Tag Archives: gmail

Changes at Google (and North Forty Road)

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For years we have recommended Google Apps for Business as a great way for small businesses to get high-quality email services with enterprise features. Google Apps allows you to use your own domain name for email, yet also take advantage of all the great online services Google offers, such as Google Drive and Google Calendar. Until recently, Google offered these services for free to organizations that used fewer than 10 accounts.

Now, however, Google has changed their policy. If you already are a Google Apps for Business user, your free account will continue to be honored. However, new users will have to pay $5/per user/per month or $50/per user/per year. That’s still a great value for any business, considering the services Google bundles together, but it is most definitely not free! To learn more about these changes, visit Google’s Enterprise Blog.

It is fair to say that we would still recommend Google Apps for Business. Think about it: there is no software for you to install, upgrade or maintain.There are no mail servers to worry about. There is not a calendar server or a file server that needs to be maintained. You get a virtual office with file storage, best-in-class email services, and innovative collaborative tools all with 24 hour support. That’s worth the money in our book.

Our business is changing too. We are focusing more and more on making great websites for innovative and expanding businesses. We remain focused on great value, but we are also doing more with websites than in the past. The websites we are now building leverage the latest technologies on the web. We are investing our time and energy in bringing very capable websites to our clients. This means we are not as focused as we have been on other aspects of our business, such as hosting and tech support.

Consequently, we plan in the next year to partner with great service providers who can meet the support and server needs of our clients. We anticipate migrating many of our hosting clients to new hosting providers who will also provide tech support. For our customers, this should be a seamless process. The only thing you’ll probably notice is a new name and address on the billing invoice for your hosting. Rest assured that we will inform you of any changes to your account before it happens.

Also rest assured that we will continue to work to create great websites for our clients. The web continues to provide a fertile foundation for innovation and expansion and we intend to help you utilize the web for your business to the fullest extent possible.

Taming Your Inbox

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If you’re anything like me, you get too many emails each and every day. The flow of email can be overwhelming. More than that, sorting through all your email each day can be a major consumer of time. More than once I’ve sat down at my computer in the morning and begun my day churning through the inbox, only to look up and discover that hours have passed by.

Adopting some basic strategies towards email can help you tame your inbox. Here are just a few ideas:

  1. Set time for email. Don’t let email drive your day. Instead, set specific times of the day that you will address your email, and limit those times to whatever is reasonable for your work. I find a couple hours a day is generally sufficient to keep on top of my emails. Keeping that time limit in mind helps me focus through the fluff.
  2. Unsubscribe! Do you really need to read that email list? Get off as many email lists and marketing campaigns as you can. Think of your inbox as a sacred space for critical communications. If it isn’t really important, don’t let it in there!
  3. Discipline your inbox to be empty. Take time each week to clear out all of your emails. I know, it sounds crazy, but it can be truly liberating. When you know that you have managed all of your emails then you can really focus on what needs to be done. Keeping an email archive is a nice way to have a “safety net” should you need to find something later. Otherwise, respond to emails, assign them to a to do list or delegate them away.
  4. Filter the spam. Using a spam filter will really help you keep out the junk mail. Online services, like gMail, do a great job of filtering the email before it ever gets to you. But if you use a desktop client, there are several great spam filtering tools. Many email clients have them built in. Make sure they are on!
  5. Use the phone. Remember that email isn’t the best tool for all communications. Sometimes, picking up the phone or having a face-to-face meeting is the best way to go. In fact, sometimes a phone call is even faster than email. Don’t default to email just because it’s easier. If the message merits a phone call, make the call.

Taming your inbox isn’t easy, but it is possible. A few basic disciplines and some technology can really help you use email, instead of email using you. Contact us now for all of your email needs.

Spam In & Spam Out

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“Where did I sign up to get mail about that drug??” What used to be the occasional annoyance has become a constant. The best way to handle spam is finding a way to manage it.

Have I been hijacked? Sometimes spam messages appear to come from your own email address. In most cases, you are safe; the automated spam “bots” have changed the headers in their outgoing mail to make it appear that the message is coming from you.payday loans Just ignore these; they are harmless.

However, if you get a complaint from a number of people that “you’ve been spamming me,” your email account may have been compromised. We have all received those messages from a good friend selling “enhancements” to their entire address book. These are cases of spam hijacking. If it happens to you, the first step is to change your passwords. Learn more about email hijacking and what you can do about it here.

What can I do about all the spam I receive? The first thing to do is Google your own email address, and try to have it removed from all sites on which it appears. The live email address is a magnet for spammers. Next, get a good spam filter or convert your mail to a Google Apps account that has built-in filtering.

We can help! Contact us for more info about managing your spam. We can advise you on the best way to keep your spam manageable and your email efficient.

New Site Release: Central CT Plumbing and Heating

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www.centralctplumbing.com

We’re proud to announce another new site release, for Tim Vergnetti at Central CT Plumbing & Heating, LLC, a Wallingford plumber. Tim is an honest, hardworking guy, and needed his site to present his business well, yet be designed within his tight budget.  Our new basic WordPress templates were just the ticket!

Using our NFR Basic Red Template, we customized with his logo, images, and content that he will be able to add to, change, and otherwise enhance over time.  An easy connection to his business Facebook page, setup of a Google Places page, and Google Apps business email rounded out the project, helping Tim to efficiently get the work out about his great work.

Check it out at www.centralctplumbing.com!

 

New Site Release – Hahn Interiors, LLC

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www.hahninteriors.com

Today we released another WordPress site for a local Bristol, CT business: Hahn Interiors, LLC. Helen Hahn is a talented interior decorator who provides a full range of interior services in the Farmington Valley of CT and beyond, including Interior Renovations, Space Planning, Furniture,
Lighting, Window Treatments, Re-upholstery, Accents, Custom Bedding, and Floor Covering.

Especially in the business of decor, a picture is worth a thousand words.  On this website, Helen has the ability to add and manage multiple photo galleries showing various aspects of her work in an effective visual way. As with all WordPress sites, she has control of all of this content through a simple-to-use back end interface. We also set up a Google Apps email account for ease of managing her business email.

Check it out at www.hahninteriors.com!

Email that works with you, not against you…

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Google is everywhere… most of us trust this massive company to make sure our businesses are found online, and for an increasing amount of business and home/mobile conveniences (maps, videos, calendar, documents, just to name a few).

Beyond Google’s ever-presence and usefulness, these tools are just plain cool…

Have you heard of Google Apps?
Google Apps is a handy tool that pulls together this host of tools in your own business account. Google Apps also allows you to have your domain-based email to function in a Gmail-based interface “in the cloud” online. This way of hosting your email has many benefits:

  • Email inbox is the same everywhere: reading a message in your phone marks it as read on your home computer and anywhere else you read email – no more deleting messages twice.
  • Email history and folders are available on your phone and remotely.
  • Can be used with Outlook, if you are still entrenched with that tool.
  • You can easily share calendars with your co-workers.
  • The service is free for up to 10 accounts (after initial set-up). No monthly fees as with Microsoft Exchange servers.

We have been using Google Apps in our offices to great success, and recommend it without hesitation. Give us a call for more information!

Winter Specials

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Due to the great success of our Cyber Monday deals, we have made possible two great discounts for the month of December.

A new site at a great price!

We are offering two deep disount specials on new WordPress template designs ($590), and new hosting accounts ($80/first year) – through January 1 only.

Visit www.n40road.com for details.