With that in mind, here are 10 Things We’re Thankful For This Year…

1) We are thankful for our clients and the opportunity to help people accomplish their goals every day.

2) We are thankful for those people in our personal and professional networks that help us grow. Every new client for Blue Gurus comes from word-of-mouth referrals.

3) We are thankful to have launched more than 20 great new WordPress-powered web sites, including  AdventureTech Group, Corporate Fitness Works, Downtown Council of Kansas City, Galvmet, House of Diamonds, LPF Coatings, Picture Perfect Interiors, Shapiro & McMullen, P.A.,  and many more.

4) We are thankful that we were able to get past the infamous “2 year mark” for small businesses and that we are quickly approaching our third year of helping small businesses get bigger.

5) We are thankful that LinkedIn continues to grow at an incredible rate, now with two people joining LinkedIn every second. Oh, and did you know that over 390,000 people in Kansas City have LinkedIn profiles representing more than 5,200 companies? It’s all about relationships.

6) We are thankful for applications like CardMunch, Dropbox and RoboForm that save time and allow us (and many of our clients!) to work more efficiently.

7) We are thankful that we were able to take a cruise this Fall with our wives for some much needed rest and relaxation. We believe you have to take time off to recharge your batteries and maintain a healthy balance between life and work.

8) We are thankful that, for the most part, we have successfully avoided people that suck!

9) We are thankful that, in spite of today’s economic environment, small businesses are working hard every day to make things happen.

10) And last but not least, we are extremely thankful for our wives, Trista and Missy, and our families and friends. Without their support, we wouldn’t be who we are or be able to do what we do.

We would love to hear from you… 

What are you thankful for this year?

WHOIS
WHOIS is a service that allows you to type in your domain name and figure out all kinds of important information about your domain.

Instructions
1) Go to http://www.networksolutions.com/WHOIS/index.jsp
2) In the “Search all WHOIS Records” box type in your domain (example: bluegurus.com) and then click search
3) Look at the results.  A lot of it is technical, but there is a lot of important info there…
4) Take note of who your Registrar is and make sure that the Administrative and Technical contact information is correct

If your Administrative contact is not you or someone you trust in your organization, you need to get that changed IMMEDIATELY.  This is basically the person that owns your domain name and that should be YOU, not your web development company or the guy that set it up 10 years ago and is no longer with your company.

Registrar
A Registrar is a company liked Network Solutions or GoDaddy.  You buy your domain from a trusted Registrar and then control the settings of that domain using the Control Panel provided by your Registrar.  (The Control Panel is a web site where you log in with a username and password to maintain the domain settings after you purchased the domain)  There are thousands of Registrars out there, but we prefer Network Solutions and GoDaddy because their Control Panels are powerful easy to use.

Instructions
When you did the WHOIS search above on your domain, the Registrar information will be included in the response.  This is how you figure out who the Registrar of your domain is.  You can contact them directly to ask for “Control Panel access to my domain settings”  Get this documented or make sure your technical people have it documented.

DNS
The term DNS is short for Domain Name Services and is basically a lookup service for communications on the internet including email and web site traffic.  The simple way to think about DNS is that it is the phone book for your domain.  If someone tries to send you an email, their computer talks to a DNS server and learns what server it should send the email to.  The same is true for someone trying to go to your web site.  When they type in the web address for your domain in their browser, the browser asks a DNS server where the web server for your site is located and then goes there.

Instructions
DNS is too technical to go into much detail.  If you are adventurous, use a web site like http://www.dnsstuff.com/ to learn understand more about your Domain Name Services.  One interesting thing to look at is to type your domain name (example: bluegurus.com) into the Traceroute box on the home page and click the little play button.  You will see from your computer through the internet and then to your web hosting company all the different computers on the internet that relayed your request to the final destination.  In my case, there were 12 “hops” or 12 devices involved.

Conclusion
Keep in mind… if there is ever a problem with your web site or if you are ever going to switch web hosting companies, this information is required.  We have seen delays of up to 2 weeks for cutting over a new web site as a customer tried to get this information gathered, so take the time now to get it documented.  If you need more help on this stuff, please give us a call!

Make sure that you do a full backup of your device and transfer all purchased apps before you do an upgrade.  You can get to these 2 options by right clicking the device when it shows up in iTunes.  Transfer purchases first, then do a full backup.  Make sure you have a good internet connection because the iOS5 download is almost 800MB.  Also, one tricky thing not mentioned is that this update will remove and then replace ALL OF YOUR APPS.  It is important to go to the Apps tab and make sure the “Sync Apps” checkbox is checked before you do the upgrade.  Otherwise, your device will be pretty empty when you finish the upgrade.

The things I really like so far are:
- Turning the iPhone sideways when looking at a day in the calendar switches to show you week view
- The new message center is a more concise way of seeing alerts
- From here on out, iOS updates will be delivered over the air instead of having to tether to a computer running iTunes
- iCloud for backing up content on your device

The following list of top 25 iOS5 features is from a list provided by iPhoneHacks.com.
(I agree with the list and didn’t see any reason to recreate the wheel.)

1. Revamped Notification system with Notification Center, Lock screen display and lots more – more details here and here
2. Siri – Apple’s new intelligent personal assistant that is currently exclusively available only on iPhone 4S – more details here and here
3. Integration with iCloud – Apple’s new Cloud based service
4. iOS 5 includes two new features that will allow Apple to finally cut the cord and usher us in the post-PC era. The first one is PC Free – more details here
5. The second one is Wi-Fi sync, will sync and backup content such as movies, TV shows, home videos, and photo albums from your iOS device to your Mac or PC whenever its using the same Wi-Fi connection and the iOS device is connected to a power source – more details here
6. iMessage – Apple’s new messaging service For iPhone, iPad And iPod Touch users – more details here
7. iOS software updates can be downloaded over-the-air (OTA). The iOS software updates will be delta updates, so instead of downloading the entire OS, you just download what has changed. This probably falls under the PC Free feature, but in our opinion this is one of the major new features of iOS 5. Video
8. Earthquake Early Warning Notifications For iPhone Users In Japan – more details here
9. Improved Camera app – more details here
10. Improved Photos app - more details here
11. A new Reminders app that allows you to store list of things to do that can be associated with a date and also assigned to a location – more details here
12. A new Newsstand app that essentially organizes your magazine and newspaper app subscriptions in one place to access them easily and quickly – more details here
13. Twitter is deeply integrated in iOS 5 and several apps including Camera, Photos, Maps, and Safari – more details here
14. Mobile Safari gets a number of new features such as Reader, Reading List, full tabbed browsing for iPad users and ability to tweet from Safari – more details here
15. Mail app gets a number of new features and improvements such as rich text formatting, ability to flag important messages, access to built-in dictionary etc. – more details here and here
16. With the improved Game Center app, you will be able to add your photo to your Game Center profile, see friends of friends, compare yourself with your friends with Achievement points per game and lots more – details here
17. AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2 – more details here
18. New Multitasking gestures for iPad – more details here
19. AssistiveTouch feature that allows you to use your iOS device if you have difficulty touching the screen or if you require an adaptive accessory – more details here
20. Nitro Javascript Engine Performance Improvements To Home Screen Web Apps – more details here
21. iOS 5 also brings number of improvements to Calendar app such as ability to see year view on the iPad and week view on the iPhone and iPod Touch, ability to view event attachments directly within the Calendar app and other iCloud features – more details here
22. FaceTime – Apple’s video calling feature gets number of improvements such as improved video quality and FaceTime calls over 3G – more details here and here
23. Download multiple apps simultaneously over Wi-Fi And 3G – more details here
24. Weather app also gets a number of improvements in iOS 5 – more details here
25. Music App gets some minor improvements – more details here

Let us know how you are having any problems upgrading to iOS 5, and let us know what enhancements you like the most once you get it installed!

Comment Spam is the behavior of a hacker or spammer posting a comment to one of your news/blog articles.  It is done by automatically posting random comments or promoting commercial services to your blog.  Adding links that point to the spammer’s web site artificially increases the site’s search engine ranking.  An increased ranking often results in the spammer’s commercial site being listed ahead of other sites for certain searches, increasing the number of potential visitors and paying customers.

Some examples of a spam comment (usually accompanies by links to the spammer’s web site):
- Thank you for the shares in this blog. I will visit it again. (from DualShock 3 Wireless Controller)
- I identified a really great internet site for you folks. (from Morocco Currency)
- I am finally in the United States but need your help to get my money out of Saudi Arabia (from Prince Akheem)

Don’t just ignore comments in your WordPress site… you are allowing the spammer to accomplish their goals!  Use Akismet to help with the problem.  Akismet isn’t the total solution, but it is a step in the right direction for fighting comments spam on your site.

Let us know if you use Akismet or have another suggestion for combating spam on your WordPress site!

Great Cases for the iPad 2
I am always looking for a good case for the iPad 2.  I recently found a company called DodoCase that has an interesting twist on cases for the iPad.  They used to be a book binding company and they were on their way to going out of business because of all the new eReaders that were hitting the market like the Kindle and iPad.  They decided to go with the times and make book binding cases for eReaders!  The cases look a lot like a book when you close them and are very well made.  I just received mine and I love it!  I also loved the video on the home page of the DodoCase site that shows the decades old binding machines making these cases for the iPad.  Great story of a company that reinvented itself because the market changed.  (For other iPad case options, I also like the one that Mike Jones uses that is made by Knomo.  For a laundry list of other top rated cases, go here.)

We have mentioned this device in the past and we are bringing it up again because we have had so many of our clients that love it and say they can’t live without it.  Our goal at Blue Gurus is to educate you, save you time and help you grow your business.  Think about how many times each month you type in a username and password on a web site to do your job.  Now think about how many times you couldn’t remember the password and had to go through a “Password Reminder” process just to get to the point where you could actually log in to do your work.  What would it be worth to you not to have this problem ever again?  Our clients usually say “a lot”.

RoboForm pays attention to the web sites you are going to and asks if you want to remember passwords whenever it sees a new username and password entered.  It stores these in a secure, encrypted location on your device and also sends the encrypted file to the servers at RoboForm.  That way, all of your other devices can get the password information as well!  This comes in handy when you stored a password at the office but need access to the password when you do a little extra work from home that evening.  There are also things called SafeNotes that cover anything besides a username and password combo.  For example, if you need serial numbers, account numbers, your rep’s name, PIN numbers and more to access a site, you can put everything in a SafeNote for easier access.  (I have found this helpful with 401K web sites)

If you are a little technical, you can figure all this out on your own.  Start here: https://online.roboform.com/

RoboForm is easy to learn and the feedback we get is always something like, “that is amazing.  I can’t believe you guys are the first people to tell us how to solve the problem of managing our passwords.  This is going to save us a lot of time.”

We hope you will do this on your own if you have the time or call us if you don’t.  Stop keeping your passwords on a piece of paper in a file cabinet that you can’t get to from home.  You shouldn’t be wasting time trying to remember passwords and typing in your user name on web sites many times every day!

CardMunch is an application that currently works on the iPhone and BlackBerry with an Android version coming soon.  The thing that CardMunch does is allow you to capture the information on a business card without having to type everything in.  All you have to do is point your iPhone camera at the business card and take a picture.  The image is sent to a processing queue at CardMunch… and believe it or not… a human looks at the image and types the information in for you.  You get an email when the translation is done that your card is ready.

You can do all kinds of things once the card is translated:

- You can add them to your iPhone contacts.
- You can forward the vCard in an email to someone.
- You can invite the person to link in with you on LinkedIn (We think you should personalize the invitation though, so don’t use this!)

The service became popular enough that LinkedIn recently bought them and offers CardMunch as a free service tied to your LinkedIn account!  I have been using the application for 2 weeks and have good success with the business card conversion process.  It has definitely saved me time!  I think it would be worth your time to download this free iPhone app and check it out.

Here is the link to the iPhone version of CardMunch.

Let us know if this application ends up saving you time by posting a comment.  If you know of another good way to manage getting the information from physical business cards into your mobile phone, post a comment!

Over the Air Updates
This simple statement is actually a big deal.  In a world where just about everything is accessible via the internet, we still have to tether our favorite Apple device to a Mac or PC to sync with iTunes.  With iOS 5, we will all be able to download and install software updates over the air, requiring no connection to a computer.  We will also be able to backup and restore our devices if we leverage the new iCloud storage offering.

Enhanced Mail Application
The new Mail application has a TON of great new features.  Rich-text formatting like bold, underline and indentation.  Drag email addresses between the To, CC and Bcc fields.  Message flagging, and more.  I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to copy an email address to start a new message on my iPhone… it just doesn’t work.  Until this fall anyway.

FaceTime Will Work Over a 3G Connection
Mic and I use FaceTime on our iPhones or iPads to have our weekly status meeting.  Today, we are required to be connected to a WiFi hotspot for this to work.  In iOS 5, we will be able to use the 3G network provided by the phone carrier to have FaceTime conversations.  This will free us up to be just about anywhere and able to have our FaceTime call.

Revamped Notification System
Are you tired of all the little red circles with numbers in them telling you that their is a new message or notification with various applications on your device?  Combine that with the fact that a typical user has multiple pages of applications (meaning you have to scroll through pages to see the notification of new messages or updates).  The new notification system lives at the top of the screen as always available.  It will be a system wide notification system that collects notifications from all applications and keeps them in one nice, easy to access screen.  You simply use one finger and swipe down on the screen to access the Notification System.  Yay.

iMessages
iMessages is like a text messaging client on steroids.  It works over 3G and WiFi connections but only works between iOS users (other people with iPhones, iPads, etc.)  Kind of like those commercials that say, “If you don’t have an iPhone, you don’t have an iPhone.”  iMessages lets you share texts, photos, videos and more and supports persistent conversations.  Persistent conversation means you can start your communication with someone on your iPhone as you are driving home and then switch over to your iPad to continue the conversation seamlessly.

Custom Tones for System Events (Finally)
iOS 5 will support custom tones (and vibration patterns) for new voicemails, new email, sent email, and calendar alerts. With custom alerts, you’ll know immediately what type of notification you are getting. If you have an office or home with more than one iPhone or iPad user, setting custom tones will make it easier to know which device is getting calls, messages, or has a calendar reminder popping up.

Location Aware Reminders
This could get really interesting as App Developers write software to leverage this feature.  The new Reminders app lets you store multiple lists of reminders, including dates for each event.  It can also assign location, as in “remind me to call my wife when I leave the convention today” which uses a geo-fence to see when you’re outside of an area to send that reminder. Reminders sync on iCal on the Mac with CalDAV, and on Windows with MS Exchange.

Updated Safari Web Browser
If you are on the web on your iPhone or iPad as much as we are, you will appreciate the simple update of tabbed web pages in Safari and faster switching between pages.

There are 200 new features in the upcoming iOS 5 release.  We think this is going to be a great update to an already amazing operating system.  Let us know what feature you are most excited to have when the update is available!

Here is a link to the article on the iThinkBigger.com web site, and what follows is the article text. The bottom line is that it makes sense for every small business to have some kind of mobile internet access for convenience, flexibility or in case of emergency.  We use the Sprint Overdrive and appreciate the freedom it provides as we go to companies all over Kansas City.  We don’t have to rely on their internet access because we have what we need right there with us!

Article follows…

One of the biggest technology trends is the migration of business systems to the Internet (aka “the cloud”) rather than running on local servers.

With more being done in the cloud, a reliable Internet connection is even more important today than it has been in the past. And, how businesses connect to the Internet is changing, from being tied by cables to the freedom and flexibility of wireless.

A wireless broadband solution for your business can provide a number of advantages, such as flexibility for mobile workers or providing a backup to your Internet connection at the office in case your primary Internet service stops working.

Wireless Solutions

Wireless broadband solutions are available from all major carriers, including Sprint, AT&T, Verizon and Clear. On average, the programs cost $60 per month with a two-year commitment. You can avoid the long-term commitment by purchasing the device outright for roughly $350. But if you are going to use the device, you might as well let the carrier pay for the equipment.

Wireless broadband devices come in many different shapes and sizes:

Internal // Built right into a new laptop.
Pros: Ultimate convenience
Cons: If you need to buy a new computer, you will need to buy another broadband access card. Also, you can’t share your Internet connection.

USB Dongle // A small USB device about as the size of a pack of gum that plugs into your computer.
Pros: Able to physically share between different computers as long as they have a USB port. Small size. No need for an extra power cable because it gets power from the USB port.
Cons: Can’t share your Internet connection at the same time, because it only works with the currently connected computer.

Wireless Hotspot // These flexible devices, such as the Sprint Overdrive, are about the size of a hockey puck.
Pros: Allows up to five devices to connect at the same time, just like the wireless Internet connection in your home. Some of the devices have access to the 4G networks for even faster download speeds.
Cons: Requires an external power source if you plan on using it longer than three hours.

Moving your business systems to the cloud environment allows you to access the software and information you need anytime/anywhere. So, doesn’t it make sense to have Internet connectivity that also provides access anytime/anywhere? A mobile, high-speed, wireless Internet device for $60 per month is an investment in productivity that most small businesses can afford.

Jason Terry is principal of Blue Gurus. Jason has been consulting in Kansas City since 1994. He founded Blue Gurus to help small businesses grow through the effective use of social media and technology. (913) 944-4980 // jason@bluegurus.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it // www.BlueGurus.com

I loved the description on the FuzeMeeting web site:
Fuze Meeting is a web conferencing tool that lets you share everything on your screen in high resolution with anyone, anywhere, on any device… on any continent, on any planet.

The great thing is that this statement is not far from the truth.  FuzeMeeting is a browser-based conferencing solution that is incredibly easy to set up and use.  Even better, it is affordable with programs costing between $29 and $69 per month depending on your needs.  We use the $29 per month option which gives us up to 25 attendees in a conference session.

Here are some of the features that we really like:

• 100% Browser Based.  No software to install for the attendees.  (Yes, you have to install software as the presenter so you can share your screen, but all we really care about is that people joining the session don’t have to install anything so that we can move right into training instead of dealing with technical difficulties)
• Desktop and Application sharing.  You can allow attendees to see anything on your desktop.  This could be as simple as web sites or as complex as a custom application that you want to demo.  This is perfect for training!
• Scheduling.  There is a plugin for Microsoft Outlook that allows you to schedule a video conference with someone right from your calendar.  The invitation has all of the required information for the attendee to use to connect including the web site and conference PIN.
• FuzeMeeting works on the iPhone, iPad, Android or BlackBerry devices.  There is an iOS application specifically for FuzeMeeting so that you can host a conference or attend one right from your iPhone or iPad.
• You can record your Meeting for later streaming on the web (YouTube)
• High Definition content.  FuzeMeeting allows you to upload HD content and share with conference attendees for a stronger presentation.
• Integrated telephony.  Your attendees can dial into a number and be on the same conference call while you guide them through your presentation or training.

If you have been looking for an affordable way to connect with just one or even one hundred people to show them your screen while talking to them on the phone… this is a GREAT solution for you to try.  There is a 30 day free trial.

Click here for pricing and more information on FuzeMeeting.  Happy Conferencing!