2009 January « wendy gauntt’s tech zest

Archive for January, 2009

No more last-minute bank trips

Published January 30, 2009 E-commerce , Productivity 2 Comments
Tags: bank deposits, check 21, check scanner, quickbooks, remote deposit

check_scanner Does your bank offer remote deposit? If you aren’t sure, ask.

The basic idea is that you no longer need to deliver a physical copy of your customers’ checks to the bank for deposit. An electronic copy is all you need.

Why bother? You’ll save time and gain faster access to your funds.

This technology became possible several years ago, when the Check 21 Act went into effect. It’s just now becoming commonplace in small businesses.

It’s a simple process. Your bank will provide you with a check scanner, and you’ll be given access to a website where you can submit your deposits. A few banks are offering software that integrates directly with QuickBooks, saving even more time.

Can you get addicted to smart phones?

Published January 27, 2009 Gadgets , Smart Phones 1 Comment
Tags: accidents, blackberry, cell phone, crackberry, iphone, smartphone

One of my techie friends has been giving me hell ever since I got my iPhone. “It’s not a business phone,” “you are a Microsoft partner and should use Windows mobile,” “it can’t work with Windows,” “why do you need all those goofy apps anyway.”

Guess who just got a BlackBerry and can’t stop talking about it?

For those of you who still have regular old cell phones, you may think you’re happy, but you haven’t yet experienced true mobile bliss – GPS apps leading you to your destination, effortless email any time you are stuck in line, mobile Internet on screens large enough to be useful…the more you use it, the more useful it becomes.

Can it be addictive? Yes, absolutely – if I get bored in a meeting, it’s hard not to check email just to see what’s come in, or to text someone to keep in touch.

The other day I was visiting a client, and I checked email as I walked from one room to another. When I lifted my head up from the iPhone I suddenly realized I was in a stranger’s office. Fortunately he was very friendly, a Mac owner no less, and we had a great chat about how wonderful the iPhone is.

Shortly after reading an article about people having accidents due to intense focus on their phones rather than the world around them, I saw it in real life – a colleague had knee surgery after she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk while – you guessed it – reading email on her BlackBerry.

The bottom line? Get a smart phone – but please be careful!

Social networking: just do it

Published January 24, 2009 Online Marketing , Personal 2 Comments
Tags: facebook, linkedin, Online Marketing, social networking, twitter

A friend recently cooked me dinner in return for a few hours of web strategy. She’s already doing a great job of online networking but she’s under the impression I know loads of arcane secrets about online marketing and social networking, which is flattering but not entirely true (although the dinner was FANTASTIC!).

This morning, my dad said he wanted to try social networking. He asked me why I didn’t have any blog posts on how to use Facebook and Twitter.

I will tell you what I told both of them: there are no secrets, just do it. Dive in, try things out, and make connections. You’ll learn as you go.

When I first got on LinkedIn, hardly anyone I knew had signed up. Now, a few years later, I have over 300 connections, which gives me a searchable network of millions. I haven’t used it to grow my business in any deliberate way, but it’s a tremendous resource with all kinds of potential.

Twitter was an experiment – I didn’t “get it” so I tried it. In my case I use it as a mini-blog but I see friends using it as a way to keep in touch throughout the day, or they offer on-the-spot social commentary, or maybe they just keep up to see where the party is. I hate to admit it, but it’s got a certain appeal. And the fact that I can tweet from my phone…it’s kinda cool. But it’s hard to explain why. I just like it. And so whenever I think about it, I tweet.

On a personal level, Facebook seemed useless to me for well over a year, probably because of my age – late 30s. A year later, now that I’m about to turn 40, many of my friends are online. The newsfeed is starting to get interesting as I read all the posts and find out what my everyone’s doing. I like the apps, too – you can share books and movies, play games (albeit slowly, one turn at a time!), or simply reach out and poke someone.

So for all of you social networking butterflies out there, don’t be afraid. Sign up, log in, and link up. Friend someone today and see what happens.