Peace Break

   Grant me the peace that only You can give me.
  May I breathe and know that with each breath you are right here with me - beside me, in me, all around me.
  In the silence alone with You, all is well and all is calm.
  May I remember that at anytime I can pause, breathe, and feel Your Presence, Your Peace.

General Computer

Interesting, quirky name, huh? So what the heck is it? Smashwords, started in 2008, is an e-book distributor.  They make it fast, free and easy for authors and publishers to distribute e-books to the world's largest e-book retailers.  Authors and publishers retain full control over how their works are published, sampled, priced and sold. If an author wants to give it away for free, they have that freedom too.

While the primary focus of The Computer Spirit and Websites and Coffee revolves around WordPress websites and Constant Contact e-newsletters to foster relationships, I do provide other services when asked (with a smile). Hence, I recently completed the e-book (and designed a simple book cover) for my friend Mary Blye Belford's first published work.

Mary is a courageous, adventurous world traveler who had the privilege of spending a summer working in Antarctica in 1987. She wrote and sent newsletters to her family and friends while she was "on the Ice." This collection has now been turned into an e-book so that Mary's wit and sense of adventure can be shared with a wider audience. To read a free sample of her first book - the next one will be about her adventures in Bolivia - visit Mary's Smashwords page.

e-Newsletters

Social media is BIG these days, both personally and professionally. Did you know that a Constant Contact e-newsletter can be easily shared directly with friends and colleagues on social networks?

As a reader, next time you receive a Constant Contact e-newsletter, look for the Social Share bar towards the top - it's as easy as clicking a button!

If you're the one sending the e-newsletter, make sure to turn on the Social Share bar. It's located in the Header Options block. Constant Contact's email reports will display the number of shares your emails get, and even note where your messages were shared (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).

How to Rescue Your Website from an Unprofessional Web Developer

As The Computer Spirit and facilitator of the Websites and Coffee workshops, I hear client horror stories - much too often - of working with web designers and developers. You've probably heard them too, or worse, experienced them. Ya know, like the web guy who thought he knew everything, was arrogant enough to express it, then fired you, leaving you without any user info about your website so you could move forward. Or, the web person who very suddenly dropped dead, and his office was so disorganized there was no clue that you, let alone your website, even existed. Then there's the one about the designer who up and decided to relocate to Bali - without leaving a trace.

Yikes - enough already!

Even if you do not or cannot build your own website, it doesn't mean that your head has to be in the sand. You can still be empowered to some degree in your website project, which will help to minimize the fallout if your web person disappears off the face of the earth for one reason or another, and it seems like your website is hostage to the situation. The number of options available to you when you face problems with your web designer is proportional to the extent of your involvement at the initial stages of the creation of your site. While it would be best for you to personally register your domain and set up your hosting account, that might not be feasible. However, here are some suggestions that should be helpful if things go off course and you need to rescue your website...

Ahhh... it's so nice to breathe deeply outdoors, especially since it's spring and the weather is delightful here in Sedona. It's a great way to get back to center and peace here among the Red Rocks!