Greetings folks! Brendon Burchard is at it again, and I’m so incredibly excited!  I don’t normally promote these kinds of trainings or endorse other people’s products or trainings, but Brendon stands out!

Even if you just watch his free videos or pick up his book, The Millionaire Messenger, you’re going to think you’ve gotten thousands of dollars worth of valuable training on how to market yourself as an author, speaker, seminar leader, coach, or product developer. I’ve been learning from Brendon for almost a year now, and his training makes all the difference to me!

Click here for great free videos and to learn about Experts Academy with Brendon Burchard!

2012 is the year of video! I have better lighting so look for more video updates from me. Here’s me singing, I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, along with some of my helpful hints for using your laptop’s camera (plus what my screen looks like for a time when I use Screenflow for Mac). Enjoy!

Some new improvements to WordPress have arrived, and I think that you’ll like them!

You can log into your WordPress dashboard to upgrade at any time! If you’re a client of mine, you can send an email to me and I can upgrade your WordPress and plugins for you as well.

Keeping your WordPress installation current not only gives you access to new features, but you’ll enjoy peace of mind with all of the security enhancements for your website with each new release. All of my new clients and subscribers to the HolisticGeek.com Protection Plus service will have access to WordPress 3.3 automatically! Protection Plus members, look for WordPress 3.3 to appear in January 2012 for you!

Enjoy this video, explaining the new features!

I’ve introduced a new service for my existing clients called Protection Plus.

Here’s why.

About a month ago, immediately following my move to Eden Prairie, MN, one of my clients’ web sites suffered a malware attack and was unavailable.  Imagine having this image in place of your current web site when a potential client comes to visit:

It’s no fun to get hacked or for a virus to infiltrate your site.  In this particular instance, the offender was a javascript file within a WordPress theme that Google and another third party search engine deemed “Malicious Code” or Malware.   After about 4-5 hours of combined time analyzing the site, restoring from backup, updating WordPress files (and plugin files), changing all passwords, and eventually applying a new WordPress theme, I was able to submit my client’s web site for another review by Google so that the big red box would no longer be shown, and the site would be live again.  Within 24 hours after the review, my client’s site was restored.

I was glad to help in this instance.   But in retrospect, had there been a regular “protection plan” in place with regular WordPress file updates, theme updates, plugin updates, and settings optimizations, this five-day downtime of my client’s web site could have been avoided.

So, starting RIGHT NOW – I’ve introduced what I’m calling Protection Plus – a yearly subscription service to help my existing clients stay up to date and protected, for just $99/year.  ($79 until December 31, 2011).

To take advantage of Protection Plus you need only be a client of HolisticGeek.com, have a WordPress-based site, and be hosted by TigerTechnologies (our preferred web host).

Please visit the Protection Plus Page for more details on this new service, and to sign up!

So maybe you know this, or maybe you don’t – but I moved to a new town within the Twin Cities metro area, and at the same time, bought a new smartphone (my first smartphone!).  Almost instantly I began using fun new texting features, and downloaded the social networking app, Foursquare.

I fear that I’m now addicted!

If you aren’t familiar yet, Foursquare is a social networking service where a person can “check in” to places they frequent.  You can earn points for checking in to places for the first time, earn more points if you check in with a Foursquare friend, and also become “mayor” of a place if you are the person to check in the most times!  You can leave “tips” for other folks for when they visit the location you’ve checked in, and also see where your friends are checking in.  You can even link it with your Facebook and Twitter accounts, so that all of your friends there can see where you frequent.  Maybe they’ll want to join you!

For me, Foursquare’s been a fun little app that lets me explore new places in a city I’m still getting to know.

Of course, there are some downsides.  Aside from the addictive quality, and maybe the all-too-easy competition that can happen between Foursquare friends (you can be the first of your friends to check in somewhere for more points, and you can oust your friends’ “mayorships”!), you may give up a bit of privacy when you share publicly where you are checking in.  Don’t put your home address as a place on Foursquare to check in, and don’t tell your sweetheart you’re going to get groceries and then check in to the nearest pub!

If you wish, you can follow me on Foursquare!  Right now you can see that I like to go to parks with my dog and drink a lot of coffee!   If you become a friend, maybe we’ll check in at the same venue sometime!

(Scott discretely checks his phone to see if he’s now #2 on his friends’ leaderboard..)

The world has been stunned at the loss of Steve Jobs. Even though we knew that he was struggling with pancreatic cancer and that the end was probably just around the corner, the loss seems so incredibly deep.

So much of my life, I owe to Apple Computer.

In front of my iMac in 2000 while living in Madison, WI

My first Macintosh computer was a Powerbook 180c, which I purchased while I was a graduate student at The University of Iowa in 1992. Back then I was studying Music Therapy, and I did a project on adaptive technology with people with disabilities, and highlighted all of the new things that Apple was bringing into the forefront. With my then laptop with a 9″ color screen, I found myself creating ads for organizations on campus, which landed me an assistantship with the University’s health outreach and education center.

For fun, my friend Kyle and I would download and give the Weeg Computing Center helpdesk folks upgrades to their site licensed software before they could get them from their Apple Education reps. I learned HTML on my mac in 1992 and 1993, and assisted someone I knew from a BBS in creating a web page of software downloads for Macintosh for their upstart internet service provider company.

In 1994 I was running my own web server from home, off of my 33k modem, connected to a Powermac 7100. I ran a web site called “The Goodbye Page” that collected memorials from people who had lost loved ones. I was even featured in Internet Underground Magazine for putting up this site!

All of those efforts throughout college landed me my first technology job in 1996, out of the blue, as an internal helpdesk specialist for.. APPLE COMPUTER. This was the time when Apple outsourced their helpdesk, so I wasn’t “officially” an Apple Employee, but I did have the email address of “scotts@apple.com” for a time. Another hold-out from my friend Kyle, who always used his first name and last initial in his email addresses. Kyle introduced me to the Mac, and I just took off from there.

From 1996 to 2005 I was a “Macintosh Helpdesk Specialist for hire” as I call it. It wasn’t cool to like Macs, nor did you stick around at your job for very long. I was almost always a contracted employee who was let go through corporate downsizing of their Macintosh computers. But throughout all of the job changing and ‘anti-Mac-politics’ WHEREVER I landed for work, my love for the Mac never once waned. And honestly, since my Powerbook 180c days, I’ve NEVER purchased a PC – and have always used a Mac.

“I’ll never buy a PC with my own money!”

That has been my saying with regard to computer purchases since 1992. Even in the bad times when Apple was “doomed” and “dying” as a company.

At one time I was operating six or seven Apple computers from my 2-bedroom apartment near Madison, Wisconsin, when I operated a small web hosting company I called Autumn Projects. Every Mac had a purpose. One answered my phone and acted as my voice mailbox, one was running DNS services, one was a web server, one was my main desktop workstation, one served email, and another one I called “Brigadoon” because I’d run web services out of it only when I turned it on (only a few folks knew about brigadoon.autumn.net). I’d spend my last dollar on Mac parts – because I loved the Mac.

And almost 20 years later, I still love the Mac, and don’t own a PC. My MacBook has the power of hundreds, if not thousands of those 180c’s . I take my iPad with me on trips so I can read books in the dark, and everything I do for work, I do on a Mac.

Steve Jobs, you remain today my hero! Thanks so much for the greatest ride these last 19 years!

I remain very sincerely – “Thinking Different”,

Scott

I’m so thrilled for one of my clients – Leigh Ann Phillips!

She was featured on television on the show New Mexico Style at KASA Fox 2 recently where she got to talk about what she does (quite thoroughly I must add!), and even gave a demo on the show!

I’m a firm believer that video is now the medium that helps us show up more fully, translating into spreading our message even further! When you have a passion, it’s definitely the way to go!

Here is Leigh Ann Phillips, giving a demonstration of Sound Healing and the Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls she takes with her on her many travels! Enjoy!

Most of you know that I’ve been dabbling into making Youtube videos of me singing, doing duets with random strangers, picking fun karaoke songs to do, and then I post them sometimes here, on my facebook, etc.

I learned a valuable lesson lately.

Have you ever been told “Oh!  You have to get this latest and greatest piece of technology in order to do X, Y, or Z!” ?

Well, I listened to that voice and bought a fancy headset for my Mac, and tried using it to record me singing for Youtube.  My result was a tinny, blaring sound that happened when I sang higher notes.  I spent hours trying to master sound, and really, I thought I was singing the wrong way for recording.

But, this evening I dug out my Griffin iMic and an old stereo clip-on lavalier microphone, and thought I’d try out recording my voice again.  (I’ve had this “old” piece of tech for about 5 years now!).

The result ..
I think I can actually sing again!  Amazing!  Don’t knock older technology if it can get the job done well!

Here’s a little recording I made of me singing the song, Gravity, by Sara Barielles.  Enjoy!

I really like the messages that Gary Vaynerchuk puts out on The Daily. This one especially got me thinking! While I’m still not a smart phone user, the message is very clear, that web sites and online marketing need to accommodate the wave of smart phone mobile users. Watch the video below, and then click the Read More button for my tips on your mobile strategy for 2012!

So, what can you do NOW to develop a mobile strategy for your website?
CLICK THE READ MORE BUTTON BELOW

1. Find out how mobile friendly your wordpress theme is! Test it out on mobile devices – borrow a friend’s iPhone or smartphone and take a look!  Here’s a link to 10 Mobile Friendly WordPress Themes.
2. Install the wp-touch theme plugin into your wordpress environment. By installing this plugin, you can retain your current theme, and you can set many options as to how your site will view for mobile users!  On the fly, your WordPress site will then detect the mobile device and send out a customized mobile theme (an m.yoursite.com version of your site!).  The Pro Version allows you to create iPad versions too, and is only $39 for a single site usage!
3. Get rid of the Flash! Apple’s iPhone doesn’t support flash.  You may disagree with them on their choice to do this, but it’s the harsh reality.  Instead use embeded video in your pages and blog posts from services like YouTube, Vimeo, or SmugMug.
4. Use the MORE tag in wordpress for long blog posts. (It’s in the HTML editing pane in your Dashboard)  This is where the “Read More” button comes in.  Nobody on a smartphone or iPhone wants to scroll until their thumb or finger goes numb just to get to your next post.  Make it easy for mobile users to sort through your content if you post long blog posts (more than 3 or 4 paragraphs).
5. Learn about and start using QR code images for your print advertising. You’ve probably seen those fun little squares out on posters in the mall, in bus stops, and in some print magazines.  These are QR codes, and your smartphone can read these!  You may need to install an app first, but here’s how they work.  You take a picture of the QR image, and you are automatically taken to a website on your smartphone for this business!  Magic!
6. Create custom content for those who scan your QR image! Have a mobile-ready page on your website that you want to send folks to who scan the QR image – customize it and put in unique content!  You can even exclude this page from your WordPress blog if you use the Exclude Pages plugin.  Create your QR Codes here!

I’ll be sharing more mobile strategies in the weeks to come!  Are you ready for the mobile revolution??

I’ve been receiving a few requests lately to assist with or convert web sites using Apple’s iWeb and MobileMe for web publishing. For beginners who have the time and gumption to create their own web sites, I think that iWeb is not a bad choice.  If you’re an avid Macintosh user, iWeb integrates very well with the tools you already use!

However, there are some things that you should know:

• Apple has discontinued their MobileMe product, and web publishing through MobileMe will end June 30, 2012. See this FAQ article from Apple.
• You can still use iWeb to design your site after June 2012, but you will need to manually ftp your files to another web hosting service.  This involves first saving your files to your Mac, then uploading them with an FTP program (an extra step)
• If you use the “photocasting feature” of MobileMe  – this too will no longer be available for your iWeb published site after June 30, 2012.
• You can still keep your email address and other features, but you will need to “convert” your account to the new iCloud service.  (Apple will roll out iCoud in the Fall).
• iCloud WILL NOT include a web publishing option.

From my perspective as a web designer and consultant, some other disadvantages occur when you choose iWeb, unfortunately.

• By default, your web URL includes the title of your iWeb site’s name, often making longer URLs than necessary (ex – www.holisticgeek.com/holisticgeek.com/Home.html) – the only way around this is to save to your hard drive, and upload to your web host.
• iWeb pages aren’t naturally “Search Engine Friendly” – but you CAN use RAGE Software’s iWeb SEO Tool for free!

But, to put a positive spin on all of this, perhaps now is the time to convert your iWeb web site to WordPress! At any rate, now’s the time to start your MobileMe transition/migration plan!  Why not pair it with a full-on solution that gives you the following:

• A longer term relationship with a reliable web host (I suggest Tigertech.net)
• Migration of your email from user@me.com to your full domain name (user@yourdomain.com)
• Strong, customizable, and scalable SEO options for your website and blog
• An open-source, standards-compliant web building tool that grows with you as your business grows

Have fun creating!!