Guest Post: Editing Photos with Susan

Did you know that our beloved Susan is a genius? And that's she's perfectly willing to share her knowledge and expertise with a bone-head like myself? 'Tis true.


I was fooling around with my blog, which is usually a pretty bad idea. Don't get me wrong...I can write a post. I can even add pictures to it! I can add a widget (provided it's a widget that's right there on blogger and all I have to do is hit the "add" button). But when it comes to anything more technical than that, I'm lost.


I'll give you a good example. Editing photos for my Etsy listings. I recently downloaded Picasa (on Susan's recommendation!) and have been trying to learn how to use it. Trying being the key word there. And I thought I was doing pretty good! Here's what I would do:
*Take a picture.
*Upload said picture.
*Open up Picasa and click on picture.
*Hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.
*Maybe crop, maybe not.
*Close Picasa.
*Open Paint.
*Resize picture.

See? I couldn't even figure out how to RESIZE a photo in Picasa!!


So, being a bone-head, I sometimes...well, forget that I'm a bone-head and I try to do things that I am perfectly UNcapable of doing. Like adding a Pin It button to the bottom of each blog post. Oh, I had a Pin It button. But it didn't actually pin anything! Who caught it? Susan. So I added her as an admin on my blog, because I trust her completely, and in the process of fixing it she realized what a bone-head I am and had me call her. 


And THAT is why I will get absolutely NOTHING accomplished today! She managed to cram about two weeks worth of graphic design tutoring into a one-hour phone call and I'm on fire to go back and make a collage! Oh yeah...I know how to make a collage now. I also know how to make an Etsy banner...FROM SCRATCH, Y'ALL...using my own photos! I also know how to resize photos in Picasa. 


I know a BUNCH of stuff.


So, do you have questions? Of course you do. We ALL do. Contact Susan Adams here on Handmade Jargon or at one of her many Facebook pages (see links below) and ASK her, for goodness sake. She'll most likely explain it to you and tell you how to do a bunch of stuff you never even thought about, too!!


To visit my Etsy shop, go here ---> Glitter Frog Designs on Etsy
To visit my blog, go here ---> Glitter Frog Designs Blog


 ArtFire LInk on Facebook
ArtFire LInk Group
On Google+

Text Liking

When you are working on your fan base on your Facebook business page, it can be hard to motivate users to "like" your page.  One strategy for adding to your Facebook page is to offer exclusive coupons, sales and deals for fans only.


But consider for a moment your phone. When you see a post in your newsfeed from a a friend using mobile, you know they are out of the house, away from their computer. What if, you could motivate complete strangers to "like" your page on their phones?


Well there is!

Now, you can do a call out for "liking" your page via texting. This is especially great for when you are out doing craft fairs. Don't just sell to your passer by's, turn your table customers into fans on your Facebook page and motivate sales too! Have a table tent sign on your table, offering customers a 10% discount if they text the word "like" and your Facebook page user name to 32665.


Try it yourself! Like our page from you phone.  Text the words: like artfirelink to 32665
Here's the anatomy:
"like"=action
"artfirelink"= username for your page (http://www.facebook.com/artfirelink)
32665 is the country code for USA(see all country codes here)


*note: you have to set up your username for your page to use this. You can set that up in your admin of your page under "Resources"


This sets a stage for building your Fan base while you are out doing shows and crafts bazaars this holiday!  No hard networking to do it either! You can also post under the "call to action" table tent sign, "Like us on Facebook and receive exclusive coupons, sales and deals on future online purchases for fans only! Find out what craft fair we are at next! We could be coming to your area!" 
You would be surprised the extra sales you might make on your craft fairs just by offering that 10% exclusive offer! 


Susan ~ ArtFire LInk
ArtFire LInk on Facebook
ArtFire LInk Group
On Google+

I was lost, but now I'm found!

Since Facebook decided to change the groups format..the same time they removed our tabs from our Facebook profiles, they also gave us the ability to add folks we know to the groups without asking them first.  Not something I really encourage.  

Why?

Here's why: when you add someone to the facebook group, default settings send a notification to their email every time someone posts in the group.  Kind of annoying for some.  Especially when we get bombarded already with spam.  Some folks like that, as they want to know what's going on.  All the time! 

It's handy for the super networkers, but frustrating for the rest. I love groups, but they are everywhere! now on Facebook.  A dime a dozen.

There is one important thing I wanted to note about the new groups format on Facebook for everyone who is involved in one, especially for our group admins.  When you start a group, remember that the only format that Google and Yahoo, and Bing(still Yahoo fed) search engines will see is "open" groups.  The rest, closed and secret, are not seen by any search engine or crawler.  So if you add other sellers like you to the group, and your group is closed or secret..then you are more or less preaching to the choir.  It's soliciting to your competition.  Not the wisest thing.  

So here is what I suggest, if you are selling a handmade good, join groups that are ok with your business postings but is non seller based.  If you sell wedding jewelry, hair accessories or an other wedding handmade good, join a wedding group.  

Silk Organza Bags

This is why our group on Facebook, It's Better Handmade, is an open group, seen by Google indefinitely.  And it's why we have a corresponding "Like" page.  We need a better ranking in Alexa and Google ...so the more you promote..the more you want to be seen.  Keep that one in mind where ever you spend your time online;..groups, pages, communities, etc.

New Comments Editor on Facebook

Hey! You know when you comment underneath someone's post..in your News Feed, or your Profile page, or even a Group? and you make a mistake in spelling or something like that? Your first response is to type it over and then delete the the one above it that you goofed on.


Well, Facebook just made a script change on those Comments editor.  Now, you can click on the "x" to "delete" it and it will reopen the comment you just posted to let you change it! No more deleteing it and retyping.  And. No more notifications to others that go no where..cause you deleted it.


Why? Well, Facebook creators are trying to save cache space and scripting errors.


This works well if you are using Facebook under a non secure http://...connection.


"A non secure connection?" you might wonder..
Facebook, now connects us..under our security settings in our account..in a secure connection.  This keeps our comments and posts off of Google though.  You can see if you are connected securely on Facebook by the url bar in the top of your browser.  It will look like this: https://www.facebook.com/myfacebookpage....

You can find the settings for the security in your account settings


So, decide how much you want Google to see of your postings if you network on Facebook for your business.  If you want your latest posts and comments posted in Google search, make sure you don't have the secured setting. You also might want to make sure that anyone can see your posts and comments too..friends or no.

Hearing Crickets Lately?

Facebook has done it again! Facebook has once again changed to keep networking at a minimum.  Have you noticed that you are only seeing updates in your newsfeed from a select group of people lately? When you post your status, add photos or links, the same circle of people are commenting and everyone else seems to be ignoring you?

Don't worry, everyone still loves you and nobody has intentionally blocked you. The problem is that a large chunk of your friend/fan list can't see anything you post and here's why:

When the "New Facebook" was activated recently(noted by the loss of tabs on your new profile page), a default newsfeed setting automatically was set to show only posts from people whom your interact with the most(or most recently). So for both business and personal pages, unless your friends/fans commented on one of your posts within those few weeks or visa versa - you are now invisible to them and they are invisible to you!!

How to Fix it: On your homepage newsfeed,  click the "Most Recent" title on the right top of the newsfeed, then(second step) click on the drop down arrow beside it and select "Edit Options". Click on "show posts from" and change the setting to "All of your friends and pages" (you can also access the "edit options" link at the very bottom of the facebook homepage on the right) 

**business and group pages do not have a newsfeed however page owners should adjust the settings on their personal accounts for email notification.

 

Posting updates on this will not be seen due to this default setting. You will have to send out a message via your business or group pages or create an event page(group messages are best).  I would encourage you to tweet about it or send out an email to your subscribers in hopes of reaching them all.

To see updates from business pages you have "liked", you must go to your "Messages' menu on the left menu. Once clicked, you will have a sub link under it "Updates".  Note: business pages should be away that your status updates are not showing the message notification flags to your fans.  Sending out page updates will also fall into this hidden message box.  Just do your best.  Only group messages go directly into the inbox of members.

If you need further help in sending out notifications via pages/groups, post a comment and I will reciprocate part II for this newsletter.

*** A great tip while you're altering default settings is to make sure your friends and fans can comment on your posts.

For personal pages you must go to your Privacy Settings > Customize Settings >Can Comment On Posts >Everyone 

For Business Pages to allow fans to comment, go to Page Settings > Manage Permissions > Posting Ability and check the box that says “Users Can Write Or Post On Content On The Wall” 

Hope you can get everyone's attention on this, let's see if we can restore the networking we had before Facebook changed everything.

We Have a Sibling Site!

We have a new sibling site!  

This site was birthed in ArtFire and Etsy forums!  Miss00 suggested making our own event like Black Friday and Cyber Monday and the idea stuck like crazy.  Everyone encouraged her to press forward with this event..then her doggie died.  She called for someone to pick it up...well, I and Ruthie from Rose Works Jewelry teamed up to work on this and an entire website and huge event has been born!

Along with this event and site 

comes the business page!

http://artist.to/handmadesaturday

This will be a really huge event! 

 

It's our 1st annual Handmade Saturday Holiday Sale!

We already have hundreds of shops coming together to offer some great handmade sales!  There are members right now!  posting their shop widgets in our categories at the site.  The shopping mall is filling up fast!  This is published on over 50 sites and will be setting up adwords for this event!! 

Please check it out!

Read more about how to participate!  

We have our Quick Reference Shop Directory and the Shopping Mall!  The traffic to the site is outstanding!  This new social network site is going to be integrated with our It's Better Handmade!  Social Network!  I have opened up our social network to be joined now by anyone without a pass code!  Less hassle!  

You can also join the new Handmade Saturday for 

It's Better Handmade! Social Network site now has a domain!  WWW.ITSBETTERHANDMADE.COM

You will find that I have released all restrictions now on all our sites!

**Note: we have to downgrade at the end of December at It's Better Handmade Social Network due to the lack of interest.  So we will loose some games and IM stuff.

You will find our hub helpful!  We have developed a network structure for all the sites we are linked with.  Here is a graph to help you understand:

We also have a great Shop Directory website that intertwined all over the net!

Hope to see you there...makes sure to check out 

New Facebook Format Increases Spam Reports

The new Facebook Policies and format for Groups can not only bombard you with messages but also increase your reports from others.  The new Groups pages are even less secure than before.  You can not lock your group and then reset it again, you have to start over again with a new group page.  The Closed or "locked" groups are also hidden from search engines making is impossible for sellers to network under secure settings.  

Anyone can create a group, and what's worse, anyone can create a "hidden" group making it completely invisible.  Now, you could be added to a group without an invitation or knowledge and get bombarded with messages.  Everytime Facebook updates their format, new notification settings are acquired.  You see a change and all of a sudden your email box is flooded with notifications.  If someone isn't aware of the new policies and format, they automatically think you are spamming them and report you.  You will get a bunch of people screaming at you in messages at Facebook and many will just report you, locking you out of your account. 


The old Facebook Group format is still in place for the existing groups.  But the new Groups pages no longer have "share" options so that your posts in groups are viral, but 'subscribe' instead.  You will see that person's posts anywhere they post.  Making your News stream even more active.  This could be good if you want to follow that person, but bad when you are trying to network and broadcast your posts to a larger audience.  This policy is so that people don't complain anymore to Facebook for sharing to much info to their friends.  So only you see it. Good, and bad. People don't understand that Facebook is like a huge auditorium and you cannot expect to find a quiet place in the midst of a crowd!  ie...SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK. 


 Why create an account if you don't plan to socialize.  If you are not a people person, I don't advise you join the party.  If you are a seller and are still pretty shy, social media can be a learning and growing environment for you.  It is also a necessity to learn to socialize and to promote your business.  Otherwise, you probably should consider investing in Google ads.

Business pages are still pretty close to the same.  However, when you create a page you can adjust who see's it and who is blocked.  This includes search engines for that location as well as for Facebook directories.  So say you want to keep a certain geographic location from seeing your page, you can remove it from your list of who can see the page in settings for that page.  That helps with fire-walling unwanted viewers.  But I know that they will get smarter and eventually get around that by creating fake identities on Facebook with a different Geo-location.  


Facebook is getting bigger and bigger, making it's potential good and very bad at the same time.  Be very careful who you accept as friends, make sure your avatar has a proper picture(good quality above 300px) and make sure you reset your security settings to prevent anyone from grabbing your email address, your family name list, your location, your address, your phone number and your birthday(identity theft).  Keep your business page exclusive and don't leave a link to your personal profile on any of your business pages for security.  These are supposed to be separate identities from your personal profile. 

Still to come!  ...Why we have so many groups in our lists.

It's Better Handmade Group News

Hello, Everyone!  

What an interesting week! ;)  

Thanks for following me here!

OK, here's the skinny!  We have decided to stay at Facebook for the time being as a group as long as we can.  Your hard work has built this great network and it is worth fighting for!  I won't let bullies take it from us and I won't back down.

I am now using this official It's Better Handmade Blogspot as our public network hub!  You can find our Newsletters, information on Events, our new link hub and other helpful information here. I have also created some great pages including a Collections page. There is a new Contact Susan Now (my personal creation, no 3rd parties)at the left of the page if you need to email me for any questions you might have.  I will be keeping a private roster of those who have checked in via email with their support and questions for future reference when we begin working on our new website.  I am looking to the possibility of creating our own Social network hub sometime after the holidays.  

Every week, I will be sending a simple message to you in your private box via our Facebook Group to let you know there is a newsletter waiting for you here.  You can also access partner links such as ZeroZoomPizazz, It's Better Handmade HQ on ArtFire and several others.  We can create a Member Roster Link page if you are game.  

The new HQ at ArtFire has some great benefits.  We have live Chat, Forums, Picture Gallery for any members to add to and an events calender.  I have already started some great forums over there that I think you will love.  

I know some of you don't have ArtFire accounts, that's OK.  There is no requirement to sign up and participate there.    Those of us who are there find ArtFire to be somewhat of a safe haven.

Take a look at my most recent post here called Blog Blitz!  It's a carry over from a forum at HQ and a cooperative effort the Mavens(I am one) have been doing since Summer.  I think you will have fun with it.

One more thing, we have some changes in our officers.  Please make Sparks feel welcome as she steps up to officer and possibly taking Admin responsibilities in the future.  

Find Her on Facebook

You will find that life sometimes takes you away from the things you want to do.  But I know that we are being refined like a precious metal.  Thanks for all your hard work and support.  You are ALL WORTH IT.

Facebook Viruses!

OK, everyone is experiencing this redirect worm that came from Facebook!  Facebook has recently won a court case against some hackers from what's called a "clickjacking" virus.  It has come from several directions...Those notifications you get about a video or the flirting pages you get redirected to is the virus.  The virus downloads into your Temp files when you open a window.  All it took was for you to click on an ad that had a like button.  I even have had it..and why I have not been around as much!  Hackers, as I have personally found out, run in packs.  Since the win for Facebook, the hackers have been all out full force trying to "clickjack" your computer.  PCWorld, Social Media Examiner, Mashable and a whole slue of other legit big name sites have been blogging about it.

Here's the part that really stinks...they found a way to bypass AVG, Avast and Webroot Antivirus software!  It attaches to your cached browser temp files stored on your computer.  The "Like" button application code builder on Facebook only has the IFrame code...IT'S A VIRUS CODE offered to you to use...and you not even knowing it's using you as a pawn!  So avoid the "LIKE" Buttons for now!  This is why Google has dis-allowed iframe code in our blogger accounts, you tube home pages and any iGoogle websites.  The clickjacking has even taken up links in google search engine! 

My ESET NOD program has caught them all.  The email attacks, the redirects and clickjacking and stops it in it's tracks.  So far so good...anyway.  If you get a pop-up window that got by your pop-up blocker on your browser, DON'T CLICK IT OFF!  DON'T CLICK IT AT ALL!  The X in the corner or the Cancel button is still an accept field.  Hit two buttons..Ctrl F4.  This combination of short cut keys will close your top window!  Make sure you run your antivirus software in Safe Mode.  For most computers, it's hitting your F8 key on startup.

I have had a bunch of folks tell me they have nothing to worry about, they use Mac computers, but what if you use a windows application or browser?  It'll still getcha!  It's not the computer, it's the application you use..browsers included. 

If you need to uninstall your browser and reinstall it...you can save your bookmarks you have by clicking your "Bookmarks" Manager or "Organize Bookmarks" The window will open with all your saved bookmarks.  The toolbar at the top will have an option to export your bookmarks.  Make sure to save them to a thumb drive or external hard drive.  When you reinstall your browser you can do the same procedure to "Import Bookmarks".

I know everyone is really fed up with all this mess, so hang in there and don't blame Facebook.  When something big happens, our competition gets jealous.  I know what it's like to have hackers break in and steal!