Bigsnit – idea centre

Some quick notes on what I’m up to and some tips you might find helpful.

Behind the Scenes: Updates and Backups

One of the things that I do quietly behind the scenes is keep your WordPress installation up to date with the latest releases. You probably get updates on your Windows or Mac computer every now and then – this is essentially the same thing.

The WordPress.org team issues updates to fix bugs or security issues. As well, there are ‘plug-in’ updates quite regularly. Plug-ins are small ‘add ons’ to WordPress that allow us to do certain things, like add a thumbnail image to the front page, or include a “Share on FaceBook” link at the bottom of each posts.

I also do a weekly backup of your database file. I store the backups separately from the website, so that in the event of a major failure, we can get your site back.

WordPress tips

Customize your Dashboard pages:

When you’re logged on and doing work, you may find that there are some parts of the content management pages that you never use.

Well, you can customize the look of the page to suit your needs. Look at the top right hand of the page and you’ll see a button that says “Screen Options”. Click it to see what options are available to customize that particular page.

Quick Edit:

There is a ‘quick edit’ function to make it fast and easy to change things like Tags, Categories, and Publish Dates for your existing posts. Click “EDIT” on Posts or Pages in the left sidebar.

You’ll see this option if you roll your mouse over the title of the post or page. (I use this a lot to add tags after I’ve already posted an item)

BigSnit Services Update : also known as  Things I Can Do For You

Twitter.

I’m doing quite a lot of work with Twitter now on behalf of clients and on my own websites. I’m using it primarily to:

• augment posts and keep the site active
• build (extend) audience

Twitter messages are short – 140 characters – but can link to longer stories as well. So, it’s particularly good at sending out quick blasts of info like events or sales or special offers. It’s also great for posting something that might not warrant a full article, but you still want to mention.

Twitter is really helpful in building your community because of the way it connects a variety of people who might not even know about you (through other people who ‘follow’ your twitter feed).

I’m really pleased at how effective it is in spreading the word and building community.

If this is something you’re interested in, let me know and we can talk about how it can serve your goals. Fees are based on time spent creating and sending ‘Tweets’ and managing the Twitter account for you.

You can see my full personal twitter feed at twitter.com/bigsnit and you’ll see a selection of my most recent “tweets” in the right hand sidebar of this page.

Facebook “Pages”.

You may have a personal Facebook page, and know how for some people, it’s a key piece in keeping in touch with friends and family. While Facebook isn’t open to the world in the same way a web page is, it is still a huge community, and its usage continues to grow despite detractors who thought it would become passé.

Now you can have a Facebook page for your business. The functionality is similar to a personal page, and gives you an important presence. You show up in Facebook search, and Facebook members can become ‘Fans’ of your page. It’s also a handy place to list things like events or special offers.

LIke the Twitter feeds, I’m now managing Facebook pages and content on behalf of a number of clients. If this is of interest to you, please let me know and we can talk about how it can work for you.

Video.

Even though traditional TV viewing numbers are down, I seem to be doing more and more video these days. This isn’t too surprising considering that people still consume a huge amount of video – it’s just that now they are watching it online at places like YouTube and SurfTheChannel.

Authenticity is something consumers value more highly then ever, and videos are a great way to tell your company’s story and to bring people ‘behind the scenes’.

They’re also a terrific way to show people ‘how to’ do almost anything.

Email me if you’re interested.

You’ll find an example of a simple “how to” I did recently for BasicGov.com on their home page.

Recent Community Activity

NVOCA: This week I was invited to be part of a group of people sharing ideas with the North Vancouver Office of Cultural Affairs. It’s a fairly serious sounding organization, but in fact, is staffed by a great bunch of people who are working hard to bring the North Shore’s incredible arts community into the limelight. I’m looking forward to seeing how things unfold over the next few months as they start reaching out into the community.

LoCoBC: In October I was one of the presenters at the launch event for LoCo BC. They’re a new network for small and medium businesses in BC. I put together some screencasts of the organizer and one of the main presenters – you’ll find that on the VanGoGreen website.

Just for Fun.

I always have a few side projects going on, where I try stuff out and play around.

I firmly believe that ‘doing’ is better than endlessly ‘talking about doing’.

Here’s the latest, called BrainPicker.

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