Google update

Once in a while Google re-jigs it's 'algorithm' that determines how results show. For some, it means a radical change in how one's site ranks, and I read a good article on how you can deal with it.

In short, there's not a lot you can do! The 5 main points are:

1. Don’t Panic
2. Keep Your Site Well Optimized
3. Pay Attention to the Search Engines
   
4. Continue to Refresh Your Keyword Basket(s)
5. Be Patient

You can read the full article here.

Dominica Blogging workshop

Today sees our Blogging for Community Tourism workshop! More to come...

Send LARGE Files, Easily!

Have you ever had to send a 34 mb file to someone and just didn't know how to go about it?

There are several websites that offer just such a service - for free. EatLime.com is one of them - and it's fast & easy.

Just visit the Eat Lime website (http://eatlime.com) , click the "Add Files" button and browse to the file on your computer.

The file upload begins immediately.

You have two options on how to share the file:

1. Enter the e-mail address of the person with whom you want to share this file and click Share. EatLime sends an e-mail notification for you.
   
   
2. Use the "ShareLink" address which you can copy and thenpaste into an e-mail or IM (instant message).
   

Sending large files can be both time-consuming and frustrating when attempting to do so through e-mail. Often, you don't know if the recipient ever received the files. With EatLime, the task is made easy and your files are stored online to avoid filling up your mailbox!

TIP: Enter your own e-mail address and send an e-mail to yourself for future reference.

Time to back-up!

Hands up: who hasn't backed-up their most important data in a week? No excuses accepted - you know your hard drive will fail sooner or later. Of course there's always the trusty option of burning a CD or DVD, but this requires you to remember to burn a copy.

There are however several excellent online options. These offer distinct advantages to a CD back-up. First, they can be automated, updating changed files on a regular basis. Secondly, these services give you a back-up that is stored elsewhere. Third, these services often offer reasonable back-up space for free, or larger amounts of storage for a small annual fee.

Mozy.com gives you 2gb of storage for free, XDrive.com allows 5gb for free, Carbonite.com charges US$50 a year for unlimited storage. I use iDrive.com: 2gb for free and unlimited for $50 a year. The key aspect of any online service is the software that comes with it that automates the back-up process. This works in the background, backing up your essential data on a regular basis, without you even having to remember to do it!

If you've got a website, use it

I'm just reading the DOMLEC annual report, noting they herald their new website as part of their 'information portfolio'. Ironically, none of the power outages of the last few weeks - and there have been many, including the last two days in a row - have appeared in their Outages calendar.