I’d like to also congratulate my new partners – Graphically Speaking, Analytic-OR, and Black Point Marketing & Communications!  We all had a hand in making the Inns of Distinction web site a “site of distinction”!

I got a phone call from a friend a couple weeks ago saying she had heard about the recent addition of secure browsing to Facebook pages.  She had changed her Facebook account to enable it but then discovered that the URL for her page had changed from HTTP:// to HTTPS://.  She already had business cards and other marketing material with a Bit.Ly link to her page and a custom URL (Facebook.Her-Domain) printed on them.  She wondered if she could change them to use the new URL.

I happen to host her site and created the custom Facebook domain so I was able to change that, but Bit.Ly links cannot be edited so she was out of luck.  Because of that she decide to change her Facebook setting to turn off secure browsing.

Yesterday I discovered a couple other reasons why you might not want  to use secure browsing in Facebook.  This Mashable article – http://mashable.com/2011/01/27/facebook-https/ – is about Facebook’s implementation of secure browsing.  The last paragraph talks about how many Facebook applications will not work with secure browsing enabled.  Also, if you enable secure browsing it will slow down your pages since encrypted pages take longer to load.

Facebook’s default login process is secured by encryption to reduce the risk of someone gaining access to an account – you don’t need secure browsing for that.  Secure browsing is intended for people who use Facebook from public networks like libraries or cafes.

My first attempt at connecting my web site to Facebook was a failure.  I was using a plugin for WordPress that asked me to create a Facebook application to connect with.  I did that and it created a page that “looked” like a regular business page.  I eventually found out that although it acted like a business page it was not.  I could not find the page anywhere in Facebook.  The only way I could get to the page was through the configuration settings for the plugin – which produced a horrendous URL.  If I couldn’t find it how would my clients?

After creating a Facebook Business Page for The Wing and successfully using the very same plugin to connect to it from their web site (but in a different way) I knew I had to change something with my own Facebook “page”.  I dumped my old “App” page and created a proper business page.  After reconfiguring my plugin my web site was reconnected and things were working much better.  You can now find “Your Digital Coach” when you search in Facebook and I have a proper Facebook URL to use as a link.

ps – I found a tip to create a custom Facebook URL  – http://facebook.yourdigitalcoach.ca

So, now that I have all that mess straightened out I can get on with trying out some other customizing options.  Stay tuned for more of my mistakes!

Scott

What do you think?

Their new web site is more organized, easier for them to maintain themselves, and does a great job of promoting activities at The Wing.  We’ve even connected it with a FaceBook business page to expose it to a potentially larger audience.

If you live in or near Summerside you should check out The Wing.  It’s a great place to unwind and to enjoy great music!

http://actws.com/2010/12/good-reasons-to-acquire-a-digital-coach-for-your-business/

Previous attempts to work in another part of the yard yielded unacceptable screen viewing.  A search for devices to shade my laptop screen was pointless – there doesn’t seem to anything practical available.  I discovered a portion of our deck is shaded pretty much all day.  It makes a very comfortable office. (The Skeeter Vac visible in the distance helps a lot as well)

Today the smell of the Butterfly Bush (to the right in the photo) was very strong, even from 15′ away!

Scott

One of the reasons could be that they have their own web servers and it takes a lot of manpower to keep things running smoothly. To have your own servers means that you have to have a secure climate controlled room to keep all the hardware running safe and cool. You need to have technicians monitoring the equipment to make sure it is running efficiently.

But with so many businesses offering 3rd party web hosting – they own and maintain the servers and rent out space to other businesses that, in turn, re-sell the space – there is little need for small businesses to maintain their own servers.

That’s what Your Digital Coach does. We rent a large amount of space from a 3rd party hosting company at a discount. Then, in turn, we offer it to our customers at a discount. We’re happy because our hosting costs are being covered and our customers are happy because they are paying a fair price for web hosting services.

What do you get when you buy hosting from Your Digital Coach?

This list is very extensive, but I’ll give you the highlights…

• Web hosting provided by one of the world’s top 10 web hosting companies with more than 2,500,000 hosted domains. They have over 400 employees to provide superior around the clock support.
• Access to a very user friendly control panel – cPanel – that allows you to manage your web space, email accounts, software, statistics, and many other features of your web space
• Access to easy to use scripts to install all of the most popular web software such as WordPress, Drupal, shopping carts, forums, and more!  You also have the ability to upgrade many of these programs with just one click.

The biggest difference between many web hosting companies and Your Digital Coach is that we won’t just sell you web space and leave you on your own to try and figure it all out.  We’ll coach you through the steps to set up your very own web site.   We can either help you build your site or we can build it for you.

So, if you are in the market for web hosting, check out our hosting plans.  You will not be disappointed!

Scott

I decided to take my office outside the other day and work in the fresh air for a change. Was I in for a surprise!

I sat at our coffee nook, opened up the laptop and wondered why I couldn’t see anything on the screen. Then I moved closer to the screen and could barely make out the login screen. There was just enough sun coming through the trees that my eyes adjusted for that and made the relatively dim screen even dimmer!

So, I went on an internet hunt to find a solution. I searched for “laptop umbrellas” and found this interesting article…

You can see the post on Free Ideas Space.  It’s definitely an interesting use of, hopefully, an old laptop but not exactly what I was looking for.

I continued that search for a few minutes and found lots of laptop bags that come with regular umbrellas for rainy days, but nothing that I was looking for.

I changed my search terms to “using a laptop outdoors” and had a little better luck.  I found lots of folks talking about the problem of using a laptop with a glossy screen outside, and a few tips.

Thomas N. Burg had this unique, and inexpensive device posted on his blog.  He calls it a “Sunbox”. I’m sure it works well.  I’ll let you decide if you want to  use something like this.

I did find lots of forum and blog posts with people asking the same questions and getting the same answers – move to a shady location (easily done), get a laptop with an anti-glare screen (expensive), put the laptop away and have a beer!  One person did suggest adjusting the screen brightness.  Why didn’t I think of that!?

So I did.  After setting the brightness slider to the maximum level I could see the screen a little better – it was usable.  Unfortunately, setting the screen brighter will draw more power from the battery and reduce how long you can use your laptop without plugging in.

Here is another source I found with some tips for using a laptop in the great outdoors – Web Work Daily

Nuffield Scholarships were created by Lord Nuffield after the Second World War in recognition of the contribution British and Empire farmers made to feeding feeding the nation throughout the war.  The first scholarships were awarded in 1947 and since that time over 1500 scholarships have been awarded.

Through Nuffield Scholarships, scholars have an opportunity to:

• Access the world’s best in food and farming
• Stand back from their day-to-day occupation and study a topic of real interest
• Achieve personal development through travel and study
• Deliver long-term benefits to Canadian farmers and growers, and to the industry as a whole

If you have an interest in agriculture and would like more information about Nuffield Scholarships then you should visit Nuffield Canada’s web site.