Scroll to the end of this post for my summary. The low-down: if you are doing the Windows Pro upgrade from Windows 7 32-bit, be prepared to reinstall ALL of your existing programs.

Purchase and Download

It was nearly midnight, Mountain Time, on October 25 and I tried once more to click the ‘Buy Now’ link on the Microsoft Store page for a Windows 8 upgrade. This time, instead of the ‘coming soon’ page, the Upgrade Assistant loaded.

The Upgrade Assistant ran and determined my computer was capable of the upgrade from my current version of Windows 7, which was 32-bit pro.  During the lengthy download, there was no indication of how large the file was, but by 1 a.m., the Windows 8 download was 99% complete and I was excited to begin the install.

After the download was complete, the Upgrade Assistant went through

• Getting Files Ready
• Install Windows 8
• Getting Updates/Checking for Updates
• Restarting Windows 8 Setup
• We’re getting a few things ready
• Something Happened

The last ‘Something Happened’ was my first install glitch. The sub-error was, “We couldn’t find the License Agreement”. My only option was to click the Close button and the install box disappeared. After over 90 minutes, I was apparently nowhere.

However, I still my order confirmation screen open in the browser – the Thank You page that came up after I submitted payment for the upgrade in the Microsoft Store. There was a line on the page that read, “This is your receipt – make sure to print or save a copy for your records. if you need to download Windows, write down your new product key and enter it here.” The word ‘here’ was a link and I clicked it. I was prompted to download another program, which was small and quick, and suddenly the Install Windows 8 screen appeared again.

Next was the License Terms to accept for Windows 8 Pro, then a screen that it was ready to install with the following checked:

• Install Windows 8 Pro
• Keep personal files only

There was an option to change the selection under ‘keep personal files only’, and I think that is where the main problem that occurred later began. I think I remember an option to keep personal files and programs, which I thought I had originally checked, but apparently I did not.

At that point, the install box went away and the entire screen was blue with big letters that said ‘Installing Windows 8 – your PC will restart several times. This might take a while.’

The Windows 8 Setup

16 minutes later, the computer was attempting to restart and close the open windows I had. I did a force close to shut the explorer windows that were still open, then there was a black screen with a lone window and text that read, “Scanning and reparing drive (X:): 1% complete.” That progress lasted another 10 minutes and ended with the Windows Boot Manager screen that prompted me to choose an operating system to start. My choices were Windows 8, Windows Setup, or Windows 7. I chose Windows 8, but after a few minutes of the screen changing to appear that something was loading, I ended up back on the Boot Manager screen. I tried two or three more times with the same result.

I decided to try choosing the Windows Setup option on the boot screen and was able to get out of the loop. By 2 a.m., just a few minutes later, I saw a screen that said, “Getting ready.”

The Getting Ready step took about 15 minutes and then a “Moving your settings” message appeared with another percentage count. By 2:20 a.m., I was in Windows setup at the Personalize screen, where I was prompted to choose the color I liked.

Next was the Wireless setup, and my home network appeared on the list and connected after I entered my password. I was then at a Settings screen where I could click a button to use Express Settings or customize settings pertaining to auto-installing important and recommended updates, turning on Do Not Track in Internet Explorer, etc.

The next set of settings concerned protecting and updating my PC. There were on/off options for Windows Update, SmartScreen Filter and Do Not Track requests. By now it was 2:26 a.m.

More settings to toggle on or off – improve Windows Store, respond to malicious apps and malware, improve Microsoft services, participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program, check online for solutions, share info with apps. Those screens were followed by the ‘Sign in to your PC’ screen with my name and prompt for Windows password, which was the same as my setting in Windows 7.

I encountered a glitch when I was prompted to enter my Microsoft account password, which included my email and password. I knew I already had a Microsoft account associated with my main email, but I could not remember what my password was for that account and it wasn’t taking the ones I was trying. I used the option to reset my password and a link was sent to my email account, which I was able to access from my Android phone. However, the link to reset the password led to an screen that said there was a temporary error. (NOTE: even 12 hours later, when trying to set up a new Microsoft account, the email confirmation link leads to a temporary error page.) I was provided with an option to continue without signing in with a Microsoft account and using my local account instead.

Windows 8 Metro – a New User Interface

A few minutes later, the new Windows 8 user interface screen appeared! I believe Windows is currently calling it ‘Metro’. It was 2:33 a.m.

I fiddled with the tile settings which were access via a right mouse click. I could easily uninstall a tile, turn off the live aspects of tiles, and move them around. There was an ‘All Apps’ button available by right mouse clicking on the metro screen. I found where I could install a new app through the Store tile, but it required a Microsoft account login, which I was still unsuccessful at accessing.

I was able to set my location for the Bing weather tile and discovered all of my options for national and world news, which could be pinned to the Start screen.

I discovered the quick way to get to toggle my old desktop and the new metro interface using either the Windows key on the keyboard or by dragging my mouse to the upper or lower right corners and choosing Start, which looked like a window. There is a desktop tile on the metro screen. But what I couldn’t find, no matter how hard I poked around, were my previous program files, such as Outlook, Word, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and all the other applications that I used on a daily basis.

I was able to determine that the programs were indeed on the hard drive, in a folder called windows.old, but none of the applications would run. I searched online forums, recent posts, and the Twitter feeds for any information that could help, but at the early hours I was working there was nothing I could find to tell me how to get the programs to transfer over. At 4 a.m., I gave up for the night.

By 8 a.m., I was back online searching for information on how to get my programs back. I found a few threads that stated an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro was not possible from a 32-bit version of Windows 7. This was obviously not true since I was actually running Windows 8 and it was not only working fine, it was functioning faster than my previous version.

From what I have discovered, I have two options to get my programs. I can uninstall my upgrade and revert Windows 7, then upgrade again and this time ensure that the setting is checked to keep personal settings AND programs (which I thought I had done). Because I am confident that I did indeed say I wanted to keep settings and programs, and from what I’ve read about program settings not being able to transfer over from the 32-bit version of Windows 7, I don’t think uninstalling and reinstalling will do any good.

My second option, which I will do, is to find the installation information for my previously installed programs and re-install. My fear of doing that is that much of the install information, including keys and registration codes, are stored in Microsoft Outlook as notes, and I am not able to access Outlook as it is no longer installed. <Sigh>.

As I type this, I am re-installing Microsoft Office. My attitude is that installing only the programs I want will help me in the long run since after two years, I have lots of junk that I only used once and never removed. I’ll post a follow-up to share the results.

SUMMARY

If you currently have Windows 7 32-bit, be sure you have all of your program discs and data available since you will not have access to any of your programs after upgrading to Windows 8 Pro.

As far as the metro interface, I like it so far. I consider myself extremely techno-savvy, and there was still quite a learning curve to discover how to get where I wanted to go. I don’t recommend you attempt the upgrade without setting aside a large block of time to install and learn the new system.

I’ve had clients lose their WordPress blog password before, but they have been able to use the WordPress ‘lost password’ form to have a link sent to their email where they can then reset it.

Recently, though, I had a client who took control of a business page that was created in WordPress and the login and password information that they provided was not working. The client knew very little about the site, only that a previous developer had set it up and was able to get in and make changes.

After trying all combinations of information they sent, as well as attempting the password reset method from the WordPress login screen, I turned to the internet for help. I was able to find a handy script called emergency.php that solved my problem.

Some advanced FTP knowledge required

The instructions are posted on Village-Idiot.org, as well as the link to download the file. (Scroll to the bottom of the article on the Village-Idiot page and you will find the download link, or click here to download the file.) In order to install the script and successfully reset the password, you will need to at least know the correct user name for the blog. Usually, this is simply ‘admin’. You will also need enough knowledge to access the blog files via FTP so you can upload the emergency.php file to the blog directory*. (See info at end of this article for more info.)

Once the emergency.php file is uploaded to your blog directory, open a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) and type in www.YourDomainName.com/emergency.php. A text page will appear with a place for you to enter your user name and desired password.

Confirmation if password reset was successful.

If your user name is incorrect, you will get a message saying so. I recommend you try admin if the user name you think is right isn’t working. When the script is successful, you will get a confirmation message. Write down the new password you selected, and BE SURE TO DELETE THE EMERGENCY.PHP FILE YOU UPLOADED.

Return to your wp-admin WordPress control panel and use the password that you just set. You should be good to go!

Many thanks to Village-Idiot.org for providing such a useful script. It certainly came in handy for my client.

Download the zip file: emergency.php

Specific Instructions from Village-Idiot.org website:

1. Unpack the zip.
2. Upload emergency.php to the root of your WordPress install (the same directory that contains wp-config.php)
3. Open http://www.yourdomain.com/emergency.php in your favorite browser.
4. Follow the simple instructions.
5. When you are done, delete emergency.php off your server. Do not leave it up for someone else to come along and use.

*additional FTP upload information:

I use Windows Explorer to upload files via FTP because the screen available by right-mouse-clicking on the Windows START button and choosing ‘Open Windows Explorer’ or ‘explore’ depending on what version of Windows you are running. Once the Explorer window is open, clear out any text that is in the address bar and type: ftp://yourDomainName.com.  (Use YOUR actual domain name, not what I typed!) Press Enter.

You should see a login box pop up where you can enter your hosting username and password. This is NOT the same as your WordPress username and password. The hosting login info would have been created when you set up your hosting account.

Here are two videos: a 13 minute WordPress tutorial that steps you through

• logging in
• creating and editing a post
• creating a new page with navigation button
• creating a sub page in the navigation
• moderating comments

And a 7 minute video that covers only the very basics of editing a post and adding a page (scroll down page to view second video.)

These topics are the most common get-started questions I encounter with clients new to a WordPress blog.

(hint: click the 4 arrows at the lower right edge of the YouTube video to open the video full-screen)

On September 14, Twitter held a live event to announce a rollout of new features for all users. Shown live on Ustream.tv byRobert Scobleizer(@Scobleizer) and blogged live by the Technologizer, Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken) the event presented the new aspects of Twitter that will make the user experience even easier.

How do you make a simple 140 character platform even more user-friendly?

For starters, if you want to click on a user to see who they are and what they Tweet about, the current action is to click on the user and end up on another page. From there, you have to click on the Home link to get back to your main Twitter page. The new features will allow you to click on a user and a mini-window will open to show you the user info without leaving the page you are on.

According to the New Twitter information page, there is also a change in the layout of the page. “You will now find @mentions, retweets, searches, and lists just above your timeline – creating a single, streamlined view on the left of the screen. On the right, you can see the features you’re familiar with, including whom you recently followed and who recently followed you, favorites, and Trending Topics.” The right pane will have mini-profiles of users including their recent Tweets.

To help organize conversations easier, the new Twitter will show threaded conversations with replies, a very handy feature. Another great feature is infinite scroll, meaning you don’t have to click on the ‘more’ button to see more search results or Tweets.

Embedded Photos and Video

Through partnerships with Dailybooth, DeviantArt, Etsy, Flickr, Justin.TV, Kickstarter, Kiva, Photozou, Plixi, Twitgoo, TwitPic, Twitvid, USTREAM, Vimeo, Yfrog, and YouTube,  photos and videos can be embedded directly into the Twitter page. When you click on a photo or video link, you don’t  leave the page to view the content. But in the interest of keeping things simple and streamlined, the embedded content won’t show until you click on a Tweet.

Updated Search

The search feature of Twitter has also been updated and search results will show in a separate window within the page, eliminating the need to leave the page you’re on and having to go back.  The search results will show real-time Tweets, as well as trending topics.

Wallpaper Stays

Twitter is keeping the feature for wallpaper backgrounds, but for those of us with custom wallpaper, some adjustments may have to be made to accomodate the new width of the Twitter page.

According to @Goldman, the VP of Products at Twitter, the new features will be rolled out incrementally over several weeks! For more information about the New Twitter, visit www.Twitter.com/newtwitter .

The number of small and large business owners using Twitter on a regular basis continues to grow, but I am still amazed at how the tool is, and isn’t, being used. Even with a wealth of good content easily available online that covers the basics of Tweeting and how to reach an online audience, there are still many businesses that have yet to tap into the full potential of Twitter.

Twitter posts about your brand can range from sunshine to showers, and can pass as quickly as a late-summer storm. How can you keep up with it all?

As I type this, I am sitting on my west-facing porch and it is about 40 minutes before sunset. I have on a wide brimmed hat that is pulled low over my eyes to keep the sun from blinding me. Although the sky in front of me is only partly cloudy and bright with sunshine, it is raining quite heavily and I am getting lightly sprayed with blowing rain. The storm moves quickly through, though, and now it is barely sprinkling. The sunshine and showers is typical late-summer weather here in Pagosa Springs, and is a good metaphor for the online activities that take place even when we’re not aware of them.

If you search for the sunshine of your brand, you will be sure to find it. If you search for the negative, whether on Twitter or using a traditional search engine, you will be sure to find that sentiment also. At any time of day, all around the world, sunshine and showers are occurring and passing by, and the businesses that are using Twitter successfully are the ones who are listening to both kinds of weather as it happens.

A new industry of software has quickly developed, with the goal of helping businesses listen to and monitor what is being said about their brand or specific industry topics. The software includes free tools like Google RealTime or Collecta, which deliver search results in real time and allows savvy business owners to find the conversations that they need to be a part of. The more pricey software suites start at $300 a month for one user and monitor all of your social media accounts in real time, not only providing you with an all-in-one dashboard where you can see conversations as they happen, but also giving you a way to delegate leads or tasks to certain people or departments who will best use the timely information.

Sunshine conversations can include users mentioning your brand or industry keywords in a good light, allowing you to reach out and thank them for a mention, or just let them know you are listening. The showers, or negative sentiment, can be addressed by reaching out to the users who have concerns with offers to call  them, sending them useful links, or making them feel better because you listened and acknowledged their concern. Using a tool that finds where the conversations are taking place is now a necessity for keeping our businesses engaged with our audience and potential customers.

As an example, I recently searched for new social media monitoring software for a corporate client to take the manual process out of seeking and harvesting information that was then cut and pasted into a metrics report. I found one company through a first-hand referral and put out a post on Twitter to see if anyone had used that software suite and could give me some feedback. Within minutes, two companies, Alterian and Attensity360, were obviously listening and sent me links to their software, as well as let me know they were available if I had questions.

THAT is real-time social media in action, and it is how any business owner can listen online and be a part of conversations as they happen. Is your business using search tools to listen so you can be a part of the conversations that are relevant to your success? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Although I upgraded my laptop in June, I didn’t reinstall my StumbleUpon toolbar in Internet Explorer until late July.

Soon after installing the plugin, I was in need of a guitar tuner. Realizing something was not quite right with the low E string on my guitar, and not having a keyboard around to use for reference, I checked for an online tuner on Google.

Google search results featuring StumbleUpon ratings

When the results appeared, I was pleasantly surprised to see a new star rating next to each link. The StumbleUpon toolbar that I had just installed was integrating with my search. My Google results were now being rated.

I can now quickly scan the page and find the results with the highest star rating next to the StumbleUpon logo, thus using the power of other StumbleUpon users to help with my search. I can click on the star rating to read reviews and see the number of people who have viewed the page.

 I love the brilliant concept.

Not only is Google succeeding in making their results more relevant to my query, they are making it much easier for me to determine the best guitar tuner site that I will probably like.  The page I clicked on was a tuner I had never used before and I did indeed like it better than tuners I was already familiar with.

There was only one link on the first page of search results that had no stars at all.  The link in position one had only a three star rating, even though there were a few five star ratings on the page in lower positions. It appears that the pages with more reviews are getting more stars, and it would be interesting to know if the StumbleUpon star rating is based on simply more positive reviews, more “I like it” ratings, or a combination of both.

My next step will be to use two different computers and conduct a few random searches to see what page I choose to click on, first based on only the title and description without the StumbleUpon toolbar installed, and then with the StumbleUpon ratings being included. I can compare the two experiences to see if I feel my results are more relevant based on either method. My guess is that I’ll be much more satisfied with the quality of the pages I visit when taking user ratings into consideration. I’ll update this post after I have some results to report.

I wonder what other social media plugins  are out there to help searchers easily find the most relevant content? I love how searches using social media plugins are evolving so far…

**Update 1:
Apparently, ‘guitar tuner’ is a highly-rated topic and thus there were many pages that had StumbleUpon ratings and reviews. Many other search queries have no ratings to refer to. I suppose as more people use StumbleUpon, there will be more ratings. Eventually we may see Facebook and Twitter integration to use the power of their users and ratings.

I read an article a few months ago about how much can be learned by going back and reading your Twitter tweets. By reviewing what you have written, you may determine that a lot of the tweets were useless, or that you aren’t conversing enough with others.

It is also useful to review the tweets of other Twitterers in your field who have thousands of followers to try and determine what they are doing right, which can give you clues to what you can do better. Rather than just review the list on your Twitter screen and having to click ‘more’ at the bottom of each list, there are a few sites that make it easy to create a printable list of not only your own tweets, but the tweets of those you follow. At the end of this article, you can read about some things I learned from printing results from two large companies who are two different stages of Twittering.

Twitprint.com

I found Twitprint.com from a comment on a website that I found searching for a way to print tweets. I initially tried just highlighting the tweets from my Twitter screen and pasting them into a Word document, but the formatting was less than desirable and there was a bulleted ‘delete’ line that showed up below every tweet.

With Twitprint.com, you simply log in using your existing Twitter account.  If you are already logged in securely to  Twitter, Twitprint directs you to a Twitter page where you allow access to your account. From there, you have a list of the people you follow and can choose whose list of tweets to print, yours included. You can also choose how many tweets you want, and any keywords to use for filters.

Press the Get Tweets button, then the Show Tweets button and you will be presented with a window that includes the text of the results you requested. A printer window will automatically open so you can print your Tweets, or you can close the print window and simpy copy and paste your results into a Word document to save.

PrintOutYourTwitter.com

This was the first website I came across when I searched for a way to print out my tweets, and i was initially impressed with the pleasing layout and colors. In addition, the page had ideas as to how to use a tweet list:

Although the page is pleasing to look at, the login method scared me off.

But what made me uneasy about using the service was the way it interfaced with Twitter. Pressing the ‘log in twitter account’ button brings up a Windows Security login window requesting my Twitter user name and password to be sent over an unsecure connection. Perhaps this is a fine method to use, but I did not feel confident sending my information to another computer or program without knowing how it was going to be used. I felt much more secure using the TwitPrint.com program that connected directly to my Twitter account without me having to share my login information.

Because of my security trepidation, I did not get past the login so I can’t tell you  how the PrintOutYourTwitter.com results differ from  Twitprint.com. If anyone else has used this service, I’d love to hear your feedback.

Gleaning goals from the results

As I compared tweets from two large corporations – one that is well-established with hundreds of thousands of followers and another that is just getting started and has less than 100 followers – I saw two glaring differences:

• The successful Twitterer was answering questions about their products and using a lot of ‘@’ tags to address the Tweets where they needed to reach.
• The unsuccessful Twitterer was only posting information about their company and using the tool like an online ad.

Seeing these results made me realize that although I have used the @ tag a few times to send a tweet to the right person, I did not use the tag often, meaning I am simply broadcasting, not interacting. But the insight helped me determine that a goal is to do more interaction with my tweets and rather than just su.pr shorten and send out a great article, I can make an effort to be more aware of people who may specifically want to read that article and reach out to them.

The company that was using Twitter to simply broadcast company promos and specials was using the tool to sell, and selling is not what social media is all about. A discussion with the person at the company who was in charge of Twitter revealed that they were new to the format and had just learned new ways to reach out to their audience. They had plan to start searching Twitter for tweets relevant to their industry and then use the @ tag to reach that tweeter and share links to a helpful article or answer a question they may have. This new strategy should help them with customer interaction, and it will be interesting to check back in a few months to see how their strategy is paying off.

I’m sure there are many more ways that a tool like TwitPrint.com can be used to learn insights on how we are tweeting, what is working, and what isn’t. If you are a business, it is a good practice to review your own tweets periodically to ensure you are on track with your company goals and that you are sharing and interacting with your tweets, not just bragging and broadcasting.

I’d love to hear what kind of information you glean from reading your own tweets. Please feel free to comment!
-natalie

With online social media tools changing the way companies are doing business, it was only a matter of time before someone created a universal tool that embraces all social networks, and geared it for two large consumer segments: hotels and restaurants. Flip.to may be the tool to fill accomplish that. According to the company website where you can take a tour of the service and sign up to get onboard early, Flip.to’s goal is to turn your customers into buzzing evangelists, and they appear to have a good plan in place to pull it off.

Created by New York City based Novologies, a business web tool developer, the Flip.to software began by integrating seamlessly into existing websites and networks to provide a way to spread the word about a company’s happenings. Brian Kent of Novologies says in a July 2009  company blog post  that the idea for the tool happened quite by accident.  ”In this economy in particular,” Kent explains, ”everyone is looking for more business and better ways to promote what they’re selling, while working in the confines of pretty meager marketing budgets.”

To address that issue, Novologies created an app that would generate a unique company webpage for each sector that a business wanted to reach. Instead of a sales pitch, the app generated a page that asked pertinent questions to started a dialogue with customers. When the Novologies customers saw the app in action, in addition to becoming engaged they requested the app to use for their own companies. The product that resulted was Flip.to.

Kent stresses the importance of “passed links,” a link that was shared by someone you trust such as a friend or colleague, and the role of these links in gaining trust with a target audience. “The power of spreading the word among your networks, whether it’s on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, an email or a blog post, lies in the link that points back to your company,” Kent says.

Same concept, fine-tuned.

Screen shot of integrating a Flip.to experience into a company web page or smartphone.

For 2010, Flip.to has evolved into a powerful tool for hotels, airlines and restaurants to use a customer’s social network in conjunction with an existing website. During the online process of booking a room, reserving an airline seat, or purchasing a meal, Flip.to uses the confirmation process of that transaction to allow users to share their comments, status, information or reviews with those in their social network.

Businesses can choose to offer incentives to customers who send tweets or status updates about their purchases. Flip.to harnesses the power of each individual transaction by attempting to create a trusted link to everyone in that one customer’s network. The power multiplies when network followers hear about the upcoming trip or dining experience and are invited to add their own reviews or recommendations, such as places to eat near a certain hotel, or area attractions in a new city.

Each Flip.to user who participates has a unique page that is branded by the business site where they first completed their transaction. The Flip.to page is tailored specifically to the individual user and compiles all of the business recommendations in one spot. 

“Passed links” in action

What does this mean for you? Imagine booking a room at a swanky hotel in a city you’ve never visited.  During the confirmation part of the process, you click on a Flip.to link that will announce the reservation to your social network, inviting your friends and followers to help you plan your trip with first-hand information that will help you make good choices.

On your personal Flip.to page, you will see the recommendations for places to eat or visit, travel tips, or whatever else the people in your network feel is helpful for you to know during your stay. You are getting valuable information from your trusted personal network, and the business using Flip.to has just reached your entire social network through one simple transaction.

Restaurants can utilize Flip.to to encourage their patrons to provide instant reviews after the meal with a simple smartphone interface. Diners can earn discounts or invitations to special events by using Flip.to and sharing their experience with their social network, and each individual business can customize their Flip.to page to match their own websites.

Sign up for the Flip.to beta program

According to a WebWire press release, Novologies has formed partnerships with the Tune Hotel chain in Malaysia, the James Chicago & New York Hotels and the Eureka Casino Resort in Nevada. The company is currently working with other hotels, airlines and restaurants and inviting interested business to sign up for their beta program. The Flip.to website offers more information, a tour, and a sign-up form to be contacted within two business days.

While Flip.to admits on their website that the company is in the beta stage and “still kicking the tires,” the concept of a simple interface to turn one transaction into a chance at reaching an entire social network seems worth pursuing. Novologies is open to suggestions and questions by sending an email to hello@flip.to. 

Based on the number of Tweets and Twitter followers for Novologies, as well as the lack of related articles on the software, the concept is still very new. I can think of several businesses in my hometown of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, who could benefit from this software that reaches exactly the people they are aiming for: friends of their customers. If social media is truly about communication and interaction, then this interactive way to communicate with customers and their entire social network should be big news to a company that may not even know that they needed this tool. 

I’d love to hear if Flip.to is something your business would consider using, or if it seems to be just another social media idea that will get lost in the online buzz. I would also like to find out what costs are involved for a business to use the Flip.to software. Would it be a percantage of each transaction, or a per transaction fee? Please feel free to comment and help me learn more!

When I explain to a client the idea of location-based social media using a smartphone and ‘checking in’, the common question I get is “why?”

In an urban area, where smartphones are as common as car keys, the use of sites such as Foursquare and now Google’s SCVNGR are a great way to engage an audience and give them an incentive to visit your place of business. If you are a business owner and your target market carries a smartphone, the free advertising you get using these geolocation services can be worth the small amount of time it takes to set up your account. And even in rural towns , where smartphones are not as common, marketing to a niche audience can give you an edge over your competitors.

More than a game

Foursquare markets itself as a way for you and your friends to explore a city. Users check in at locations and earn points and special badges for discovering things at each location. People can leave tips (information, not money!)  in locations for others to find, such as the best spot to sit to hear the live music, or their favorite item on a menu. The manager of the Radio Shack in Pagosa Springs, Colorado offers a free movie rental once a month to Foursquare users who check in and mention it to a clerk.

From a business owner’s perspective, it took Justin Dermody, the manager at Radio Shack , less than 5 minutes to create the Foursquare business location and create an incentive for people to stop in the store. When the droves of tourists hit our town this summer, carrying their smart phones and starting to hear about this new social media tool, they will see the local Radio Shack listed as a location and are presented with an opportunity to visit the store for a freebie. From five minutes of social media to a customer in your door – that’s good advertising.

Foursquare users compete for the prestige of being mayor of a location by logging in the most check-ins, garnering badges and discounts at the locations that participate. Although the number of  Foursquare users is still small relative to the larger social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, thousands are signing up every day to participate in this new game/interaction.

A smartphone scavenger hunt!

SCVNGR, pronounced ‘scavenger’, is another geo-location social media site that was conceived by Princeton freshman Seth Priebatsch in 2008. Now the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Priebatsch’s idea was to create a product trail as a game that hovers between the physical and online world. Initially intended as a business model for enterprises, SCVNGR has recently closed deals with car maker Tesla, as well as Warner Bros., the New York Times and two major sports teams. In addition to going places, earning points and unlocking badges, SCVNGR players scan QR codes, take pictures and solve riddles. The social media game is another way for businesses to encourage interaction with their audience, with the intent of turning those players into customers.

According to their website, SCVNGR touts itself as “a game about doing challenges at places,” and with Google developers now at their side, the game might very well become a valuable social media tool for business looking to tap into their smartphone consumers. SCVNGR is currently only available on iPhone and Android phones, but is expecting service with Blackberry to come online soon.

Don’t scoff at free

For many business owners, hearing about social media games on smartphones will still be as strange as Twitter was when it was launched. But don’t underestimate the reach of these free tools that take little time to set up and are easy for consumers to use. With the number of smartphone users rising, and people seeking out great deals, the establishments that offer a 2 for 1 special for checking in on Foursquare will garner business from their competitors that are not in the game.

For more information about SCVNGR and Google, read the article by Laurie Sullivan at MediaPost Publications.

After seeing a logo and a .com name on someone else’s Twitter home page, I decided to figure out how it was done.

I had already uploaded a small image that I had tiled as my background, but I liked the idea of having my website listed to the left of the page. Although is is not a clickable link, it is free advertisement for my website.

Using Photoshop, I created an image with the same background color as the default Twitter blue, then added my logo and website name. To get the background color, I used the handy Prnt Scrn (print screen) button on the keyboard to copy the Twitter screen. I pasted the image into Photoshop then used the color selector to get an exact match.

I used the matching color as my background fill, added my Red Humpy logo and a tagline to my website. I resized the image to fit to the left of the main Twitter screen. The dimensions I used were 250 wide by 500 high. I put my images down about 200 pixels so it wouldn’t distract from my avatar and screen name.

A negative: when someone opens a browser window on a smaller screen, the image will be cut off on the right. However, it seems that most people have a screen resolution of at least 1000 pixels wide and it shows fine on those screens.

After creating the image in Photoshop, I saved it as a .gif so it would be a small size and load quickly. I went to Twitter Settings > Design and scrolled to the bottom of the page and selected ‘change background image’. I uploaded my file and unchecked the box to tile the image because I want only one copy at the left of the page. After the image uploads, the image box had a red X in it, and even though I never could see my image that was uploaded, I clicked ‘save changes’ and the image appeared to the left where I wanted it when I viewed my home page.

I did have to tweak my image and text 4 or 5 times to make it fit correctly, and as I said, the space between the logo and Twitter feed will fluctuate depending on someone’s screen size, but it is always to the extreme left and down as far as I want it to be.

There are other Twitter pages that have a background that fills the entire screen to the right also, but all I really wanted was my logo and web address so I didn’t pursue that option and spend time fiddling with optimal screen size and such.

You can see what I’ve done on my Twitter home page. Nothing fancy, but it does the trick. And please keep in mind that it’s Saturday evening as I’m typing this and I’m drinking a well-deserved (and really good), home-made margarita, so if you have questions or need further explantation, please comment and I’ll be sure to reply!