movies Archives - Webconsuls

Facebook: Add Some Finishing Touches To Your Business Page

Saturday March 31, 2012

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Ready! Set! Go! Today is the day that business owners will wake up to see the new look of their business Facebook page. Notice I didn’t say final or finished look. Because as we all heard in this scene from the movie Social Network…Facebook will never be finished.

Eduardo Saverin: So when will it be finished?
Mark Zuckerberg: It won’t be finished. That’s the point. The way fashion’s never finished.
Eduardo Saverin: What?
Mark Zuckerberg: Fashion, fashion is never finished.
Eduardo Saverin: You’re talking about fashion? Really, you?
Mark Zuckerberg: I’m talking about the idea of it. And I’m saying that it’s never finished.
Eduardo Saverin: Okay. But they manage to make money selling pants.

There was a time when I thought the most critical statement from this scene was “It won’t be finished.” But today I am thinking that Eduardo Saverin’s closing line “Okay. But they manage to make money selling pants” really is the more important message for a business Facebook page. Your business Facebook page should contribute to your bottom line in some way…it certainly should not be a liability. Come to think about it, I covered this topic two years ago when I posted: Nine Tips For Managing A Business Facebook Page.

Today I thought I would do two things:

Show you how our Webconsuls’ Facebook page looks today, because we will start updating it and you can follow the progress by “liking” us today and staying tuned.
Share a great blog post from Copyblogger. How To Create A Cover Photo For Your Facebook Timeline. Read this post carefully, as it tells you what the cover photo may “not do” according to Facebook’s terms. Also if you read some of the comments, you will notice that people have shared a link to their Facebook page with their new Cover Photo.

Now, just so we have a record, you know like a real old fashion scrapbook: Here is a snapshot of Webconsuls’ Facebook Page, March 31, 2012.

Webconsuls’ Facebook Page 03/31/2012 (click to see larger version)

If you have already updated your cover photo, please share a link in the comments. I am going to post a link to this article on our Facebook page. Remember: Like our page and check back to see our updates!

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Exactly two months ago I wrote a blog about Twitter and the things that I learn from Tweets. That day I made the following observation:

“Here is some other interesting news I picked up by following Rick Klau. On March 11th Blogger announced a new Blogger Template designer. The reviews so far have been very exciting. I am thinking of trying it to create a new personal blog. What do you think of that idea?”

Guess what? Not one of my Webconsuls’ readers offered any feedback about me creating a personal blog.

Quite unexpectedly on June 5th, I watched the movie Julie and Julia. Have you seen the movie? What I love is that it tells a true story and allows us to eavesdrop on the lives of two couples from different generations struggling with identity and goals. And of course, it also tells a successful story of a BLOG. So, as the movie closed, the wheels were spinning in my head. On Sunday June 6th I joined in a #blogchat and the rest is history.

I invite you to visit Judy’s OP-ED blog, particularly the About Judy’s OP-ED page where you learn how #blogchat influenced my decision.

But today I would like our clients to mull over these facts:

Webconsuls has many clients and a good number of these clients have great blogs. These blogs have been customized to match their websites. They actively post interesting news about their business or their industry. You can see these clients on our Blogroll (in the left margin.)
Many of our clients look for guidance about blogging, both technical and creative guidance
Creating a personal blog can serve as a training ground for your business blog, allowing you to get comfortable with the software, adding images, videos, links, etc.
A personal blog can be a virtual family scrapbook. You can ‘turn the lens on your family’, involve other family members to participate with comments, be guest bloggers, etc.
You can keep your personal blog private, only share it with designated readers.

I want you to know that I built my personal blog by myself. I was tempted to call Malik Moosa-Soomar, but I felt strongely that I needed to learn how to do this by flying solo.

Now I hope you will read it, ask questions, post comments, and join in the fun.

And here for today’s fun is a trailer for Julie and Julia.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Most of us have used the opinions of strangers to guide us. Maybe we crossed a movie off a list because we saw a bad review on television or went to a new restaurant based on a review we read in the newspaper. The Internet lets us all be reviewers and almost anything can be reviewed. You can rate books on amazon.com, local businesses on yelp.com and DUI attorneys at gotdui.com. And you can use those sites, and countless others to help you chose a book, a restaurant, or a lawyer.

Of course, any review is subjective. For example, The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown’s latest book, has over 1400 reviews, almost 500 of which are positive and about 650 are negative. Also, the quality of service at any business can vary. So before trusting a review, read carefully.

If you own a business, you need to understand that your next customer might review his or her experience on the Internet. Just as bad reviews in the New York press can doom a Broadway show, then a bad report can seriously hurt a business.

How do you combat the bad reviews? The first thing to do is to try to not get them. Be on top of game as much as possible. If you see that a customer is dissatisfied, try to find out why and do something to satisfy them. Be honest in your advertising so that customers don’t expect one thing and get another.

The second thing is to try to get good reviews. Encourage your satisfied customers. Publicize your good reviews and their sources.

Here are ten other things you should consider.

Reading Time: 8 minutes

I got up this morning and to tell you the truth I really didn’t know what to post about today. The week has been busy working with clients, Dan is rafting this weekend, Aaron returned from his vacation, our client Jason Ackner stopped in for a visit – it is fun to meet our clients “face to face”, it is nice to receive happy news from Facebook friends (Deb and Dan Fischbein’s oldest son Josh is getting married today and Scott and Elyse (Wolf) Davidson returned to the Mount Washington Valley Theatre Company to perform in “Hello Dolly” directed by Andrew Glant Linden with assistant Bev Brennan and receiving rave reviews), we had a terrific rainstorm in Tucson yesterday about 3:00PM, and now it is Saturday morning. I happened to read an article this morning from Time.com which had to do with the President and the First Family taking a vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, specifically Oak Bluffs, and of course I thought back to my one and only trip to Martha’s Vineyard. I think I once sent a postcard from Oak Bluffs. If I didn’t, I should have.

It was 1991. On April 1st Dennis and I decided to take a few days off from the inn and travel to Cape Cod with our good friends, Gerry and Elaine McManus (by the way we still hear from Elaine; however, she and Gerry divorced around 1996 – see their photo below taken by me on this trip). I believe we were trying to celebrate Gerry’s birthday. What we didn’t realize was this: in those days most of Cape Cod is still not really “open for the season”. But off we went and after stopping at the local Chamber of Commerce we actually found a nice hotel on the water called the Ocean Club on Smuggler’s Beach South Yarmouth. By about the third day of our adventure and after seeing two movies, Dances with Wolves and Sleeping with the Enemy, we thought we would take a ferry ride to Martha’s Vineyard. Again, we soon learned that you don’t just show up to take a ferry ride. You need to plan this if you intend to take a vehicle with you to Martha’s Vineyard. So there we were at Woods Hole and we decided with our ‘devil may care’ attitude to board one of The Steamship Authority’s ferries that did not carry vehicles and did not have restrooms!

Elaine and Gerry on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard

When we inquired of the ferry staff how to find the restrooms they advised us that we would need to wait until we arrived in Vineyard Haven. And so we arrived, but the public restroom on the dock was closed for renovations. People on the dock directed us to The Black Dog (a well known restaurant); however, they were not open yet for the season! So we decided to walk into the town, as certainly some establishment would allow us to come in and use their restrooms. No luck. The businesses were either closed or emphatic we could not come in and use their restrooms. We walked further until Gerry said he would not continue on this “forced march”. At that point Gerry and Dennis hailed a passing taxi. The driver stopped asked us where we wanted to go and our response was: “Take us anywhere on this island where we can use a restroom and have a meal.”

Next stop: Oak Bluffs. I remember how friendly the taxi driver was to us. He took us to a great little restaurant, whose name I cannot recall at the moment. (Funny how your brain can recall the name of the restaurant that was not open, but cannot remember the name of the restaurant that was open and treated us so kindly.) Anyway the taxi driver told us he would come back in a couple of hours and pick us up for our return trip to the Vineyard Haven harbor. And sure enough two hours later we were back in the taxi and on our way.

I enjoyed learning more about Oak Bluffs in the Time article. Wonderful interesting history. So today as the First Family prepares to spend a few August days in Oak Bluffs, I will remember fondly my few hours there some 18 years ago!

Reading Time: 8 minutes

So here we are with another one of those 40th anniversary Saturdays. Were you at Woodstock 1969? I am going to save you a lot of reading time. I was not at Woodstock 1969, but you all know I am old enough to have been there. It so happens that Woodstock took place in Bethel, New York, and at that time I lived in San Diego, California. I couldn’t travel to New York; I had to go to work every day for Wells Fargo Bank. But all this aside I would like to take just a few minutes today to honor the memory of Woodstock and, yes, I do have a friend who was at Woodstock and indeed performed at Woodstock!

We all either knew about the music festival or soon learned about it when 500,000 people showed up and the media decided to pay attention, most of us could not really appreciate the magnitude of this festival until the Academy Award Winning documentary “Woodstock”* was released March 26, 1970 (this film has been remastered and re-released in June 2009 to celebrate the 40th anniversary). Keep in mind the average 20 year old could not easily travel to New York State for a three day festival. There was no way to purchase tickets on-line or even by phone, in fact according to Wikipedia, the “ticket sales were limited to record stores in the greater New York City area, or by mail via a Post Office Box at the Radio City Station Post Office located in Midtown Manhattan.”

Over the years I have often thought back to that weekend. I remember sitting in the clubhouse of my apartment complex in the Hollywood Hills. It was then 1977 and in walked Richie Havens and he sat down next to me and introduced himself. Wow! Who will forget Richie Havens singing “Freedom”? But much later, actually around 2002, I had the pleasure of meeting Dallas Taylor. You might remember Dallas. He was the drummer for Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN) and yes, he played at Woodstock. Dallas authored a book Prisoner of Woodstock. As mentioned on Amazon, Taylor provided the backbeat for some of the brightest stars of the Sixties and Seventies, most notably Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, with whom he performed at Woodstock. For more than 25 years Dallas has spent his time helping others find recovery. Last summer, Dennis and I enjoyed seeing Crosby, Stills and Nash on their Summer 2008 tour. It was quite the evening sitting in an open air arena with our oldest son, Aaron, enjoying great music and memories.

Prisoner tells two tales: one of Taylor’s successes and failures in the rock music business, and the other of his struggle with drug addiction.” Dallas has been our friend and client for many years and now with almost 25 years of sobriety Dallas continues to work with the music industry with Music Cares.

I have one more anecdote about Woodstock. I opened this blog by telling you I was not there, but I actually knew someone who was there; however, I also know someone who lived in New York City at the time, was 20 years old, had tickets to Woodstock, started the drive to Bethel and when he got stuck in traffic he decided to turn around and go home! (Of course, this may be an urban legend, but this person is Dennis’ first cousin.)

Sit back, take a break, rent the movie or in the meantime I invite you to watch a YouTube video of CSN Woodstock 1969

If you are having trouble viewing the video, you can see it here.

*Roger Ebert once said: “Woodstock is a beautiful, moving, ultimately great film. It seemed to signal the beginning of something. Maybe it signaled the end. Somebody told me the other day that the 1960s has “failed.” Failed at what? They certainly didn’t fail at being the 1960s. Now that the period is described as a far-ago time like “the 1920s” or “the 1930s,” how touching it is in this film to see the full flower of its moment, of its youth and hope. The decade began with the election of John F. Kennedy and ended as the last bedraggled citizens of Woodstock Nation slogged off the muddy field and thumbed a ride into a future that would seem, to many of them, mostly downhill.”

Any thoughts?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

John Hughes suffered a heart attack while taking a morning walk during a trip to NYC to visit family at the age of 59. He directed such ’80s hit films as “The Breakfast Club“, “Weird Science“, “Sixteen Candles” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off“. I grew up watching his movies; they never seemed to get old for me or my brother. John Hughes invented the teen movie as we know it today; his movies spoke to us and showed teens going through the struggles of coming of age. He will be missed sorely, but his movies will live on despite the changing of hair styles and clothes that kids wear today. It doesn’t matter who you are, there will always be a message to take away from his movies.

John Hughes used the pen name Edmond Dantes, homage to the lead character in The Count of Monte Cristo. He inspired the “Brat Pack” movement of the 1980s and he said “I don’t think of kids as a lower form of the human species”. John Hughes gave kids strength and reminded them that it was alright to be different. The following quote has always stuck with me over the years from The Breakfast Club, when Mr. Vernon the Principal asks the kids to write a letter to him about who they think they are? The group decides that it would be better for Brian Johnson to write a letter for all of them. “Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong. What we did was wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us… in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at seven o’clock this morning. We were brainwashed.”

Reading Time: 2 minutes

District 9, is the new Peter Jackson movie involving captured and imprisoned aliens here on earth. Watch the video for a brief intro and the official trailer.

I am bringing this film to your attention because I am not a big alien movie or blockbuster big effects guy– and it still looks interesting to me. My interest comes mainly from the fact that in this movie, the aliens are not superior as usually portrayed. (Not to mention Peter Jackson is behind the project.) These aliens are vulnerable enough that they are imprisoned, instead of the normal physical, technological, and mental dominating beings that movies like Independence Day portray.

Personally, new ideas or new takes on an idea are what I look for in a movie keeping my attention. This is especially true in the modern day where with special effects, nothing is impossible to create.

Again, I haven’t seen this movie so this is not a first person recommendation, but instead I am simply saying I am going to see it over the weekend at some point.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

I was 19 years old the summer of 1969. Richard Nixon was president. The Vietnam War was raging and Woodstock would not happen until August 15. 40 years ago this weekend Americans waited eagerly for Sunday morning, July 20th, to arrive. NASA was going to fulfill a dream that President John F. Kennedy spoke of in 1961. Some of us are old enough to remember this day quite clearly and so I thought that today I would share with you my walk on the moon memories on this 40th Anniversary. And yes, I do consider this a technology post…I mean really, man walking on the moon, now that is technical!

As I said, I was 19. I had moved back to San Diego from San Francisco on Memorial Day weekend 1969. The reason I remember the exact weekend is that my first husband and I drove from San Francisco to San Diego and we got stuck in traffic in San Clemente on Interstate 5 for six (6) hours that weekend. The good news about that trip is that we were driving our brand new 1969 VW Beetle (air cooled engine), so idling on the freeway was just no big deal. But I digress…

I worked for Wells Fargo Bank and my husband was in college, so he had a summer job of some kind. We lived in a really small, strange apartment that seemed to look more like a motor home and we did not own a television. A friend of ours loaned us a TV to use for the summer. It was a black and white RCA television. This is the same year that saw such summer movie blockbusters as Midnight Cowboy and Easy Rider (both debuted in May 1969). If you have never seen either of these movies, rent them, they are classics.

As I said it was a Sunday morning and I don’t know if NASA specifically planned this historic walk for a Sunday in order to allow more Americans to watch the show, but we got up early, the television went on and at exactly 20:17:40 UTC (GMT) the Eagle landed in our moon’s Sea of Tranquility. That was 01:17:40PM PDT our time. Six and one-half hours later Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the moon’s surface.

I have two distinct memories from that day: First, while waiting for the Eagle to land, the radio played Oliver’s rendition of Good Morning Starshine. The words were perfect. (see the 1st YouTube Video below); Second, we watched the CBS coverage with Walter Cronkite and shared another life-altering event with him. (see 2nd YouTube video below).

And so today, as we begin the 40th Anniversary celebration of our Walk on the Moon, we remember with great respect and sadness the passing of Walter Cronkite last evening at the age of 92. And I will think back to the day so long ago that I sat in that little apartment, watched with wonder and together we wrote in our diary: “Today, man walked on the moon!”

P.S. In 1999 a movie was released as a tie in to the 30th Anniversary, A Walk on the Moon. This is another movie that many of you will enjoy.

Reading Time: < 1 minute

‘It Might Get Loud’ is a rockumentary starring 2 guitar legends and one of recent music’s only significant guitar contributors- Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, the Edge from U2 and Jack White from the White Stripes, respectively.

This film is released August 14th limited.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Today is July 4th, our federal holiday celebrating 233 years of Independence. While I wish all of you a Happy Fourth of July, I would like to highlight Lady Liberty. Happy 4th of July Lady Liberty!

This July 4th is special for Lady Liberty. For the first time since shortly after September 11, 2001, a limited number of visitors will be allowed to climb the spiral staircase to the crown. Have you ever been to the Statue of Liberty? I will tell you that of all of the majestic places I have visited in our United States, Liberty Island is by far the most awe inspiring, more so than Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite, the Golden Gate Bridge, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, St. Louis Arch, Hoover Dam, Denali, Everglades, Washington, D.C., Arlington National Cemetery. But enough about my travel guide.

I invite any of you who have the opportunity to visit New York City, even those of you who live in New York City, to make time to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island. If you are unfamiliar with Ellis Island, it served as a federal immigration station for steamship passengers from 1892 until 1954. But I digress…as you approach Lady Liberty on the ferry you might recall great movie scenes from Titanic, Funny Girl, to name a few…it is amazing.

Beginning this July 4th, 30 people per hour will be allowed to climb up and down the 346-354 (but whose counting) steps to the crown, that is about 250 guests per day. I have never been to the Crown, but my sons have. I believe it was the spring of 1990.

Today I cannot begin to impart all that you can see and learn when you visit both Liberty and Ellis Islands. But you can stay in touch with The Lady, as she does Twitter…and Flickr. She is a social lady!

P.S. If you really want to have some fun, then visit the Ellis Island Foundation and search for your relatives who may have immigrated to the United States through this station.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

About a week ago I sat in a wonderful Greek restaurant with my friend and client Will Bruzzo. Don’t worry…Dennis was there, as well. I have known Will for at least five years. He is a successful criminal defense attorney in Orange County, California. While having lunch we talked about Will’s parents, Aldo and Sarah. They own a villa and winery in Vicenza, Italy. Since 1985 Aldo and Sarah, with their son Alan, have been living the dream of owning an Italian vineyard.

As Will talked about their adventure he reminded me that Aldo and Sarah, whom I met a few years ago when they were visiting from Italy, have decided to retire and sell the villa and winery, Ca’ Bruzzo. The beautiful Ca’ Bruzzo Winery and Villa is for sale! Of course, my mind wandered back to 2003 when I first saw the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun, and I recalled how Dennis and I were both so taken by the story that we rushed home to see how easy would it be to purchase an Italian villa. Such dreams…now instead of living under the Tuscan sun, I find myself living under the Tucson sun!

But I digress…seriously, did you ever dream of changing your lifestyle, learning a new trade? I think we all do this from time to time. But every once in a while people actually take the plunge and just do it! So, if you find yourself at a crossroads in your life and want to think about starting a new chapter, then I invite you to check out Ca’ Bruzzo. For all descriptive details and photos, you can visit Piedmont Properties.

Here is a YouTube video of Vicenza…enjoy.

Remember it is Saturday morning, the day for dreams. And when tonight comes, you might wish upon a star like a famous woodworker Geppetto and your dreams could come true.

Let me know if you decide to live your dream of owning an Italian vineyard.

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Tubey, a new application for the iPhone, creates and posts movies to YouTube and Facebook.

Take your pictures.
Assemble and order your shots.
Choose your transitions.
Choose your music from a wide selection of copyright free music.
Add captions.
Create your video.
Post your video to YouTube or Facebook.

All from your iPhone. All from a single application.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

I am sitting at my desk right now. It is Saturday 6:51AM and the view from my Tucson home office is pretty spectacular. The doves are nesting in the porch eves, the hummingbirds are fluttering around the blooming ocotillo and the prickly pear are preparing to bloom. As a write, a little bunny just walked up on to the porch enjoying the early morning weather. This week the Tucson desert around our home has been particularly beautiful and I thought I would tell you about three ways to enjoy the living desert.

I don’t want any of you to worry that my hints are going to cause you to do anything too strenuous. In fact you don’t even have to physically be in the desert to enjoy the living desert. And remember, this is Judy writing today. I gave up hiking, backpacking, camping, and bicycling a long time ago. So here we go…

1. Rent or buy a copy of Walt Disney’s The Living Desert. This film was released in November 1953! Yes, I know that is over 55 years ago, but it won the academy award in 1954 for best documentary and if you have never seen it, then you are in for a surprise. There was a time that I offered a You Tube video clip from the movie that deals with the cute ground squirrels; however, as is often the case the video has been disabled. Here you can visit a Walt Disney site and view the limited trailer. My parents took my sisters and me to see this movie in 1954 and I have never forgotten the beauty of the blooming cactus.

2. If you live in a desert environment, particularly around Tucson, AZ, then just take a walk in your neighborhood. It is spring time in the desert and for the next few months the cactus will take turns producing beautiful flowers and fruit. Just yesterday I was retrieving my neighbor’s mail and I had to stand back and wonder at the simple beauty of the living desert. And if you really think that a desert tortoise is just to be seen in the movies, here is a photo that Dan took last summer in Gates Pass a few miles from our home in Tucson..

3. For those of you who can not rent or buy the Living Desert and do not live in the desert, I invite you to watch my slide show of a RED TORCH CACTUS. This cactus is located outside my bedroom and Daniel decided to chronicle the blooming process. These photos were taken over the course of 24 hours. And you should know the flowers really are only in full bloom for one day! (I created this slide show using Googles’ Picasa Web Albums.)

So I will sign off for the day, more living desert for me to see, sans snakes!

P.S. If for some reason my slide show is really not of a Red Torch Cactus, I hope one of my readers will correct me.

Reading Time: 7 minutes

This past Monday, March 9, 2009, one of my former employers sent a company wide layoff announcement via email. Sadly some of my friends were impacted by this layoff. Given the state of the US economy we have all grown accustom to layoff news. It is happening everywhere, touching every industry; however, prior to this week Mercury Insurance Services, LLC, founded in 1962, had never resorted to layoffs. I could ask a lot of questions about this business decision, most of which are not answered in their press release. The one question that weighs on my mind is why did they choose to communicate this business decision via email?

Perhaps companies feel this is accepted email etiquette. For some companies, maybe. But you need to know that prior to mid 2002 90% of Mercury employees did not even have personal computers, they worked with dumb green terminals. That’s right,no email, no word processing software, no internet access…they spent eight hours a day in their cubicles connecting to a mainframe to perform and produce their work product – underwriting policies or adjusting claims. In 2001 I was named the project manager to bring Mercury employees into the 21st century. One of the biggest project battles was convincing senior management that the employees should have and use email. I won the battle and this week I learned that senior management used email to announce a company wide layoff. What a difference seven years can make!

Generally technology is wonderful for the work environment, but have we technically progressed to the point that it is considered acceptable to deliver life altering news via a cold email? Let’s remember that this startling news negatively impacted those who were not laid off, as well as those who were.

Today I dedicate this blog post to all Mercury employees, those who were fired and those who were retained. In September 2004, when I resigned from Mercury I sent a good-bye letter to those whom I had worked with over my almost seven year tenure. And because I had managed many company wide projects this letter went to many employees. In that letter I shared the following thoughts, which ironically are still pertinent today:

—As I leave you, I tried to think of the best advice I could offer you as individuals and as a group. It came to me that what I have always tried to impart to you is to question each request as if your life depended on it. Do not be afraid to stand your ground for the betterment of your work ethic and the company. In other words, do the right thing. A few years ago, I saw a movie, “The Winslow Boy”, and in the closing scene a defense attorney states: “I wept today because right had been done.” When questioned by the defendant’s sister, “Not justice?” to this the attorney replied, “No, not justice. Right. Easy to do ‘justice’. Very hard to do ‘right’.”

In these difficult times, can we all just try to do right?

Good night and good luck!

March 10, 2009 5:14 PM EDT

In a Form 8-K, Mercury General Corp. (NYSE: MCY) announced that on March 9, 2009, the Company took action to eliminate approximately 360 employee positions or 7% of the Company’s workforce in an ongoing effort to improve its cost structure. The Company expects to record a charge, in the first quarter of 2009, of approximately $8 million for severance and other employee termination costs in connection with the reduction in workforce, all of which will result in future cash expenditures. The total annualized pre-tax cost savings that are expected to result from the employee reductions is estimated to be approximately $22 million.March 10, 2009 5:14 PM EDT

Reading Time: 4 minutes

How Twitter’s spectacular growth is being driven by unexpected uses

Serendipity the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely.

What is Twitter? Is it a status update? Is it a Social Network? Or is it a search engine akin to the Minority Report? I guess you could say it is all of these things and more, but you will not get “Twitter” unless you use it.

A meme (pronounced /mi:m/ – like theme) is a unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices; such units or elements transmit from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena. The etymology of the term relates to the Greek word mimema for mimic. Memes act as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate and respond to selective pressures.

Ok Great Darin, now we know what a meme is, and we have heard about twitter on tv, but seriously, how do you use it?

1) If I find a good link, movie, app, picture I tweet it.
2) If I need help on a project that I am not an expert in, I tweet it,
3) If I want to find out more on a current event (Like TED or SXSW) I search and follow those that are live “onsite”
4) If I am at a current event, and I want to keep track of old friends like http://twitter.com/Roebot, or find new like minded folks, I set up a feed of the twitter search in reader,
5) If I want to know what the hive mind is buzzing about, I check out http://twitter.com/trendingtopics

These are just a few of the ways that I am using Twitter, I hope they give you a reason to play with this “Tool / Meme” so that you can find some serendipitous uses for it that you can share back with us.

Do You Follow Me?
I hope you do.

If you would like to check out more of our blog posts on Twitter Click Here

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Have you seen He’s Just Not That Into You? This film opened yesterday and since today is Saturday I thought I would provide a little preview of this romantic comedy. Technically speaking, He’s Just Not That Into You, was not on my to-do list for February 6th, so I have not yet seen the movie, but I have seen the previews. I think this is one of those films that I might be able to convince my husband, Dennis, to see. Why? Eye candy! There are enough “big” stars, both men and women, in this film to keep everyone happy for 129 minutes. For your convenience, I have included a trailer for the movie in this post. You will see that the producers feel that the basic interactive groundrules for men and women are established when we are very young children, which is “he says one thing, but means another” and “she hears what she wants to hear.” As an aside, I remember my first little boy “friend.” In 1954-55 we walked to kindergarten each morning holding hands. His name was Raymond Wood. I think he was always nice to me!

Ok, here is the scoop: He’s Just Not That Into You is based on a self-help book that was written by Greg Behrentdt and Liz Tuccillo. No, neither Greg nor Liz is a psychologist. Both were writers for Sex and the City, they based this book on a famous line from the 6th season episode called “Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little” which originally aired July 13, 2003(yes, the episode title is the name of an annoying song from The Music Man). Six years later and with a reported budget of $25,000,000 we now have a romantic comedy that will either make you laugh or help you escape today’s crazy technical world for two hours.

Probably the most poignant message in He’s Just Not That Into You is this: In today’s world, unlike when I was wondering “why doesn’t HE call?,” a person can’t just expect to hear from someone via a landline phone, they need to worry about every known “SOCIAL NETWORK:” myspace, facebook, youtube, plurk, plugoo, brightkite, ping, twitter, yammer, and the fatal text messaging via the cell phone. As Mary, played by Drew Barrymore, says: “It’s exhausting!”

The fact is love, or what we hope will turn into love, makes us do foolish things. We are all guilty of this, we are human. In 1965 Martha (Reeves) and the Vandellas released “Love Makes Me Do Foolish Things,” it never made it to #1, but many of us loved this song, because in 1965 and for a long time after that, our social networks consisted only of a phone and the Friday night mixer (dance). This song made us cry and if we were really lucky that special someone would ask us to dance and we would forget all our troubles. Escape!

So for this Saturday: Dance to this music,take a break and go away with your friend. Go to the movies or rent a movie,love the one you’re with, and let me know how this works out for you, write a comment on my blog post.

P.S. For the record, if you are wondering what happened to little Raymond Wood. We continued through grade school together as friends. After that we lost touch. In 2006, my mother passed away. As I stood outside the church waiting for her funeral to begin, I looked across the crowd and there stood Raymond. He walked over to me, put his arms around me and said “I wouldn’t miss being with you today.” Precious memories, indeed!

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Over the Thanksgiving weekend Dennis and I went to see the new Baz Luhrmann film Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Having read many reviews of this film, some great and some mixed, I figured we might as well venture out on Black Friday and see this epic film. What better way to spend two and three-quarter hours when a movie includes wonderful scenery of Australia, World War II history, an expose of the “stolen generation”, not to mention I could enjoy watching Hugh Jackman (People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 2008) and Dennis could similarly enjoy watching the beautiful and talented Nicole Kidman. As we purchased our tickets, I noticed the theatre was giving away free Australia movie posters. What a treat! Not exactly like receiving a movie “program book” that I frequently received back in the 60’s and 70’s. Yes, I said “program book.”
These were souvenir books, some over 30 pages in length, that were part of your ticket price, typically produced for those major films like Dr. Zhivago (1965) and Hawaii (1966). And, yes, I still have some of these treasures, and remember that these movies often included an “intermission!” But, back to Australia…it is 1939.

There is much to say about this movie and I really hope you will see it for yourself. What struck me the most is how Luhrmann managed to weave the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz, into his storytelling. And of course, there is the beautiful Oz song, “Over the Rainbow”. As I watched Australia I thought to myself, what is it about “Over the Rainbow” that somehow reaches your inner soul and magically soothes you. We all know that Australia is not the first movie that has incorporated “Over the Rainbow”, as I can name at least six other films, and it undoubtedly won’t be the last…so still the question remains. Why do people love the song “Over the Rainbow”?

Consider the following: “Over the Rainbow” was written in 1939; lyrics by Edgar Yipsel(Yip)Harburg; music by Harold Arlen; original performing artist was Judy Garland; won the Academy Award for Best Original Song (1939) and was voted by the American Film Institute as the Best Movie Song of all time. According to SongFacts.com, Yip Harburg’s “lyrics have a political significance. Harburg was expressing hope for America under President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” program, which was designed to get America out of the Great Depression in the early ’30s.” Hmmmm…

I suppose you are wondering what my blog post about Over the Rainbow, Australia and the magic of music has to do with Webconsuls’ primary services, SEO and SMO. Well, here is the connection. A few months ago, one of our clients, Whiteside Manor, Riverside, CA, asked us to create a video for their website. We had wonderful photos, but we needed just the right music. Dan contacted his friend, Paul Meredith, and asked Paul to record a version of “Over the Rainbow.” You can view the finished product here:

So today:
1. Let me know your thoughts about “Over the Rainbow” and Australia.
2. See if you can name one or more of the other movie soundtracks which include “Over the Rainbow”.
3. Let me know if you need Webconsuls to produce a video for your website

….’Somewhere over the rainbow… skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.’

Dare to dream…

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The old debate, Plasma vs LCD has existed as long as the technology has.

If you are like me and you have heard all of the arguments and everyone says something different, the video at the following link will sort the facts.

For example, which type is better for movies versus video games. The comparison mentions how the type and amount of light will affect each version and other aspects the lay person may not think about.

When it comes down to it for me, both Plasma and LCD bring positives to the table and while the other type may be better or worse at something else, neither is the greatest across the board. Therefore, which ever technology is a better deal for the money at a certain size is the one I will buy. Having said that, if you are using the TV for a primary purpose, then it would make more sense to utilize the technology that caters to that purpose.

CNet will break it all down.

Please feel free to add your vote- LCD or Plasma?

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Have you ever been to Rockport, MA? I have not, even though I lived in New England for 12 years. Amazing, isn’t it? For 12 years I lived in New Hampshire, but my life as an innkeeper didn’t allow for much leisure time to visit all of the beautiful spots that New England has to offer. But this summer I was able to get to know Rockport, MA and more particularly The Seaward Inn because innkeeper, Nancy Cameron-Gilsey (a Certified Social Worker!), requested that I help her update her website. You see Nancy has been a Webconsuls’ client since November 2000; in fact The Seaward Inn is one of our oldest clients, both literally and figuratively. On May 7, 2009, The Seaward Inn will open for their 65th Season! This being Saturday morning I invite you to learn a little more about The Seaward and Rockport, MA.

It was 1945, well before Nancy’s birth, when Nancy’s parents first purchased the large home situated on five acres in Rockport, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. World War II had ended and Roger and Anne Cameron opened their home to summer guests. Rockport is a small town about 25 miles north of Boston and it sits on the tip of the Cape Ann Peninsula. Rockport is picturesque; in fact, Walt Disney Productions has listed Rockport Harbor as one of the ten most scenic places in the United States. Rockport is just a short drive from Gloucester, MA, which you will remember from the movie and book, The Perfect Storm (2000). And, yes, the cast and crew stayed at The Seaward during the filming of this fabulous movie. But I digress…back to the website update.

Nancy’s site is not large, about 15 pages. It was designed many years ago, prior to Webconsuls being retained to do the search engine optimization(SEO) for the site. The site update started with a simple inquiry from Nancy about how to incorporate new photos and how to upgrade the information found on her “Area Attractions” page. I told Nancy I would review the site and then my research began in earnest. Since I love history, I found myself reading everything I could find about Rockport, Dogtown, Motif #1, and then I had long conversations with Nancy about all the famous guests that she and her family have welcomed to the inn. It was all so interesting.
As the weeks progressed, Nancy and I stayed in touch. She sent me the new photos, shared the history of the inn, and introduced me to her long time employee…Rose Marie Leal. Then one day Nancy and Rose told me about their latest adventure at The Seaward…their “Sunday Morning Live” series. Their Sunday Buffet by the Sea features live musical entertainment and it is open to the public. With this bit of information Rose and I went into high gear and a video was born, with the help of our Support Technician, Dan. You can enjoy the video here featuring images of The Seaward and the music of The Barbara & Al Boudreau Jazz Trio.

I look forward to visiting The Seaward Inn, touring Rockport, meeting Nancy and Rose in person. I am glad I had the chance to work on this project with them; it was a labor of love for them and became one for me. Having been an innkeeper and knowing what this life is like, I know that every decision you make is for your guests and Nancy and Rose work very hard to make every visitor feel welcomed. So, if you have never been to Rockport, why not put it on your short list? Remember, The Seaward is only open from May through October every year.
Tomorrow The Seaward Inn will close out their 2008 season, winter will come and go, and just as sure as the daffodils and crocus will bloom next spring, Nancy will be ready to welcome guests for their 65th season. I am sure her parents would be very proud.

Reading Time: < 1 minute

What is Photosynth?

Imagine being able to share the places and things you love using the cinematic quality of a movie, the control of a video game, and the mind-blowing detail of the real world. With nothing more than a bunch of photos, Photosynth creates an amazing new experience!

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