Jim Carrillo

I hate taking pictures on my digital camera – because even though it’s easy, it creates 3mb files. That’s great for printing, but when I want to share them with friends via email, I end up sending huge files over email – which is annoying for me, and the folks receiving them.

I’m pretty good at photo editing, and using Photoshop, I can reduce the resolution of the image (note – computer monitors can only show less then 92 dots per inch, and camera’s take well over 300 dots per inch). The problem with Photoshop, or other applications, is it’s not quick and easy.

I’m on the lookout for something easy – and I found it AND IT”S FREE!!!!

The application is Shrink Pic, and you can DOWNLOAD IT HERE

I’ve created a video to show how easy this program is – it monitors your email application, so anytime you send a jpg picture, it shrinks it.

I set my settings to “NOT” run at startup, so it doesn’t shrink images automatically. When I want to use it, I just start the program, and then send my images.

Watch the video to see how easy it is (Available only for Windows).

I just found a free – online – screen capture system. They host your videos too, or you can post them to youtube. www.screentoaster.com

I paid $1000 for my system (AllCapture) four years ago. While it has some features I really like (like being able to cut elements), this one has new features I’ve always wanted, like webcam in video, record audio with video, or separately, etc… If you’ve ever had to walk a client through anything on the computer (even if it’s filling out your order form on your website), this free online system is a no brainer.

Jim

I was asked to produce an event for a new grass roots community organization, “South County Independent Business Alliance”. In addition to producing and promoting the event, I was also a presenter. In this presentation I explained the benefits of a buy local campaign.

Ever thought about hosting a webinar?  What about getting help from a tech support person by actually showing them the problems you’re having on your computer?  Better yet, work directly with your customers when they have problems by viewing their computer screen.

This probably sounds way too techy for the average person (or too expensive), but it isn’t anymore.  Adobe Flash, combined with Open Source projects, is changing the business landscape when it comes to collaboration technologies.

Here are two products that I use quite often that has made me look impressive to many customers.  Their purpose is to collaborate online, but I use them to get things done fast without traveling to meet in person.

DimDim (www.dimdim.com) – Webinar online meeting place

This is the free cousin of Webex and GoToMeeting.  Free  is correct.  You can host up to 20 people at a time, and you can have as many meetings as you want.  Use your own teleconferencing service, or they provide one for free.  Share your screen, power point presentations, PDF files, use a whiteboard, and best of all – record what’s happening in full vidoe.  Many of the recorded webinars you see on my site are recorded through DimDim.  Sometimes I’ll host a meeting that I’m the only participant of, just so I can record the presentation.

Have more then 20 people?  This is still a cost effective solution.  For only $20 per month, you can host as many meetings as you want with up to 50 attendees.  The reason I like this product is that there are no other free solutions that let you host up to 20 people. (note – looks like times are tough because it used to be $8.50 per month for up to 100 attendees.  Oh well, still a good deal)

One of the things DimDim is missing is passing control of your screen to someone else, or taking control of another’s screen.

Acrobat Online (www.acrobat.com) Resource Sharing and Collaboration
This is similar to DimDim, but the focus is on sharing resources – from files to your screen.  Very simple to use (even simpler than DimDim).  The Screen Sharing feature allows you to pass control, and take control of the computer screens.  I use this a lot when helping clients with simple problems (like using applications, training, etc…).

This is a free service too (or I wouldn’t be recommending it), but it’s only free for up to three participants.  Not much of a meeting there huh.  That’s why I only use this to either post files online and share them with colleagues, or more importantly, to share my screen with another person – or view their screen to help them with problems.
Both of these applications work well on PC and Mac – which has become a requirement for me lately now that Macs are more affordable and increasing in popularity.  They both also work with various browsers (like Firefox).

Hope this helps.

Jim

Today I presented at a “Fast Track Back to Work” seminar, where four speakers provided advice on how to land yourself that next job. The focus on my presentation was promoting yourself online. With the advent of Social Media Networking sites, we all have the ability to advertise ourselves, just as much as large companies can – with one advantage. We can take the time to write very targeted, relevant posts about our area of expertise.

If you would like to download the presentation that was given in Power Point format, please CLICK THIS LINK. It is saved in a format that does not require you to have power point on your computer, and will play as a presentation.

I’ve also recorded an online video of the presentation if you’re interested in hearing my voice and presentation to the slides. Bring your Family, Friends, and Neighbors – gather around the computer with popcorn – and enjoy.

Click for Video Presentation

I used to be in awe of those new TV shows that were selected. The Apprentice, Survivor, and on and on. I always wondered what it would take to get that opportunity. I found out that all it takes is action.

(that’s a funny play on words if you look at it from a director’s stand point – I humor myself)

OK, back on topic.

I love business. I eat it, sleep it, and dream it. I love being able to create a product from nothing, and sit down with big corporations representing my small company as if I was equal footing. (PS read “The World is Flat” if you haven’t already).

I took action. I’m a member of the Morgan Hill Access Television (MHAT) and the Community Media Access Program CMAP for Gilroy/Hollister/San Juan. I’m producing my own show for the community TV, and of course, the Internet. It’s called Bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping is a monthly magazine style show (magazine style means it’s like 20/20 format) that celebrates the business approach of bootstrapping – internally funded, cost conscious, and self sustaining.

The Silicon Valley became used to the availability of finance. Businesses were funded by Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, and even the easy equity in homes made money available by the mortgage market. Today, funding sources are drying up, businesses need to cut costs, but they still need to continue operations and grow. Bootstrapping takes a look at local businesses and highlights their attempts bootstrapping efforts.

I need crew. If you live near Morgan Hill, CA and you’ve ever thought it would be cool to participate in a production of a TV show, join in. Here are some examples of roles:

Talent (business to be interview, or the interviewer)
Camera Crew (absolutely no experience necessary)
Editing Crew (I’m learning as I go)
Audio Crew (again, no experience necessary)
Voice Over Talent
Fans

Pass the word on if you know someone that would find this fun.

Oops – one more thing. THIS IS NOT A MONEY MAKING OPPORTUNITY! I’m not paying anything, and I don’t expect to get paid myself. It’s purely recreational and in an area that I really find interesting.

Hasta.

Jim

I have to say, I’m a big fan of WordPress.  Primarily because they don’t pigeon hole you into a site with ads (at least the self hosted version).  As I noted through a previous blog post, I was even able to make a very solid membership site with Wordpress, where each member:

1. could write posts
2. had member profile page
3. could create private pages
4. be identified in the “list of members”

It took me a good month to find all the right plugins for wordpress to make it humm just like I wanted it to.  I was so confident in the setup, I offered to create a site for a friend of mine for her group.  Oh how the cocky fall hard!

Two days after my offer, she writes me a note saying, “Don’t worry Jim, I have it all figured out.”  Now I know she couldn’t pull the WordPress stuff together that quickly!  She also wrote in her note, “Check out Ning.com”

There you go.  This company Ning is to Social Networking what WordPress is to Blogs/Websites (almost).  Now they do have advertising on the site, and you have to live with the “ning” branding, but then 99% of all social networking sites have ads on them, so I don’t think that matters.  In fact, for $29 per month, you can take control of the ads (or get rid of them).

So let’s do a cost benefit analysis.  It took me a month to figure out how to tweak WordPress (let’s say 20 hours), and maintaining it is about an hour a month.  Even if I only value my time around $20 an hour, that’s $400 to setup, and $240 for maintenance.

Ning - 15 minutes to setup, and maintenance is seemless.  Even if I paid to remove the ads, we’re talking $360 per year.  While it’s a little cheaper for Wordpress, there are 1000 more features on Ning that I could Never code!

As for my opinion on the ads – who cares, leave them.  What about the domain name?  Who cares again.  For instance, look at the following:

Company A has a website:
www.companya.com

Their Blog is at
www.blog.companya.com

Their Social Network/Member site would be
www.companya.ning.com

Ning, Blog, blah blah blah – people aren’t so worried abou that stuff anymore.  I definitely dont’ think you should have ads on your website, but the rules on a social network site are much more relaxed.

Go find your passion, get your members, and go ning!

The internet is an extension of our lives – everyone should be represented.

In this 60 minute online presentation you’ll learn how to:

• Take the Fear out of the Internet – Learn about websites, blogs, podcasts, and why you should have one.
• Create your own website in the time it takes you to read this flyer, for your company, community project, or family for Free
• Avoid the common mistakes that will waste your money.

I used to think that only companies with a large budget could have nice looking websites.  I used to tell my customers to plan on budgeting between $700 to $1,500 for a simple website, and that was on the inexpensive side.  When I realized this was out of reach for most people, I new there had to be a better way.

I looked at all the free hosted sites online, including Google Pages, Yahoo’s GeoCities, and even the paid version of Vista Web, but they all screamed “CHEEZY”.  To top it all off, you’ll most likely have somebody’s advertisement on top of your site, and you’re limited to a few poor attempts at templates.

During my research, I came across Content Management Systems, many of them Open Source – or in simple terms – FREE.  A Content Management System is a program that lets you easily update your website with new pages, articles, and images, without having to know any programming.  This put me on the right track, and pointed me to what I’ve now determined as the number one resource for anyone that wants a website:  WordPress.

WordPress is a Free system that in a nutshell, generates websites instantaneously.  It’s not an application you load on your computer, it’s kind of like a website that spits out websites.  OK, I know this sounds funny, but give me 60 minutes of your time, and I’ll tell you everything you’ll need to know.

This seminar is for Beginners, Novices, and Advanced developers too.

• Beginners – I taught my mother how to use this, and if you know my mother’s ability to use a computer, that will sell you right there.
• Novices – A customer of mine used to fiddle around with HTML, just enough to keep their site updated.  He became familiar with the concepts of “FTP and HTTP”, and flirted with being called a geek.  By switching to WordPress, he’s now able to maintain his site in a fraction of the time, and can add advanced formatting with his current programming knowledge.
• Advanced – Once a person becomes an expert in web development, they tend to focuss on one particular platform (like Front Page).  WordPress is a shift in development concept, that takes the advanced web designer out of updating words on a website, and lets them focus their talents where they really matter; on the design and functionality.

Today we held a Webinar to demonstrate how to create a social media account, and what to do when you create one.

We took a look at the following sites:
Face Book
Linked In
Twitter
Wordpress
NSA ProTrack

To watch this recorded session, simply click on this link.

 

 Using Social Networks: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I decided to create a website for the members of my organization, a speakers association. I wanted the site to be for the members, not just a site that the members would join.

Why would this be necessary? What I’ve found is that even though it’s extremely easy to create a WordPress site, there are some intrinsic problems that every techno-phobe faces.

First, the mere installation process, no matter how simple, is enough to cause paralysis. The second is the pressure of maintaining (and updating) an entire site by oneself. And finally, adding advanced features, like podcasting, is too daunting for many.

I thought WordPress could be reduced to the extreme basics for the members, and they can all contribute to the site, and leverage off it’s success. I describe how I did this, and the features I included in this post.