure what it is, what it means or how it works.  It is more important than ever to start social networking.  Social networking/marketing will be the Internet rave for 2009, especially for real estate agents and brokers.

Even our new president elect, Barak Oboma, has jumped on the band wagon with social networking.  Although he may have someone else maintain his social networking online for him, he has seen the grand opportunity social networking has to offer.  Many times you will find it time consuming to social network on a regular basis, and you need to network often, so hiring someone like a Virtual Assistant can really help build your social network while you take care of your business.

What is social networking you ask?  Social networking is a group of individuals linked to specific groups of people.  You can think of it as a neighborhood subdivision sitting in the middle of a small community.

We social network everyday without even realizing it; at our kids schools, restaurants, grocery stores, parks, sports games, etc.  But, online social networking is now the most popular way to network.  There are literally millions of people going online daily to develop friendships and/or business relationships.

Search engine placement is still an important part of your online presence.  Social networking helps to expand your online presence and gives people the opportunity to see you and your business without really looking.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of social networking websites available on the Internet to cater to each individual person's different hobbies, wants and needs. 

Some of the most popular social networking sites are Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google, LinkedIn, and ClaimID.  These social network sites each offer really great ways to network. 

So, the question now is, are you social networking? 

    
 

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Pamela Cendejas