Thank you to Jennifer Tai who made a wonderful presentation. Make sure to check out Jennifer Tai’s website, follow her on Twitter, and fan on Facebook; her photos are fabulous!

Some local Tweeple after this event to follow include: @peggykahler, @tracyelewis, @thelaureltree, @ovaleye, @jennifertai, @moneyhealer

Photo courtesy Jennifer Tai Photo Artistry

Twitter 101: Learn the basics from Twitter- if you are ever confused about something ask your tweeple!
THE OFFICIAL TWITTER SUPPORT PAGE- bookmark
New York Times article on “All You Need to Know to Twitter”

Best Practices
Guy Kawasaki’s “How to use Twitter as a Twool”
“The 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media”

Links for Twitter Tools Hotlist we discussed:
Managing: Tweet Deck
Planning: TweetLater
Mobile: SMS Updates from Twitter, Twitterberry
Pictures: Twitpic
Music: blip.fm
Links: tinyurl, twurl, budurl

Creative ways in which other busiensses have utilized Twitter:
Coffee Groundz article on how Coffee Groundz used Twitter to promote their business
“Putting Twitter’s World to Use” from the New York Times on creative ways this simple social medium is being used.

New local Duvall/Carnation Tweeps to follow include:
@duvallinvesting @cherylpb @duvalleye @words4ads @thelaureltree @ovaleye @OliveWoollyBugr @Mcphotoshaun

For a list of Duvall Chamber members who are using Twitter, visit the Duvall Chamber of Commerce website.

MAKE SURE YOU MARK TUESDAY, MAY 19TH ON YOUR CALENDARS! We will be continuing our discussion on how to promote our local businesses using Twitter. 12-1 at the Carnation Library Meeting Room. RSVP here.

10 Steps to using a Facebook Page to personalize your brand

Create a Facebook Page, for your business. ‘Pages’ were designed specifically for your brand unlike ‘Groups’ or ‘Profiles.’

1. If you don’t already have a personal Facebook Profile, you will need to sign up here. If you do, login.

2. Start here to create your Facebook Page.
3. Follow the step by step instructions on setting up your page.
4. Add Photo Albums, Notes, Video, Events, Reviews, Discussions, and Status Updates.
5. Promote your new page by inviting your friends and supporters by clicking on ‘Suggest to Friends’ or ‘Share.’ Also post a link to your new page on Twitter, send out an email, and add the “Find us on Facebook” badge to your site.
6. Support other businesses and organizations by ‘Fan’-ing other Pages
7. Add Applications to your Page that will enhance the way you communicate with your fans. Some are unavailble for use on a Page, those that are will say ‘Add to Page’
8. ‘Update your Fans’ with exciting news.
9. Track your ‘Insights’ to monitor what content your fans appreciate the most.
10. Keep your content fresh to stay on top of your Fans’ ‘Newsfeeds.’

Does this read like braille to you? Call OvalEye at 425-844-2303 or toll free at 877-OVALEYE to get a jump start.

WHO Any Duvall or Carnation business owner, representative, or supporter that is interested in growing our community.

COST Both seminars are free of charge- take one or take both.

Thursday May 14th and/or Tuesday May 19th
Beginning at Noon and ending at 1:00

in the Carnation Library Meeting room at
4804 Tolt Ave Carnation, WA 98014

This is a hands on event, bring your laptop and your questions.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, May 12th to Jenn at OvalEye Web Solutions via:
PHONE (425) 844-2303 | EMAIL jennifer@ovaleye.com | TWITTER @ovaleye

or…

Find us on Facebook to hear more about the event and gather useful resources prior to attending!

About your website.
The server environment entails temperature control, backup energy sources in water and electricity, natural disaster resistant infrastructure, and security measures- and all of this runs 24/7/365. The different types of green hosting that counter these drawbacks include: Energy efficient hardware, offsetting carbon emissions by purchasing carbon credits, and powering facilities with renewable energy methods.

Apart from the energy your website is directly using every time called upon by a visitor is the energy your visitor uses. A visitor to a site using Flash will consume more energy- flash banner ads that scroll while you are viewing a website is an energy suck. Read more about how your visitors consume energy by viewing your website and others here.

About selling your goods online.
The Green Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon this past December performed a study to compare the use of energy and carbon dioxide emissions used in traditional and ecommerce retail portals. They found using buy.com as a case study that ecommerce was in fact more earth friendly. In more speific findings, e-commerce actually had an approximate 30% lower use of energy and carbon dioxide emissions. Find out more by reading the report.

About telecommuting and networking online.
Cloud computing is working with applications, or save materials online and not from your desktop. Cloud computing makes your business accessible from anywhere: work from home, on the road, and in your office. It’s the idea of getting a 2 for 1 deal in that one machine takes on the tasks of 2 others, using less energy and other natural resources- not to mention company money. This limits the need for lap tops, and other pieces of hardware, To read more about how cloud computing could aid in saving the planet and also more about it’s drawbacks go to ScienceDaily.

Keeping an open connection with servers sucks up energy such as using Twitter, Facebook, newsfeeds, and anything that the interaction with the website is prolonged vs. a static page that the server sends the information and that is it. Something you can do- sign out when you are not using the Social Media site. Many advances in technologies are being made to calm the increased energy usage from servers meeting the needs of web 2.0. Read more about these new technologies at earth2tech.

About Earth Day
The US Government website explains that Earth Day is “a time to celebrate gains we have made and create new visions to accelerate environmental progress… a time to unite around new actions… a time to act to protect our planet.” What actions is your small business taking to protect the environment today- what big plans do you have for the future? We hope you take some time today to explore the ways in which you are providing added value to your clientele in saving our natural resources.

Today we posted a quick tip for Sitebuilder on how to add your Twitter badge onto your Sitebuilder website. Visit our Support forum to view the new thread. We will follow this post up on the same thread with more tips on adding your Twitter personality to your website with positioning and customizing your badge, adding RSS feed, using Twitter graphics, “follow me” tactics, and more! To stay alert on what is going on at OvalEye, follow us at twitter.com/ovaleye.

Market research, a tool for organizing passionate individuals, insight into another culture, an outlet for protest and awareness, novelty discoveries, medical findings, sharing knowledge, sharing of breaking news, help for tourists, scheduling appointments, and products and services feedback.

OvalEye uses Twitter to send helpful tips and information on how to best optimize your presence on the web with do-it-youself methods and best practices for our clients and others. How can you use it to further your small business?

1. Social Networking
These methods of self promotion do have their drawbacks when used incorrectly. To avoid a negative social media outcome montior your time spent friending, tweeting, and uploading, use good nettiquette, and watch how much of your personal life gets spalshed on the Internet.

Get started: Youtube, Biznik, Facebook, Twitter

2. Online Chat/Phone
Voip sound at all familiar? Voice over Internet phone is becoming more and more accessible to businesses. OvalEye has used Skype to communicate with their designer in Southern California and talk to a family member studying abroad in Egypt with video chat. Another accessible tool is Meebo, an online discussion portal that is as easy to incorporate into your site as copying script and pasting it onto your site. Visitors can then have a private converstation with you right from your website. The best part, all of this is absolutely free!

Get started: Skype, Meebo

3. Directory Listings
Easy, fast, and effective- three words that come to mind when thinking of online directories. Add your business, update, or enhance your listing to come up more often in searches, and to also provide your potential customer with the lastest information. Encourage past clientele to leave a testimonial or feeback while you are at it.

Get started: Google, Yelp, Yahoo, City Search, Merchant Circle