I’ve just had to go through a full install of Windows 7 on my refurbished laptop in the process of upgrading it, and either I’ve become more competent, or it’s a lot easier than it ever was previously (with earlier versions of Windows and other laptops). After years of swearing by desktops and the ease of replacing components as a means of upgrading and squeezing that extra period of life out of the machines, I opted for a refurbished laptop earlier this year. I’ve actually bought exactly the same model as the laptop I use at work, a Lenovo X201, as I’ve been so impressed with its robustness and balance of size, speed and performance. But I knew, from some casual research online that it was also relatively easy to upgrade.
Further to an earlier post I made about freeing up space in Gmail (HERE), they’ve extended the feature set now to allow you to search for emails within Gmail by the size of attachments. So, for example, in the Googlemail search query, if you type “size:5mb” then Gmail will query your email folders and show you all of the emails over 5mb in size.
Mostly this will be due to people sending you the latest funny videos or picture collections and rather than deleting them at the time, you’ve just let them sit there in your inbox. So, although Gmail now offer 10.1gb of free space – perhaps it’s time to do a little housekeeping and remove some of the trashy stuff that you no longer need.
Equally, you don’t need to limit it to file sizes over 5mb. Just change the query dimensions and you can clear out much more of your email box – e.g. “size:2mb” will return all emails over 2mb in size.
My blog so far has been a place for me to share things that I find interesting as well as helpful tips and information that I’ll often refer back to myself. It’s almost like having a personal set of bookmarks that are accessible everywhere I go without having to use any bespoke service.
However, a friend has asked me for some advice regarding their newly launched online business and since I happen to work predominantly in the online / media / marketing world, I thought this blog is as good a place as any to write up my suggestions.
Although I’ve intentionally kept the name of the company anonymous, the principles behind maximising online opportunities for an online retailer apply can be applied by anyone.
The background
The company my friend works for is a niche SME online retailer that has decided to branch out in to a new range of products (home accessories and home gifts) outside of its existing offering (beauty products). Rather than expand the existing successful brand, a new separate entity has been created. A good, well designed web site has been constructed; an expansive range of over 400 niche products has been selected and available from launch at competitive prices; and some initial social media activities have been undertaken. So far, so good – they’re sounding like they’re doing a lot of the right things – but what can they do to take things to the next level?
Google Gmail now provides over 7.5gb of inbox space, and it’s growing all of the time. This is generally going to be more than adequate for most people, even with hundreds of thousands of emails. However, as there’s a growing trend for forwarding on funny video clips, large image files or high resolution photographs, you may find that you’re getting closer and closer to your limit.
Rather than waiting until you hit or near your message limit, why not be pro-active and clear out some of the old messages, attachments and general junk you’ve accumulated over the years. Follow some of these quick and easy steps and you’ll soon trim your gmail account.
Worryingly, Facebook have added an automatic photo tagging system now which suggests photos that you appear in, based on photo recognition, as opposed to relying on individuals physically tagging you in them. If you don’t want to have this feature active – which, incidentally, is enabled by default – follow these simple steps:
- Go to Account >> Privacy Settings
- Scroll down the page and click on Customise Settings
- Scroll down to the section that says “Things others share”
- Click on Edit Settings next to “Suggest Photos of Me to Friends”
- Click on the button on the right and hit “Disable”
It’s as simple as that!
I’m on the business networking web site, LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com)
If you want to include customised buttons linking to your LinkedIn profile (like the one below), then just follow these simple steps.
(this button actually links to my personal LinkedIn profile)
There are loads of different web sites out there promising number one listings and rapid submissions to various search engines, some free, whilst others attempt to charge you for this service.
The best way to start, however, is by addressing the issue of being indexed by Google, quickly; after all, the search giant accounts for a huge proportion of the search market so it’s essential that you comply with their rules and guidelines about how to get listed and indexed.
There are many different tips and tricks related to getting indexed, some of which I plan on featuring at a later date – but for having your blog indexed there are four essential steps you should look to carry out first.