Apache Redirects Overview

You redirect an old or out dated page to another location. There are two ways of doing this:  a permanent command (301) or temporary command (302).

There is some information you need to get together:

 

Two resources - one old page or website, and a new page or website.

When someone goes to your old page they will be redirected by the server to go to the new page.

while this is happening the server tells the brower that this is a permanent or temporary state. More on Graymatter Tech Tip: 301 Redirect in Apache

Install Instructions for Mac OS

1. Go to the QuickTime download page (opens in a new window)
2. Select your operating system, Macintosh is selected by default
3. You do not need to fill out the form fields, click the Download QuickTime button
4. You should now have the QuickTime installer on your desktop, or default download location
5. Double click the installer to run through it, selecting Recommended if it is not already selected
   • When asked for a registration name, organization and number leave these fields blank and continue
   • You will be asked to restart, once you restart you are ready to use QuickTime 7!

Install Instructions for Windows

1. Go to the QuickTime download page (opens in a new window)
2. Select your operating system, Windows is selected by default
3. You do not need to fill out the form fields, click the Download QuickTime button
4. On the next page click the Get QuickTime button
   • This page is also used to verify if QuickTime is on your computer
5. When asked were to save the installer, select Desktop for convenience
6. You should now have the QuickTime installer on your desktop
7. Double click the installer to run through it, selecting Recommended if it is not already selected
   • When asked for a registration name, organization and number leave these fields blank and continue
   • Leave the default installation locations the way they are
   • You will be asked to restart, once you restart you are ready to use QuickTime 7

    

 

[by: Tom Kulzer]

Ensuring requested opt-in email is delivered to subscriber inboxes is an increasingly difficult battle in the age of spam filtering. Open and click thru response rates can be dramatically affected by as much as 20-30% due to incorrect spam filter classification.

Permission

Confirming that the people who ask for your information have actually requested to be on your list is the number one step in the battle for deliverability. You should be using a process called confirmed opt-in or verified opt-in to send a unique link to the attempted subscriber when they request information. Before adding the person to your list they must click that unique link verifying that they are indeed the same person that owns the email address and requested to subscribe.

Subscriber Addresses

When requesting website visitors to opt-in ask for their "real" or "primary" email address instead of a free email address like Yahoo or Hotmail. Free emails tend to be throw away accounts and typically have a shorter lifetime than a primary ISP address.

List Maintenance

Always promptly remove undeliverable addresses that bounce when sending email to them. An address that bounces with a permanent error 2-3 times in a 30 day period should be removed from the list. ISP's track what percentage of your newsletters bounce and will block them if you attempt to continually deliver messages to closed subscriber mailboxes.

Message Format

Usage of HTML messages to allow for text formatting, multiple columns, images, and brand recognition is growing in popularity and is widely supported by most email client software. Most spam is also HTML formatted and thus differentiating between requested email and spam HTML messages can be difficult. A 2004 study by AWeber .com shows that plain text messages are undeliverable 1.15% of the time and HTML only messages were undeliverable 2.3%. If sending HTML it is important to always send a plain text alternative message, also called text/HTML multi-part mime format.

Content

Many ISP's filter based on the content that appears within the message text.

Website URL:
Research potential newsletter advertisers before allowing them to place ads in your newsletter issues. If they have used their website URL to send spam, just having their URL appear in your newsletter could cause the entire message to be filtered.

Words/phrases:
Choose your language carefully when crafting messages. Avoid hot button topics often found in spam such as medication, mortgages, making money, and pornography. If you do need to use words that might be filtered, don't attempt to obfuscate words with extra characters or odd spelling, you'll just make your messages appear more spam like.

Images:
Avoid creating messages that are entirely images. Use images sparingly, if at all. Commonly used open rate tracking technology uses images to calculate opens. You may choose to disable open rate tracking to avoid being filtered based on image content.

Attachments:
With viruses running rampant and spreading thru the usage of malicious email attachments many users are wary of attached documents. It's often better to link to files via a website URL to reduce recipient fear of attachments and reduce the overall message size.

<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>CAN-SPAM Compliance</h2>
<p>The January 2004 Federal CAN-SPAM law introduced a number of rules regarding the delivery of email. It's important you have your legal counsel review your practices and ensure you are in compliance. The two most important rules include having a valid postal mail address listed in all commercial messages and a working unsubscribe link that is promptly honored to remove the subscriber from future messages.</p>
<h2>Reputation</h2>
<p>Reputation services are often used by large ISP's as a way to vet email senders regarding their email practices and policies. Businesses listed with these services are then given less stringent filtering or no filtering at all. Several reputation services are:</p>
<ul>
    <li>http://www.isipp.com/iadb.php</li>
    <li>http://www.bondedsender.com</li>
    <li>http://www.habeas.com</li>
</ul>
<h2>Relationships &amp; Whitelisting</h2>
<p>Contact with major ISP's and email providers is essential in letting them know about your requested subscriber email. Many large providers such as AOL and Yahoo have specific whitelisting programs and postmaster website areas to ensure your email is delivered as long as you meet their policies and procedures in handling your opt-in list. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.deliverymonitor.com/">Email deliverability</a> is about ensuring requested opt-in email is delivered to the intended recipient. While no single tip will enable you to get 100% of your email delivered each one utilized as a group can go a long way to reaching that goal. <br />
<br />
<br />
Tom Kulzer, CEO and Founder of Newtown, PA based AWeber Communications, Inc. an opt-in email service provider. With 7 years managing opt-in follow up and newsletters for small businesses, email deliverability is an integral part of day to day operations. Learn more about <a href="http://www.aweber.com/?220679" onclick="exit=false">AWeber email marketing</a> and <a href="http://www.deliverymonitor.com/">email deliverability tracking</a> at <a href="http://www.deliverymonitor.com/">DeliveryMonitor.com</a></p>

By Sean Cohen

The future of customer service is here. Technology has made seeking out support faster and easier than ever. But, has your digital age company sacrificed true service in the name of automation?

Today, finding customer support is as simple as writing an e-mail or picking up the phone. But, even though you're not face-to-face with your customers, you still leave a lasting impression. Do you come across as caring and competent, or menacing and mechanical?

Offering stand-out service on the Internet isn't as hard as it is rare. Take these simple steps towards old-style service in the digital age:

Give Each Customer a Personal Response
Be Clear, But Sincere
Offer Live Customer Support
Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All the Answers

Give Each Customer a Personal Response

When a customer sits down to e-mail your company, it's because he needs help. He chooses e-mail because it's quick, but his request still warrants a satisfying and personal response!

Companies eager to save time and money often take automation too far in their customer support. Each customer has a unique question, and deserves a unique answer. Even if you save time by copying and pasting stock replies, change the opening and closing to make the message sound less robotic.

Be Clear, But Sincere

When responding to customers' e-mail, be sincere and to the point. Before sending a message, try turning the tables. Ask yourself, "Would this answer satisfy me if I were the customer?"

Take that extra moment to give your customer the help he deserves. It might mean the difference between a satisfied customer and a credit card chargeback!

Offer Live Customer Support

E-mail has become an acceptable form of communication. But, live customer support is still necessary. The plethora of information available online can be overwhelming to customers, especially those new to the Internet!

Single your company out from the crowd by providing customers with a real person to talk to. Live phone support is an invaluable way to foster trust. When your customer has reached the end of his Internet rope, and just needs help, your toll free number is the answer he's looking for.

Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All The Answers

The presence of phone support will do no good if your staff doesn't know your product! Customer support reps should be warm and friendly, and willing to help with any aspect of your product.

What a good feeling it is to talk to someone who feels confident in his product. It's even better if he's knowledgeable enough to solve your problem without transferring you all around the company!

Provide Stand-Out Service; Gain Lifelong Customers

Too many e-businesses skimp on customer service, hiding behind web sites and message boards. Customer support is an integral part of every company, even those operating solely online. Be one of the few to offer stellar service, and gain customers for life!

Customer Service is becoming a lost art, but Sean Cohen wants to make sure that never happens at AWeber Communications! Find out what service is meant to be.

This is a reprint of the Apple support pages all of the links on this page bring you to Apple support.
Thank you Apple Inc.


It's easy to set up and begin using Mac OS X's Mail application.

Tip: If you entered your email account information when you registered Mac OS X, you don't need to set up Mail again.

How to set up Mail

Tip: For Mac OS X 10.4 or later setup information, see this page, and also this one.

First, gather some information about your email account. Your Internet service provider or network administrator provides the information:

• Type of email account you have (IMAP, POP, or UNIX)
• Your email address
• Your account password
• Mail server ("host") name or names
• SMTP password (if required)

Tip: Some Internet service providers may use one mail server for incoming and outgoing mail. Others may use two servers. If only one server is used, use the same server name twice where it is required by Mail. Examples of names would be "pop-mail.apple.com" and "smtp-mail.apple.com".

Next, follow these steps to configure Mail:

1. Open Mail.
2. Choose Preferences from the Mail menu. If you have not yet set up any accounts, the Mail Setup window appears, and you can skip to Step 7.
3. Click the Accounts icon in the Mail Preferences window.
4. Click Create Account.
5. Choose the correct account type from the pop-up menu.
6. In the Description field, type any name you would like to use to identify the account. This is the name that will appear in your list of accounts.
7. Using the rest of the information you gathered, complete the rest of the fields. If your Internet provider gave you an SMTP password, be sure to click the checkbox to enable the "Use authentication when sending mail" option. If your Internet service provider does not require this, simply leave the two fields below the checkbox empty.
8. If desired, click the Account Options tabs to change the default account behavior.
9. Click OK when you are finished.

Repeat these steps for any other accounts you want to set up.

If you've set things up but can't seem to get or send email, you might need to contact your ISP for assistance, or visit any online help or support websites they offer.

How to delete an account

Tip: Before deleting an account, save any messages you don't want to erase in a different location, such as the desktop or the On My Mac mailbox. If you are switching from a POP account to an IMAP account, set up the IMAP account first, then drag messages you want to save from the POP mailbox(es) to the IMAP mailbox(es), before deleting the POP account.

1. Choose Preferences from the Mail menu.
2. Click Accounts.
3. Select the account you want to delete.
4. Click Remove.

How to import messages and addresses

You can import mail from another Mac email application, from a Windows PC or other computer, and your contacts into Address Book.

How to set up Mail for .Mac email

If you've got a .Mac (pronounced "dot Mac") account, you can easily use Mail to send and receive messages.

This tutorial shows you how to set up Microsoft Outlook to work with your e-mail account. This tutorial focuses on setting up Microsoft Outlook 2003, but these settings are similar in other versions of Microsoft Outlook. You can set up previous versions of Microsoft Outlook by using the settings in this tutorial.

To Set Up Your E-mail Account in Microsoft Outlook 

 1. In Microsoft Outlook, select Tools > E-mail Accounts.

2. On the E-mail Accounts wizard window, select "Add a new e-mail account" and click Next.

3. For your server type, select "POP3" and click Next.

 

1. On the Internet E-mail Settings (POP3) window, enter your information as follows:

Your Name

Enter your first and last name.

E-mail Address

Enter your e-mail address.

User Name

Enter your e-mail address, again.

Password

Enter the password you set up for your e-mail account.

Incoming mail server (POP3)

Your incoming server is mail.mydomain.com, where "mydomain.com" is the name of your domain.

Outgoing mail server (SMTP)

Enter smtpout.secureserver.net or mail.mydomain.com for your outgoing mail server.  Make sure you look at the email I have sent you to determine which outgoing server you need to enter.


Click "More Settings."

NOTE: if you are using "smtpout.secureserver.net" it is an SMTP relay server. In order to use this server to send e-mails, you must first activate SMTP relay on your e-mail account. Log on to your Manage Email Accounts page to set up SMTP relay. If you do not have SMTP relay set up and your Internet Service Provider (ISP) allows it, you can use the outgoing mail server for your Internet Service Provider. Contact your Internet Service Provider to get this setting.

NOTE: if you are useing mail.mydomian.com see instructions below.

1. On the Internet E-mail Settings window, select the "Outgoing Server" tab.
       Select "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication."
       If you did not change the SMTP relay section, select "Use same settings as my incoming mail server". If you changed the user name and     password in the SMTP relay section of your Manage Email Accounts page, select "Log on using" and enter the user name and                 password. The following example assumes you did not change your SMTP relay section in your Manage Email Accounts page.
   6. Select the "Advanced" tab and change the "Outgoing server (SMTP)" port to 80 or 3535.
   
   
2. Click Next.
   
   
3. Click Finish.
   
4. Click OK.
   

Before you can use Outlook Express to send and receive e-mail, you need to set up an account. You can have more than one account—for business, online shopping, and so on—and each person who uses your computer may have their own, completely separate account. Outlook Express gracefully handles it all.

Start Outlook Express

There are many ways to start Outlook Express, but here's a sure-fire way to find and start it.

1.	Click the Start button.
2.	Point to All Programs.
3.	Click Outlook Express. These first three steps are shown in the image below: Opening Outlook Express from the Start menu
4.	If asked whether you'd like to open this particular account automatically every time you start Outlook Express, click Yes (if you do) or No (if you don't). If you don't want to be asked this question again, click to check the Always perform this check… box.
5.	Check When Outlook Express starts, go directly to my Inbox. Outlook Express directs all incoming mail to the Inbox, so it makes sense to bypass this opening page. If you don't see the list of folders and contacts on the left, click Layout on the View menu. Click Contacts and Folder List to check them, and then click OK. Outlook Express list of folders Quick start. You'll notice that when you use Outlook Express regularly, Windows XP will put the Outlook Express icon on the Start menu (along with other programs you've used recently). In that case, just click the Outlook Express icon in the Start menu to open the program.

Set Up an Outlook Express E-Mail Account

The Internet Connection Wizard makes short work of setting up your online mailbox by walking you through each step for every e-mail account you set up.

1.	Before you get going, make sure you know your email address along with the following information. (You may need to contact your ISP, Internet Service Provider, to get it.) First, information about the e-mail servers: • The type of e-mail server you use: POP3 (most e-mail accounts), HTTP (such as Hotmail), or IMAP • The name of the incoming e-mail server • For POP3 and IMAP servers, the name of the outgoing e-mail server (generally SMTP) Second, information about your account: • Your account name and password (For some solid advice about making a secure password, read the Create strong passwords article.) • Find out if your ISP requires you to use Secure Password Authentication (SPA) to access your e-mail account—yes or no is all that's required.
2.	Start Outlook Express, and on the Tools menu, click Accounts. If the Internet Connection Wizard starts up automatically, skip ahead to step 4.
3.	Click Add, and then click Mail to open the Internet Connection Wizard. Mail option from the Add button
4.	On the Your Name page of the wizard, type your name as you want it to appear to everyone who gets e-mail from you, and then click Next. Most people use their full name, but you can use any name—even a nickname—that people will recognize.
5.	On the Internet Explorer Address page, type your e-mail address, and then click Next.
6.	On the E-mail Server Names page, fill in the first block of information that you gathered from your ISP in step 1, and then click Next. Internet Connection Wizard's E-mail Server Names Note: If you chose HTTP as your incoming e-mail server—as for a Hotmail or MSN account—this wizard page changes slightly so you can identify your HTTP mail service provider.
7.	On the Internet Mail Logon page, type your account name and password. Internet Connection Wizard's Internet Mail Logon Note: If you're concerned about break-ins to your e-mail, click to clear the check in the Remember Password box. You'll then be prompted for the password each time you send or retrieve mail.
8.	Click Next, and then click Finish. You're ready to send your first e-mail! Unsure if your new e-mail account is working? Send an e-mail message to a friend. If they get the message, your account is ready to roll! But if you run into problems setting up your account, Outlook Express offers help. Search for troubleshooting topics from Contents and Index on the Help menu.

Set Up a Web-based E-Mail Account

The e-mail that you get in a Hotmail account and other Web-based accounts is not stored on your hard disk, but is kept on the account-provider's computer. That's what makes it possible to access your account from any computer in the world over the Internet. Here's how you set yourself up.

1.

Go to the Web site and follow the setup instructions—for example, http://www.hotmail.com/ for Hotmail.

2.

Set up Outlook Express to use the account, by following the instructions above in Set up an Outlook Express e-mail account. If you share your computer with someone else, take advantage of Fast User Switching. A feature of Windows XP, it lives up to its name by enabling you to switch among users on a single computer without closing any programs you are running or logging off. • To turn Fast User Switching on, open User Accounts in Control Panel. Click Change the way users log on or off. Make sure the Use Fast User Switching box is checked. • Then, to switch users, click Start, click Log off and then click Switch User. On the Welcome screen, click the user account you want to switch to. That's it!

Close Outlook Express

In closing, Outlook Express works just as all other Windows programs do.

•	On the File menu, click Exit. Tip: For a fast way out, press ALT+F4.

The normal process for creating a web site is to call a designer and then:

1. They create a design as a picture and you look at it, they make the changes that you want and you approve it. This process takes 1 to 2 weeks.

2. Then you go to work creating all of the content for the site and sending it to the designer. This process takes anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks.

3. The designer is busy creating pages and adding your content. This is generally the same 1 to 4 weeks as above.

4. The designer is sending you links to a test site so you can watch the process.

5. A few times in the process you call the designer and let them know that you had a thought. This can add 1 to 4 weeks to the process.

6. Now it is 6 to 8 week later. Your site is done and ready to launch. The money had been spent and the designer says they are done. But you have one more change in the content. Designer says find but there will be a charge to make the change. It is that point that you realize that you need this designer or some designer to change the content on your website and you will have to pay, and pay, and pay.

Ask Bob how you will now have to pay every time. We can help you create sites that look great and you can change any time you want. Just by clicking on a link and start typing.

Blogging is everywhere and what is that blogging thing? It is many, many people have a lot of time on there hands to write them and read them. The software that is behind the blog is what you should be looking at. Wordpress is the biggest creator of blogs in the world. So thats what we are going to talk about. There is better blogging software, but Wordpress is the one. Don't get me wrong everyone of my blogs are on wordpress. That is the program I teach. Another good reason to talk about Wordpress as a CMS (Content Management System). There are a few themes that try to create a CMS. When they get it, people will have the power to update their own sites and not have to pay a high price. Ask me how.

Today we will cover.

• Blogs
• Websites
• Collaboration Tools

Goals For Today

• Gain a cursory understanding of current technologies.
• Begin formulating an idea of how these technologies can improve your business.

Introduction

• There are over 100,000 blogs worldwide. Google indexes 4.3 billion distinct web pages. More than 100 Internet collaboration tools are currently on the market. In this discussion we will review the use of these technologies to effectively build your business, increase website traffic and online purchases, and provide better customer service.

Blogs and Blogging

• What are Blogs?
• If I want to look at blogs where can I go?

• Bloglines.com
• Blogger.com
• Do a Google search.

• What are they used for?

• Dairies
• Customer Relations tool. FAQs
• Build community on my website.
• Audio and Video Podcasts

Why are there so many?

• 100 million worldwide 35 million in the US

How do I get one?

• Create one on your site.
• Is it part of your hosting package?
• What types of blogs are there?
• Do I have to update my blog everyday?

• Can I use it to make money?

• Google Adsense

• Yahoo! Publisher

Website

• Do I need a website?
• What types of websites are there?
• Can I use my Blog as my website?
• Do I need to have both a website and a blog?
• How much does it cost to have one?

• Hosting Costs?

• Domain Costs?

• Design Costs?

• How do I get people to go to my website?

• Search Engine Optimization.

• Search Engine Marketing.

Why should I change (update) my website?

What is dynamic content?

How often should I change my website?

How much of my website should change?

Should I sell products on the web?

What is POS (Point-Of-Sale) software?

Collaboration Tools

• Until recently Collaboration tools were used exclusively by wealthy corporations and individuals.

• What Are Collaboration Tools?

• VoIP
• Video Conferencing
• Shared Desktop
• Shared Disk
• Whiteboard

• What is the cost range?

• $15 to $100 monthly

• Where do I find them?

• Do a web search.
• Talk to someone who has tested these tools.
• Call Verizon Business or look on Microsoft’s site.

• Why would I use them?
• Situations that call for long distance or ‘virtual’ working environments such as:

• Meetings or Presentations
• Day to day collaboration with a client or co-worker
• Training

Recap

• Do I need a Blog?
• What would I use it for?
• Could I use it to sell product on the web?
• I have a website now what do I want out of it?
• Could I do more work with less traveling/ driving by using collaboration tools?

O’Haver + Company For further information call: Bob O’Haver Bob@ohaverco.com 413 528-6386 http://ohaverco.com This outline will be posted on my blog.