Sharing your To-Do lists

The power of the web today is the ability to collaborate with others. Another tool to put in your box is a to-do list.

I just found a couple that I thought were worth of mentioning. Ta-da List and Voo2Do

Ta-da List is a very simple to-do list manager that lets you create multiple lists, each with tasks. This way, you can separate your tasks by projects. The number one feature of this is that you can share a list - or have several people working on the same list. Each list can be shared with different people or not shared at all.

My second favorite feature is the ability to subscribe to a list via RSS feeds. This way, when others edit the list, I'll know about it.

Voo2Do has more features than Ta-da List, but it is lacking the two most important ones - Collaboration & RSS (they are working on the collaboration feature). But, if you don't want to share with others, it is a very good option.
Some of the features that I like are the ability to put notes with each task, divide tasks among projects and due dates.

If you are looking for a "To-Do List" tool, get an account for each of these. It is free and only takes a minute.

Blog numbers

One of the first questions I get when talking to people about using a blog for professional reasons is, "How can I measure it?" Usually, they are familiar with numbers like the number of newsletters mailed or the circulation of a newspaper. With blogs, this can be more difficult - but not impossible.

Anne Adrian and I talked last week about this topic I guess it spawned a blog post for each of us. Her article on measuring your blog has some excellent tips for bloggers and recommends using the tools discussed below. She's a faster (and better) blogger than me.

By using a combination of FeedBurner and Google Analytics, there are ways to count the number of people who subscribe to your feed or look at your pages.

Let's start with Google Analytics.

Go to: http://www.google.com/analytics/ and create an account if you don't already have one.

1. Click on "Add a domain".
2. Enter the URL of your blog.
3. Copy the code snippet and paste into the body portion of your blog template (before the "/body" tag at the end of the HTML code).
• If you are using Blogger, add an HTML/JavaScript element to the footer of your page template.
4. Check back to view the traffic reports for your blog.
   

This will count the people visiting your blog. It does not count the people who subscribe to your feed using a feed reader or get it via email. To collect that data, you need a tool like FeedBurner.

Configuring FeedBurner to collect data.

First, you'll need to create a FeedBurner account and add your blog.

1. Go to: http://feedburner.com/
2. Create your account.
3. Add your blog in the "Burn a feed this instant" box.
4. When editing the feed details, enter a url for your "Feed Address" (avoid spaces). This is what you'll need later.
5. Save the Feed Details.
   

Finally, change change your blog's RSS server to use FeedBurner.
FeedBurner has step-by-step instructions for the following blog services:

• Blogger
• WordPress
• TypePad
• MySpace
  

If you are using other blogging software and have figured out how to use FeedBurner's RSS redirection, please let me know.

FeedBurner also gives you a way for people to receive your posts via email. (Under the Publicize tab, click on "Email Subscriptions").

Looking at the data

After you've configured your blog with these tools, you'll want to periodically view the reports. Use these numbers with caution. They show trends and not absolute numbers of people reading your content. I subscribe to lots of feeds that I never get around to reading and I visit lots of pages only to realize that it isn't what I wanted and leave.

But, if you need to report a number to your boss, these tools will give you some good and useful numbers to report.


Disclaimer: I have no financial or other interests in FeedBurner other than as a user of their services. I'm sure there are other services available that offer similar tools. I just don't know about them.

Finding Feeds

A week or two ago, I wrote "Blogs of interest to Extension Agents" where I collected a handful of blogs that I know about and thought Extension agents might find useful in getting started with an RSS Reader.

Last week Brain Webster wrote an article "Finding Feeds in Google Reader". I had seen this feature, but never used it. This is a great way to find feeds of articles in your areas of interest.

Blogs of Interest to Extension Agents

A good first step into the world of blogging is to start following some good feeds. Subscribe to them in an RSS reader of your choice. (See: RSS For Beginners)

This article was started months ago and I just kept adding links to blogs and categorizing them. Then Anne Adrian's (from Auburn Extension) PageFlakes sparked an idea. A better way to share feeds that might be of interest to the people I work with. So, I created my own PageFlakes page for you to use to find some feeds to get started. As you surf the internet, look for the icon on the page or in the location panel or button bar. When you see this logo, look at the page and ask yourself, "is this the type content I want to keep abreast of?" If so, then add it to your feed reader. Before long, you'll be keeping up-to-date in your field and know more about what's new and what's going on than most of your peers.

If you know of a feed that would be of interest to Extension Agents, please add a comment to this article or email me.

Google Docs

Google Docs is a GREAT way to share documents (word processing files, spreadsheets and now presentations) and work with other people. If you haven't used it yet, you owe it to yourself to take a look! All you need is a Google account.

The key to working smarter is working together. Today, there are lots of tools that can help you do this more efficiently and Google Docs is one of them. I'll write about others I use in future articles.

I have been using Google Docs for about a year now. Now, I save very few, if any, documents to my hard drive. They all go into Google Docs. The straw that broke the camels back and pushed me into using Google Docs for just about everything I do happened one day this spring. I needed to see the budget my secretary kept on her computer and she was out of town for a week. There was no way I could get to that file (legally). When she got back, we put that spreadsheet into Google Docs where we could both access it and work on it. I've heard of many others having similar experiences.

Reasons I love Google Docs:

• I can access my files from any computer connected to the internet. Very nice if you use more than one computer.
• Other people (I choose who) can be invited to edit - this is the REAL power
• Other people (I choose who) can be allowed to view
• Documents can be published to the web to share with a lot of people with two clicks
• Every change is recorded - along with who made the change
• Integrated with Google Mail (if you use gMail)
• Post directly to your blog
  
• FREE
• EASY
• FAST

Reasons Google Docs is not perfect:

• It is not a desk top publishing (DTP) application. For the rare occasion when I need to format a document for paper beyond the capabilities of Google Docs, I save it to my computer and use the appropriate application for DTP. I use Google Docs to create, get others' input and help and then do any final layout using a DTP app on my computer.
• I find it easier to move around and edit a spreadsheet using Excel or Calc. So, if I'm going to be doing some major work on a spreadsheet, I'll work on it locally and then upload it when I'm done.
• Presentations doesn't allow me to edit the background or add animatation.
• Presenations doesn't allow me to save as a PowerPoint file.
  
• It does about 95% of what I need a word processor to do, about 90% of what I need a spreadsheet application to do and about 80% of what I need a presentation application to do. What I lose in functionality, I more than make up for in other ways.
  

Over the last year, Google Docs has made a lot of improvements and new features are being added at a fast pace. If it doesn't do what you need today, keep watching.

For a quick overview of Google Docs, see: Google Docs in Plain English.

Presentation Tips

Here are some tips for giving a presentation when you want to show some web pages or other applications.

Quickly Switch between PowerPoint and a Web Page (or other application)

In Windows [Alt][Tab] will let you switch between any open windows. If a window is minimized, it will open.

On a Mac, [Command][Tab] will let you switch between running applications. If you have more than one window for an application open, you will need to click on the desired window or use [Control]1 (or the appropriate number) to bring the correct window to the front. If a window is minimized, it will NOT be opened. SO... be sure to have only the applications you want to show during your presentation open and set up as you want them to be shown before starting your presentation. Also on a Mac, be sure to Quit any unused applications so they won't appear in the list of applications to open.

Save Your Presentation as a PowerPoint Show

If you save your presentation as a PowerPoint Show, you won't have the ugly editor window as an application/window option. Just start the show and you are ready to go.

If you will be giving your presentation on a different computer, you will want to package it. Jeffrey SoRelle wrote a great set of instructions at: Package PowerPoint for Removable Media.

Make it legible from a distance

Before you show a web page to your audience, increase the text size to where they can read it from a distance. Showing a web page with the fonts at the same size that you use when working will not be legible from the back of the room. In Firefox you can use [Ctrl]+ or View ([Command]+ on a Mac) -> Text Size -> Increase to increase the size of the text. This may distort the layout of a page. Images will not be increased. In MSIE, [Ctrl]+ Zooms the page, including images.

In Firefox, I recommend getting the PageZoom add-on. This enables you to zoom all tabs and increases the size of images as well.

In MSIE 7, you will want to use Page -> Zoom rather than Page -> Text Size because many pages don't change their text size with this option and it doesn't increase the images' size.

Show only what you want them to see

On a PC, show your browser in Full Screen mode (View -> Full Screen) or [F11] in both Firefox and MSIE.
On a Mac, Firefox and Safari do not have this feature. On a Mac, you will want to hide the toolbars you don't want to show (View -> Toolbars).

Make it easy to go to the next web page

Before you get up in front of the audience, open all of the pages you want to show in new tabs and position them in the order you want to show. Rather than clicking on a link, move to the next tab. Unless you are very confident that there won't be ANY problems with the internet connection, connection speed or the web site you are going to show, I would strongly recommend having all the pages already loaded. More than once, I have lost an internet connection when giving an important presentation. Which brings me to the next tip.

Have a backup plan!
This works if you won't have an internet connection or if you have one and you lose your connection. Save the pages you want to show to your hard drive (or flash memory stick, CD, etc.). In Firefox 2, use File -> Save Page As and choose Web Page Complete for the file type. In MSIE, use File -> Save As and choose Webpage Complete for the file type. This will create an html file and a folder with all the graphics and other necessary files. Be sure to keep both the html file and the folder together.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Practice giving your presentation on another computer to make sure that ALL of the files you need are on your backup flash memory stick or CD. To make sure your backup web pages are all there, test it on a computer that hasn't visited the sites you are showing (or clear your browser's cache) and is disconnected from the internet.

Practice giving your presentation using the same equipment with which you will be presenting. Become familiar with the mouse, pointer, remote, etc.

Practice in the room where you will be giving the presentation. Become familiar with your surroundings and all the equipment. Know where you will be standing so you won't be blocking the audience's view. Look at your busiest slide from the back of the room. Look at it as though you were the most visually impaired person in the crowd.

Oh yeah, did I mention that you should practice your presentation?

RSS for beginners

Lee LeFever posted a video that does an EXCELLENT job of explaining RSS in Plain English

Click To Play

There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don't. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don't know where to start.

Undoing links in PowerPoint

In PowerPoint 2003 you can turn off the AutoCorrect feature that makes URLs hyperlinks. In PowerPoint 2004 (Mac) I have not been able to find a way to do this. If you know where this setting is, please let me know.

Good news - There is a way to undo the hyperlink after it's been automatically added. As soon as you type the space or return after entering a URL, press Command-Z on the Mac.

This also work in PowerPoint 2003, except it is Control-Z in Windows if you have not disabled this AutoCorrect feature.

Another way is after typing the space after the URL, use the left arrow key and then Backspace, then right arrow key to continue working. This works in both PPT2003 and PPT2004.

Learn how to type

In today's world of word processors, web browsers, email and instant messaging, if you can't type well you don't have a voice. If you can't type fast, you are wasting a lot of time.

Any time you can invest in improving your typing speed and accuracy will repay itself MANY times over. To help you there is a great site: Peter's Online Typing Course at: http://www.typing-lessons.org/.

Recognizing E-Mail Scams

Every now and then I come across an interesting email scam. You have to admire these guys for their creativity and understanding of human nature. This one looked almost good enough to fool me, but there were a couple of tell-tale signs that gave it away.

First and most importantly - Thunderbird flagged this as a Scam and when I clicked on the link it popped up a message that said "Thunderbird thinks this site is supicious! It may be trying to impersonate the web page you want to visit. Are you sure you want to visit bluemountain.kokocards.com?"

A little information here - domains work from right to left. bluemountain.kokocards.com is controlled by kokocards.com - not bluemountain.com! If it had been kokocards.bluemountain.com, then I would have felt a better about the information presented.

Second, there was no indication who this card was from. I've received enough cards from Blue Mountain to know that they indicate who is the sender. Normally, I don't like receiving these type greetings - and often don't even open them. If you aren't my wife or kids or someone very special, chances are I'm not going to bother opening the card unless I think there is something special you want to say to ME. To me, the ability to automatically have cards sent to a list of people is too impersonal. If you want to wish me a happy birthday, send me an email message, IM or phone call - or facebook, or any other number of ways. I like knowing that you are thinking of me on my birthday - not some day two years ago when you added my information to the BlueMountain Calendar. But, I digressed...

After having my suspicions raised, I looked at the status bar when I positioned my pointer over the link and noticed that it pointed to a site different than that shown in the message. This ALWAYS throws up big red flags for me.

When I clicked on the link I got a window indicating that I have chosen to open "postcard.jpg.exe" from http://210.192.102.115. If I wasn't sceptical yet, now the warning alarms, bells and whistles are screaming "CANCEL NOW! GET OUT OF HERE!"

There are several red flags in this window.

The filename - postcard.jpg.exe - is an old way of fooling people to open an executable file because some applciations don't show the file name extension - they would just show "postcard.jpg" which many users would assume the extension is JPG and it is a photograph. Big red flag!

Next, the "from: http://201.192.102.115" tells me that this is not a registered server. HUGE red flag!

Finally, even if I knew who this was from - and wanted to get it, chances are very good that I'm not going to install any application in order to get it - even if I thought that Blue Mountain had started doing business this way - which they haven't.

Just stay alert because these scammers are getting smarter and smarter about how to trick you into installing programs like key loggers or worse or getting you to give them information they can use to take your money and identity.