Archives : Internet
20 Things…
Have you ever wished that someone would just write a book about the internet? A book that would answer questions such as, “What is the Internet,” for instance?
If, hypothetically, such a book were to be released, who would write it? A well-informed corporatio, certainly; a power player in the Internet world, definitely; a company that everyone knew enough about to trust, for sure.
Who better than Google?
The Google Chrome Team has put together a book all about the internet. The simple, easy-to-read book that thousands of internet-users across the nation have been holding their breath to read has finally arrived. Not only that, but it features the illustrations of the award-winning German illustrator and children’s author, Christoph Niemann.
Still not convinced? Well, one more thing… it’s free.
20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web, describes itself as “a short guide for anyone who’s curious about the basics of browsers and the web.” It discusses topics as basic as ‘the internet in general’, all the way to things such as ‘protecting yourself from malware and HTML5.’
The combination of Neimann’s illustrations and the Google Chrome Team’s knowledge has led to a clever and informative booklet, full of information that everyone browsing the internet ought to know.
Unfortunately, like everything else, 20 Things has some problems. Although the pictures add to the fun of the book, it does have a total of 62 pages. It doesn’t seem like much, but to our attention deficit society, that might prove to be a drip too long. However, this is an e-book (of course) so if you leave and come back, it will ask you if you’d like to resume reading where you left off! That should help people get through the full content.
So take a moment and head over to http://www.20thingsilearned.com/ and look through the book! If you don’t have time to read it, at least take the time to enjoy Neimann’s colorful drawings.
Facebook Land Grab – A Guide to Your Facebook Username
Okay, it’s not exactly a land grab but, hear me out. Local business is gaining ground on the Internet everyday through sites that provide ways for local businesses to get worldwide recognition online. Today, let’s focus on what a local business can do on Facebook. You can “grab” http://www.facebook.com/businessname as a unique pointer to your business Facebook Page.
On June 13th, 2009 Facebook created “usernames”. This is where a Facebook user can select a username that serves as a “web address” for their Facebook profile. For example, you can go directly to my Facebook page by clicking this URL http://www.facebook.com/knowlesmark.
Facebook “Pages” are essentially similar to personal profiles only they are for businesses, bands, and real celebrities to share information and to gather and communicate with their “fans”. Today, a business can claim a username for their Facebook Page and have a unique “web address” in Facebook for their business. For example, you can find Smart Solutions at http://www.facebook.com/smartsolutions.
For all the Smart Solutions out there, there is only one of these available at Facebook and your business name may be waiting for you to grab it. To help prevent squatting, you need to be legitimate and the page must have 100 fans; after that the Facebook username (URL) becomes available for you to claim. That makes sense to me.
How do set your business up with a Facebook Page and a URL?
1) Check to make sure your business name is available (http://www.facebook.com/username)
2) If it is, create a page for your business (http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php)
3) Gather 100 fans (Ask your family, friends, customers, to “Become a Fan” of your business)
4) Claim your username (or URL) (http://www.facebook.com/username)
That’s it. Your business can now be found at http://www.facebook.com/businessname. You can use this URL in your marketing materials, business cards, emails, etc. Your customers and prospective customers can find your business in Facebook with a single click.
There are currently over 300 million active Facebook users and over one million Facebook developers creating new ways for people to interact. There is probably one Facebook username (URL) that is fits best for your business and once it’s gone, you will be settling for second best. You have all seen the domain names like http://www.business-namenw.com with a hyphen in the middle, and awkward initials added to a URL. These are businesses that were a little late to the domain game and had to settle for their second favorite way to be found online. Ask me sometime how Smart Solutions ended up with http://www.smartz.com as our domain name and you’ll have one more reason to claim your Facebook username today. 
Claiming your business username in Facebook is fairly easy to do yours may be waiting for you but, not forever. Can you rally 100 fans?
By: Mark Knowles
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