Peggy Duncan's Suite Minute blog. Computer tips and tricks that make work easy.

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In my last post, Video Email is a Lot Easier and More Affordable Than You Might Think, I told you about a new product I’m using, Eyejot. (Also see update to this post below.)
Eyejot video email doesn’t stream live in your email client unless it supports  HTML5’s new <video> tag  (as on the iPad). An [...]

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Video email is hot and I’ve joined in. The video below is my first one. I’m promoting a free seminar I’m giving that’s hosted by DeKalb County’s Contract Compliance Office (Georgia, Metro Atlanta). It’s a lunch ‘n learn and details and registration are at MayBrownBag.eventbrite.com. The topic is Shameless Self Promotion: Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization [...]

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Technology Skills for the 21st Century

Celebrating
Administrative Professionals Day
Mini Conference

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
9:00AM – 2:00PM
Includes Lunch
If you’re handling the work of two or more people, work smarter.
For a great day of training that’s also fun,
Register Today! Space is Limited.
The Digital BreakThroughs Institute
1691 Phoenix Blvd, Suite 380
Atlanta (College Park) [...]

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I made a business commitment to add more videos to my Websites and also to create more marketing videos this year. For non-marketing videos, I’ll use my Flip MinoHD camcorder (or the Webcam built into my laptop). I’ll use Camtasia to edit them, add music, slides, etc. For a slick marketing piece, I’ll need to [...]

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When I started my first business way back in 1997, email as we know and use today was in its infancy in the small business community. I started collecting as many addresses as possible as a way to promote my business by promoting my tips and tricks. Back then, I used Outlook and cleaned up [...]

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When it comes to training, I like to stay in my lane and stick to teaching what I know and love. For me, that’s personal productivity and teaching people how to work smarter: get organized, streamline processes, and use technology the right way.
But then something kept happening.
People started to ask me how I was getting [...]

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Every time I hear of company layoffs, I feel badly for the people losing their jobs. But I immediately start to wonder how the people left behind will make it. They were already working inefficiently; now half of their co-workers are gone.
In my work as a consultant helping people improve their personal productivity, I see [...]

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I was recently interviewed by Geetesh Bajaj, a Microsoft PowerPoint MVP and administrator of the popular Website, Indezine. We reconnected at a recent PowerPoint conference and he was there during my keynote, Shameless Self Promotion. This interview is a result of that and I thought you might enjoy it.
The Interview
In this discussion, Peggy discusses her [...]

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Before uploading photos to sharing sites such as Flickr, take a few minutes to change the filename and use some of your keywords. This is a largely untapped way to boost your search engine rankings.

I had some great photos from a recent event (the grand opening of my new training facility, The Digital Breakthroughs Institute). [...]

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You’ve heard all the talk and raves about social media. But you’re not the only one who hasn’t figured out how to make it work in business. This training will help you pull it all together.
The Social Media Bootcamp of Atlanta is a series of four classes you can take at your convenience. Hands-on [...]

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I am excited to announce that I’ve been selected as a finalist for the 2009 Super Tuesday Awards scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, from 8:00AM – 4:00 PM at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue. My category is Creative Style which recognizes the female entrepreneur who has used the most creative techniques in [...]

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UPDATE: I’ll be back on CNN this Thursday, July 30th with Rick Sanchez around 3:30PM…related healthcare topic.
I don’t usually get into personal issues on my blog, but this topic on healthcare reform for people with pre-existing conditions hit home. I ended up on CNN talking about it, and since I have other articles here about [...]

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Boost your search engine
rankings with a blog.

With over 72 percent of people finding what they need online, you must get found. A blog offers the following benefits.
Share your expertise. A business blog gives you a platform to promote what you know and establish yourself as an expert in [...]

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In a recent post, I gave step-by-step instructions on how to create a customized Twitter background using PowerPoint and included some how to videos I made using Camtasia. If you have a YouTube channel, you can use the same methods explained in these videos to create a customized background (the skin) for it.
Resize PowerPoint Slide [...]

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In a previous post, I explained how I use PowerPoint for all of my graphics projects. A designer will laugh at this because they probably use software such as PhotoShop to handle complex projects. Well, I don’t know PhotoShop well enough to whip out something fast, but I know just about everything that PowerPoint can [...]

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When I got back to my office after a few conferences, I started reviewing some of the business cards I’d collected. I kept noticing the same, common missteps business owners continue to make. Here are a few:

No email address.
Email address is illogical, hard to spell, impossible to remember, hard to type, hard to read.
@yahoo.com, @aol.com, [...]

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If you want to tweet from your BlackBerry and you can do so without being disrespectful of the people you’re with or without becoming distracted from your family or something else more important, here’s how.
The following steps require you to download software from your BlackBerry.

Open the Browser on your BlackBerry’s homescreen.
Type the shortcut, G, for [...]

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Create a self-hosted WordPress blog, implement search engine optimization techniques, and start getting free publicity that attracts the media and new business to you like a magnet!
Description
This is a full-day workshop that’s hands-on with your laptop. Learn from experts how to build a professionally-designed, self-hosted WordPress blog from scratch and optimize it (and your Web [...]

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I presented my shameless self-promotion seminar for SCORE Chicago recently. The standing-room-only crowd of small business owners was totally into it. Lots of great questions and comments. Jo Anne Cano, Vice President of A.J. Smith Federal Savings Bank, said: “Thank you so much. Your presentation on Tuesday at SCORE was awesome. It gave me lots [...]

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When I buy new gadgets and gizmos, I read the how-to booklets and also look for more tips on the Web. I purchased the BlackBerry 8820 over a year ago, and in addition to setting up my laptop to use it as a modem (tether), here are some other things I learned and changes I’ve [...]

Filed under: Data Backup, Filing, General Technology, Marketing, Organizing, Outlook, Personal Productivity, Word-Excel-PowerPoint | View Comments

In my seminar and ebook on shameless self-promotion, I share how I’ve received international media coverage by doing my own public relations. One of my suggestions is to send weekly online press releases because they will boost your search engine rankings and attract reporters and clients. (I am on the first page of Google for [...]

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Email overload is that mess that’s packed and stacked in your Inbox…hundreds and thousands of messages that you scroll through every day. You can lighten the load if you stop using your Inbox for storage and also think through every message you handle.
My solutions that work are outlined in my book, Conquer Email Overload [...]

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Hi, Peggy! I have lots of business cards from others. What is the most productive way to store them. I originally thought I’d use a desk top Rolodex; then I thought I should group them according to services, photocopy the page and then file the pages. What do you suggest?
None of the above. I batch [...]

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I’m helping a client develop ways he can market an upcoming conference using the Web. Here are some ideas I’ve come up with so far.
Website/Blog
Create a detailed Website with seminar descriptions, speaker photos, bios. Give visitors and people who want to help you promote your event something to link to. Consider creating a separate Website [...]

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