OK, I realized only today (I know, I know) that I took, as my Mom would say “the slow boat to China” on this one.

I had over 16 text ads to copy from one Google AdWords Group to another and I was thinking that there had to be a easy and better way to do this. The need hasn’t been there previously, but this was my first new client that required more the 5 text ads per adgroup. The solution was staring me in the face for nearly 2 years.

Granted, I haven’t been on top of it all due to personal circumstances, but still it was a Homer Simpson moment.

So, I did what any SEM professional would do.  I had a chat session with AdWords support.

The rep was patient and told me to download AdWords Editor. Within 30 minutes, I made major changes to 3 of my accounts.

It just goes to show, that all you have to do is open your eyes.

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The debate continues at the Mama’s Keeper blog about going to cable. When Gram visits other family members, she loves watching the western channels which are only available on cable, yet she is insistent on having a converter box.

This is what I like to know.

Are cable companies willing to honor the $40 coupon the government is giving in order to encourage people with analog to purchase TV converters? This is an excellent business opportunity for cable companies to seize. What offers are they willing to give longtime TV antenna users? We can only wait and see as to how are they going to respond.

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As the child and grandchild of veterans, I appreciate the sacrifices that the men and women of the armed forces make everyday to keep this country safe no matter what the circumstances may be. As a thank you for one recent veteran, I had installed a wireless router for him and his family.

This is what the veteran had to say:
“Thank you so much for doing this for us. My wife and I were fighting for the desktop computer for the Internet. Now, we can both be on the computer at the same time!”

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Its day 3 with my Palm Centro on the road, nearly 200 miles away from home . How I switched from the Treo 650 to the Centro? My cell phone provider’s equipment insurance program. Since they are not producing the 650 anymore, I received a candy apple red Centro. I’m getting over the shock of the smaller keyboard. On the other hand , its stylish, and it can still get down to business. After doing some research by visiting the Palm Blog regarding getting more out of the Centro and also by getting used to the phone and seeing the new Palm applications, I did decide that it was a upgrade in small package.

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In case you don’t know, today is Earth Day. I’m going to do my part today by taking a cloth bag to the supermarket.

In the meantime, here are a few Earth Day links from blogs that I like:

Earth Day Logos from Search Engine Industry

Earth Day from Freelance Parent

Give your computer a rest (wishful thinking, but a nice thought none the less)

Telecommute to Save the Planet

and of course,

Freecycle Who says that you only have to use Freecycle once a year?

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This morning, Rachael Ray of the Rachel Ray  Show discussed online reputation management. ” Being aware of your online reputation is just as important as monitoring your credit report score” stated Regina Lewis of AOL. The  segment titled, Preventing Cyber-Slander, provides tips on what you can to manage your online reputation.

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and win a complementary Starbucks drink on nextSTEPH. In the interest of karma, I figured it was a good time to give back.

Now that Tax season has come and gone, some of us have refunds and others are still paying. Now is the time to take a breather and chill for at least for a moment.

So through the comments, tell us what happened and the worse case story will win the drink.

Good Luck.

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Was yesterday, as declared by Problogger.

I was out of the loop because I was on assignment. However, I just want to thank my clients as well as my friends and more importantly Grandma, for motivating me to continue to help people with their Custom Branded Blogs, blogging and social media challenges.

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Unless you have been under a rock, there has been a lot of talk about how blogging can be linked to stress and worse, death due to the NYT article posted over the weekend. I am posting to voice my opinion and to ease concerns about this to clients and colleagues.

1. You do not have to post everyday. I certainly do not post everyday. I sometimes have a hard time coming up with topics and worse, actually writing about them
2. Avoid stress by planning ahead. Have posts ideas in you drafts folder. That way you don’t have to feel like you have to be “ON” all the time.
3. Remember, blogs do not happen overnight. Have a support system in place. My grandmother often calls to remind me to eat and do outside errands, plus the folks in the Meetup group have also helped me to de-stress.
4. Don’t let blogging prevent you from living. Its ok to step outside and enjoy life and time with family and friends. Its also OK to step back and take the time you need for personal reasons.

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I started my taxes a few weeks ago to discover that both my business and checking banking accounts were taking monthly fees from me. That’s when I decided to change banks. Here are some tips I’ve learned along the way so that this can help others when changing banks:

1. Do Your Homework. I asked 3 different people from different areas of my life about their experiences with a particular bank.
2. Save 1 or 2 clients’ checks to open the new account with. Some banks have minimum deposit requirement. By waiting to open my account with those checks in hand, I was able to be well above the minimum.
3. Open the new bank account(s) BEFORE closing the old account(s). By opening the accounts first, I got to see how I was treated at the bank, if the rep(s) were able to answer my questions and experience ease of opening the accounts. If I got any bad vibes or anything, I would of stopped the process without disturbing my existing account(s).
4. Use the old account to pay current and upcoming (immediate) bills within a couple of weeks. This way when you cancel the old accounts, there will be less to carry over to the new accounts(s).
5. Notify companies in which you have automatic bill pay agreement with. Tell them to either cancel the auto bill pay or put it on pause. Depending on the company, it can take up to 2 months to adjust everything so be prepared to either write a check, pay cash or in an emergency, use an empty credit card(gasp!).
6. Have cash on hand to tie you over for a week or so until the new account is verified and you receive you ATM card. Some banks take a longer time with new accounts because they have to check over everything and you may not have immediate access to your funds.
7. While you are waiting, set up online bill pay with your new account(s). Set-up all necessary bills (Utilities, Telephone, Credit Cards etc) in your new account. This way, when your funds to clear up you are ready to go. Secondary accounts like department store cards, etc. can wait to be entered as you need to pay them.
8. Keep a close eye on your new account. Honestly, one should keep a close check on accounts all the time, but a weekly time frame, like a weekend should do just fine. Look at your bank statements and use in conjunction with your online account to make sure everything makes sense and that the transactions are legit.

Basically, I got tired of traveling a 1/2 hour just to deposit a check or make an ATM withdrawal. Now with my new bank, with both my personal and business account in one place, its under a 5 minute walk, which gives me more time to concentrate on getting down to business. Do you have any turmoil going on with your business? Tell me in the comments and the best story wins a copy of QuickBooks Simple Start.

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