There’s free wi-fi here at the McDonalds in Portland, Michigan and I’m trying to upload a blog post from my iPad.  I’m using the post editor Blogsy purchased from the App store.

How far can I take it?  How do you add links?  Can you text wrap photos?

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THIS IS IMPORTANT BOOK

I’m sitting in a McDonald’s in Dewitt, MI and I’m re-reading Gary Vaynerchuck’s book, The Thank You Economy.  This is probably one of the most important books I’ve read in recent years outside of the Bible.  Why?

Why would I make such a strong statement about a book written by a thirty-something wine merchant from New Jersey?

WHO SHOULD READ IT

He has good, necessary answers for anybody who relies on communicating a message.  Who would that cover?  Small business.  From the person with a local lawn service to the person who sells Great Lakes Red.  From independent local restaurants to the small auto repair shop.

Who else?

Local churches and ministries who rely on dealing with real live people to local city council and township board members who form the bedrock of our governmental system.

Do you fit into one of these categories?  And how do you deal with the people you serve?  Do you rely on phone calls, mail, websites, face-to-face contact?  What else? [click to continue…]

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Is social media making a difference in mid-Michigan?

February 4, 2011

Discussing social media with my business partner Some important questions: Do a survey of Lansing, East Lansing and the rest of mid-Michigan about the difference that social media has made in daily life and what would you find? How has social media affected the Michigan Legislature? Members of the State House and State Senate?  Interest [...]

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Here’s how much each Facebook fan could be worth to you

April 14, 2010

In our neck of the woods, central Michigan, more and more businesses, local officials and governmental units, politicians and churches are moving towards using Facebook Fan Pages. Then after a period of time of gaining fans and posting pictures and items to their wall and asking for comments, they let them drop. Can a Facebook [...]

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Federal law and rules about sending e-mail newsletters

March 7, 2010

Do you send out or are you planning to send out e-mail newsletters.  There are federal rules and regulations for doing this and big penalties for violating them.  Here are links I found on Google providing details about what to do and not to do E-mail responsibly blog: Here are the basics of what to [...]

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Politicians: Learn this good lesson from Obama

March 7, 2010

First, read this Time magazine essay about how the news cycle has changed for the White House with the web and it’s ability to get info out as it happens.  Contributing to this is cable news channels with their wide-variety of choices. This means that politicians need to be constantly monitoring what’s said about them [...]

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Local business: Look at these stats about Facebook use

March 6, 2010

Here in the heart of Michigan it’s eye-opening to see the number of local businesses, churches, politicians and other groups on Facebook.  They have FB pages, groups and fan pages.  Why?  Check these stats from Steve Rubel on his blog, The Steve Rubel Stream: All at once, businesses large and small are increasingly recognizing that [...]

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Give suggestions to Lansing (MI) Mayor Virg Bernero on his Twitter use

December 2, 2009

Lansing (MI) Mayor Virg Bernero is mulling a run for Michigan governor on the Democratic ticket.  He’s also head of the State’s Capital city which is facing a huge budget deficit that threatens basic city services. He’s using Twitter during a time when communicating with constituents has never been more important.  Politicians can use Twitter [...]

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USEFUL LINK: City of Grand Rapids Official Website/Blog

December 1, 2009

Communication between the government and the governed has never been more important.  Check out this official website of the city of Grand Rapids, MI. It includes a blog and a focus on usability.  What U.S. cities do the best with the web, including blogs and other social media?

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USEFUL LINK: Five observations from a web designer after reading “What Would Google Do?”

December 1, 2009

I’ve only scanned this link to a blog post from “Jeff Wong Design” where he shares his notes from a web designer’s point of view after reading “What Would Google Do?” by Jeff Jarvis. At first blush, this seems like good commonsense stuff that’s so easy to ignore and often is. I will read it [...]

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