Happy April Fool’s Day 2012

My son just showed me a number of April Fool’s jokes on the web.

I liked:

• The GMail Tap video
• The YouTube Collection on DVDs
• AdBlock replaced with CatBlock ( e. g., look for all the cats on The New York Times today)
• The 8-bit version Google Maps (look for famous landmarks)

Have fun!  Find more April Fool’s jokes.

3 Reasons Why You Need a Reader

Are you drowning in a sea of information?  Would you like to follow some internet sites regularly, but it would be just one more thing to do? A reader may be the answer for you.  (I’m referring to web-based aggregators, not eReaders for eBooks like Kindle or Nook.)  If you don’t have a reader (aggregator), then I hope by the end of this post, you’ll know some effective ways to follow content on the internet and whether a reader would help.

First, watch this video for a very easy explanation of RSS, feeds, and readers; it’ll help you know how to get started.  (YouTube wouldn’t let me embed it, so please come on back after you watch the video to find out the three reasons I promised you.)

Are you back from watching the video?  Good.  Now ask yourself how much you read (or would like to read) on the internet.

The Minimalist

If you only like to read occasionally, or from random sites, you might just use Read It Later on your computer, tablet, or mobile device.  Instead of being sidetracked by different sites you run across during the day, you mark the page to be read later when you have time.  You can even download what you want to read offline.

Alternatively, you can allow RSS feeds from a blog or two that you enjoy to go into your eMail inbox through Outlook 2007 and some other eMail services.  The posts will appear in separate folders for each feed instead of mixed in with your eMails.  Follow these instructions for Outlook 2007.

If you have a lot to read either of these might not be a good option. (Stay with me and keep reading.)

The Benefits of Readers over eMail Subscriptions

If you subscribe by eMail to a few blogs and receive posts in your inbox, you may want to consider a reader because:

1. Using a reader is safer because you aren’t using your eMail address when subscribing to a RSS feed, eliminating your exposure to spam, viruses, phishing, and identity theft, which can be associated with eMail. (Please see the note about MailChimp and this blog.)
2. When you don’t want a feed anymore, you just remove it from your aggregator, instead of sending an unsubscribe request to stop receiving eMails.
3. Feeds are sorted, not arriving randomly like eMail in your inbox. Each feed, whether its from your favorite blog, news source, or whatever, has its posts automatically grouped under the source.

Getting Started Tips

This post has actually gone long enough, so I’ll continue this as a series.  If you want to for now, follow the advice in the video to start using a reader. I’ve also included some links you can check out on your own if you don’t want to wait for me.

Visually Appealing Readers

• Feedly (recommended – works with your Google Reader – click on the image above for a closer look)
• Pulse

WordPress

• Follow WordPress blogs from within your home page

Twitter Readers

• Paper.li (recommended – you might want to wait for my post about it)

• The Tweeted Times

NOTES:

• I’m encouraging all regular e4e readers to subscribe to this blog using the very secure eMail service, MailChimp.  If you prefer, you can still use a reader or follow with WordPress, but subscribers receive eMails about upcoming events and they help me evaluate what everyone is most interested in reading so I can serve you better (and more efficiently).  So, CCC staff,  please subscribe here to receive weekly eMails of e4e posts, notifications of training, and more.
• The video is also available here in French, Japanese, German, Dutch, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish.

1-2-1 Labs Start at Lake Hart

We’ll be having computer labs (called “1-2-1 at Lake Hart”) during the lunch hour on the first Tuesday of each month at headquarters.  A dozen staff have volunteered to be available to answer questions on topics ranging from Macs, social networks, mobile devices, eMail, blogging, TntMPD, MailChimp, and more.  Twenty-eight staff came to our “trial run” lab in February.  I asked them what they thought of the lab:

“This was very helpful!!!  I like the informal setting where we can ask questions.  It is very difficult to grasp the tools we have available.  What is very basic for one of your experts, is very complicated for some people.  We need more bridge builders like you!!!  Sign me up to come again.”  ~ Tim C.

“I am interested in coming again. I actually really liked the free open ended way the lab was handled… I really wasn’t sure what I was going to ask [Mike] but as I sat there and fiddled with my MAC I really had a lot of questions. Thank you. I’ll be there next month.” ~ Lori D.

“Thanks again for all your work in putting the lab together.  I found it extremely helpful.  I appreciated Mike doing the one thing I asked him to help me with my tablet efficiently and quickly.  We were done in less then 5 minutes!  Monica … gave me some great tracks to run on [with Blogspot].  Once I am done implementing what she suggested, I am sure I could use further help with the next step.” ~ Gordana S.

“I am so happy that I went to the lab last week! It was extremely helpful to me on many levels and I definitely plan to attend next month. Andi gave me some very practical “next steps” for our StoryTapestry web presence.  I am looking forward to running some questions by the Tnt Mpd guys in the future, too.  I am so grateful for all the mentors for giving of their time…I know they are all very busy!  I hope to be able to pick your brain some more as well during future labs!“ ~ Brenda M.

“Yes, it was VERY helpful. As I told Troy and Bob, I have had this problem with tntmpd for months and have tried to research it on my own and even got consultation from Troy over email, but I still could not resolve it on my own (it does not help that I am NOT a techno-guru in the least). However, sitting down with Troy for less than 5 minutes got me on the right road and I was then able to take steps (with his in-person consultation) to resolve the problem within 10 minutes (that counts downloading and installing a third-party software (drop-box)).  Thank you for helping me resolve what was a big problem I was having with tntmpd.

“I would be very interested in coming again if I run into problems/barriers on any level, especially where technology is concerned, that I could not break through myself after trying. Or, it could also be very useful to get a consultation on the work-related systems I have employed and get an opinion and consultation on if there is a better or more effective way of building the mouse-trap.” ~ John C.

I liked Tim’s term: “bridge builders” to describe what we were trying to do during the lab to help staff know how they can use technology for ministry.  I try to build bridges with eQuipping for eMinistry as well.  Please recommend e4e to your friends.  Thanks!

Click here for a slide show of the lab.

Social Media Statistics for September 2011

For a closer look at this Social Media infographic, visit SocialBakers.

No surprise… airports have high check-in rates.

Desktop Search Engines

Last month, Google stopped supporting Google Desktop.

I have loved using it as my own Google search of my computer.  It’s a bit large in a sense and initially takes just a bit of time to index everything, but I like it much better than the Windows Search that comes with my PC.  Google Desktop looks in my eMail, documents, music, web history, and… everywhere!

Now that it’s not supported, I wonder about security, though.  Previous versions of Google Desktop had some vulnerabilities, so if a future hacker wanted to, I guess they could find content on your computer through this.  I guess I should find a new desktop search engine.

Here’s a list and links to other desktop search engines.  Do you use a desktop search engine?  Any recommendations?

Download Google Desktop from FileHippo.

CCC staff, so we can better serve you, please subscribe here to receive weekly emails of e4e posts, notifications of training, and more.