Blog Archives
The Evolution Of The Cell Phone And Communication
Remember pagers?
I was 18 years old when I got my first pager and it was the clear/translucent one and I thought I was the coolest person on earth. It was $10/mo or $30 every 3 months. Surprisingly, I could not find one single picture of the ‘clear beeper’ anywhere on Google. Anyways…I loved my pager and all the cryptic codes for your friends, (and the not so cryptic 911/411).
It wasn’t until 1998 that I got a cell phone and once again I thought I was the coolest person on the planet. Why? Because my cell had the bottom flip that everyone on TV had.
But then came Nextel and the very cool ‘walkie-talkie’ phone. Yep I had that one too and you guessed it, I was the cool kid again.
In 2005 Motorola came out with the Razor. At this point in time I was not priveledged enough to own one of these technological miracles. I was at a bar with some friends and when this guy came over to talk to us, he pulled out his new Razor and asked if any of us had ever seen one. Yes, he was that cheesy but I didn’t care, I was SO impressed and asked to see it. You could say I was a bit envious. I didn’t get a Razor until a year later.
The rise of the smart phone sent me running for the Blackberry and of course now we have the iPhone and on the verge of the iPhone5. Will it be as exciting? Maybe. But I want innovative!
I say telepathic messages. 
By the way…have you seen the new Google Glasses?
Thanks For Sharing!
Best iPhone Apps For Your Next Road Trip
I have taken 5 roadtrips in the last 7 months. Yes, I am nuts. Out of those 7 trips, 4 of them were between Texas and Utah (1,200 miles each direction) and a trip to Park City, Utah at Christmas. During this experience I have learned a few things.
#1 Don’t always believe your GPS
My GPS sent me through Zion National Park, which is a must see place for all it’s amazing beauty, however it cost me an additional $25 just to drive through it when I didn’t need to. My wonderful GPS also sent me through one of the largest Indian reservations in Arizona where I didn’t see a gas station for about 3 hours. Like a scene from a scary movie, almost out of gas, no cell phone service, not another car in sight, no signal of life anywhere except for the hawks and vultures beginning to fly overhead….Anyways….
#2 Gas station coffee is disgusting but sometimes on a road trip, Coca-Cola and Monsters just don’t do the trick.
#3 There are no radio stations. Period. Not even a decent A.M. station to hear the news or weather!
So with my vast experience in road trips lately, I have come up with a few iPhone apps that helped save the day for me. If you have any great ones to share please feel free to comment below and share the love, because I have a couple more coming this summer. Enjoy!
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#1 GasBuddy – This app is fabulous these days especially with gas prices hitting $4.00 a gallon and rising. This app uses your current location to determine the best place to fill up at the cheapest price, and it really works!
#2 Hotels.com – Need a hotel room for the night but not sure where you’re at, the best rates, cleanest hotel, or what’s available in the next town? This app will guide you along the way and get you a great deal, or at least give you some negotiating power
#3 Waze – Find yourself in some big city traffic? Waze will get you through it by telling you what freeways to avoid and how long you’ll be in traffic.
#4 Yelp – If you’re hungry, this app will tell you by category what’s around you and even has reviews
#5 Starbucks – If you’re looking for something a little better than that nasty gas station coffee, the Starbucks app uses your location to tell you the closest location. It’s does lots of other stuff too but when you’re on a road trip, you just need to know where you can get a quick pick me up!
#6 TuneIn Radio – This app allows you to pick up any radio station you want, from local to not so local. It’s awesome!
#7 Shazam – If you are so lucky to pick up a radio station in the middle of nowhere, there’s a chance you might hear a great song but you don’t know who sings it. Or you may be so bored you create a game with your fellow road trippers to see who can name the song or artist. The Shazam app “listens” to the song and tells you all the info you need about it plus gives you the option to download it right from iTunes!
#8 Spacetime – This app is great for many reasons, it tracks and send your location to whoever you want it to go to. So if you break down or get lost, just send your location! (Also great for tracking teenagers)
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Now what I would like to see a great app do:
( And if you know of an app for these needs, please tell me!)
#1 Rest stop finder – There are several out there, but they all stink from what I can tell.
#2 Police radar – I need to know when to slow down!
#3 Short cut finder – I don’t trust my GPS
Facebook me!
Follow me!
Cool iPhone Apps
I thought I would take some time to discuss iPhone apps. I am always looking for new cool apps to use and I tend to download a bunch, then never use them. A friend said to me the other day (after scrolling through my many pages of apps), “Why don’t you group them together?”, I replied “Because I’ll forget what apps I have”. Am I the only one who worries about this?
I have compiled a list of the coolest apps I use on a frequent basis and made them clickable so you can go right to the iTunes store to get them, but I highly encourage you to tell me what your favorite apps are (so I can download them too!). Enjoy!
Draw Something (Free) – I am so addicted to this game right now! You draw a picture, the other person guesses. Great entertainment!
Facebook Messenger – This Facebook feature is great by itself because now I can message and reply without opening my Facebook app and going through all the steps to get to my messages. Yes, I’m lazy.
Skype - This one is a lifesaver for me! My husband spent the last 2 years working in Afghanistan and of course I can Skype him at home but this is great for on the go. Plus, I don’t have to video call him, I can use it as a regular telephone call!
Instagram – Editing pictures before posting to Facebook is an amazing thing! 
Shazam – Coolest app ever! Have you ever been listening to the radio and can’t remember the name of a song or artist? Click “Shazam” and it “listens” to the song, tells you the name and artist, and allows you to download it from iTunes!
5-0 Radio - Police scanner anywhere, anytime. Yes, I’m nosy!
Domino’s Pizza – I order pizza directly off my iPhone on a regular basis and NEVER have to talk to a person. So cool.
Ghost Radar - Friday night fun! This app picks up signals of “ghosts” and sends you messages. Creepy but fun!!!
TuneIn Radio – Any radio station, anywhere, anytime. Even better that iHeartRadio because you don’t have to share your Facebook info
Gas Buddy – Location based and tells you were the lowest gas is near you. Priceless!
Waze – Your traffic buddy. Tells you where there is traffic, police, construction, accidents, etc near you. Awesome tool!
ScoreCenter (ESPN) – Updates you on YOUR teams as it happens. Makes football season even more awesome!
Square – Accept credit cards with your iPhone…too awesomely convenient. (Paypal is coming out with this as well so stay tuned).
Honorable mentions:
Foursquare Fandango QR Reader EventBrite
WordPress Scriptures Netflix Starbucks
My Verizon Flashlight PayPal Yelp
What are your favorite iPhone apps?
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Did you hear about the upcoming Social Media Seminar?
Did you know I’m hiring?
Have you been to my Facebook page?
25 Signs You Are a Social Media Addict
1) You wake up and reach for your iPhone before turning the alarm clock off
2) It’s 3pm and you just now realize you haven’t eaten anything.
3) You make a deal with yourself to do push ups and sit ups every time you get up from your computer so that you can say you “worked out” today.
4) Your computer over heats every now and then due to the 23 windows you have open on Chrome
5) Your teenager says you use Facebook more than he and his friends combined.
6) You have been the mayor of Walmart, Starbucks, and your church at least once
7) Your ultimate goal is to be the mayor of the Apple store
8 ) You know what a “drive by” is and understand it has nothing to do with guns
9) You have more friends than people you actually know
10) When searching for a business you search Facebook before Google
11) You are slightly bothered when nobody mentions you on #FF
12) “Checking in” is a crucial as buckling your seat belt
13) Your dog has his own Fan page
14) Facebook has warned you against making too many friends, and you were actually scared.
15) Tweeting while in the sauna at the gym is no big deal
16) You don’t understand why anyone would delete their account because they need a break from Facebook
17) Something funny or annoying happens to you and your first thought is to blog/post/tweet about it.
18) You stopped paying attention to Facebook event invites last year
19) You had the new Facebook timeline back in 2011
20) You get excited when you get promoted on Empire Avenue
21) Klout just ticks you off
22) You blog using your phone while on a road trip
23) Halftime means update your status and tweet about how your team is playing, then check in to “on my sofa watching the game” and hope there is a badge for that.
24) You’re thinking you could add a few to this list
25) You will definitely repost/re-tweet this
Click the pic!
KSL.com Article: 5 Must Follows On Twitter by: Chanda Gunter
5 must follows: From silly to significant
The site is used widely by the press, celebrities, TV shows, brands and musicians to promote, communicate and share information with the masses. With so much information available, who do you follow? Aside from friends and family, here are a few fun account suggestions.
“My dad is 81 years old. I’m teaching him how to use the Internet. I told him Twitter was how to search things on Google. These tweets are what he’s searching.“
Whether this is real or not, it’s still funny! Searches for “Fourth of July free haircut for veterans Indianapolis,” “DMV eye exam answers” and “squirrel poison” bring forth visions of Grandpa trying to figure out this whole “computer thing.”
2. @iPhoneTeam
“Everything iPhone, #teamiphone — Have tips? Have problems & need help? Email iPhoneTeam.Twitter@gmail and I’ll post answers here too. “
For all you iPhone lovers out there, these guys are awesome! They share tips, tricks, updates, apps — everything you ever wanted to know and then some.
3. @LilSugar
“Mommy’s little helper”
This is a great follow for all the parents out there. It focuses on babies, toddlers, kids and parents, with a touch of style, fun and creativity. From crafts to the latest “mom” styles to parenting tips — it’s got it all!
“All over the place — Tuesdays @ 9PM E/P on@TravelChannel.
Andrew Zimmern is the most influential chef on Twitter, according to Klout.com, and is world-famous for traveling the world and eating the most bizarre foods he can find. What you may not know is Zimmern is a chef, writer, author, teacher and award-winning TV personality, so what will you get from following his tweets? — fascination, disgust and intrigue, as well as recipe ideas and great restaurant recommendations.
5. @ConanOBrien
“The voice of the people. Sorry, people.”
Whether you watch his show or not, Conan O’Brien is funny. His tweets are random, sometimes relevant, sometimes political, but always hilarious!
If you’re still not sure who to follow, Twitter can guide you based on your interests. Just click on “Who To Follow” at the top of your Twitter page then click “Browse Interests” and select from news, sports, funny, business, food, entertainment, family, etc., and you will find your favorites in no time.
Summer Vacation
Social media is a constant, 24 hours a day medium. It never stops. So when it comes to marketing via social media, you can’t stop either. Or can you?
It’s now mid August, school is about to start (for us on Monday) and I have 4 teenagers and a husband who travels regularly for work overseas. My social media efforts have no doubt been lacking the last 2 weeks and this week especially. In fact I have not been on the computer in 2 1/2 days with the exception of my iPhone, and thank heavens for THAT little piece of technology!
I didn’t even go on vacation this summer!
My point is…Well, I don’t really have a point actually but things will be back to normal on Monday, thank goodness! It’s hard to blog, video blog, and play on Facebook and Twitter when I have kids running around screaming their heads off. Oh that’s right, I’m not suppose to let them act like that….well, I’m out numbered. That’s my story and I’m stickin to it!
See ya next week!
The iPhone – What’s so great about it?
Happy Girl!
So in the past month I have gone from a Blackberrry to a Droid to an iPhone. Wait. Let me clarify that.
1) Blackberry Curve – Ancient but I loved it
ouch screen before and I like real buttons! It had some apps I could download and as long as I got my emails and could text, Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare on it, I was good. But I really really wanted a Droid. So a good friend of mine, Ian Griffith, who just so happens to be a computer genius and owns the computer and technology repair company Epsilon Technology Group, gave me his old Droid when he got the latest and greatest version. I was so excited! It was pretty cool and did a lot more than my Blackberry, but after a while I wanted to throw it against the wall. The problem wasn’t the Droid operating system, it was the phone itself. The Eris is the first version of the Droid so it didn’t have the capabilities or the processors that the new Droids have now. That would explain why it was sooooooo slooooooow.So I’m running errands yesterday and as I am about to throw my Droid out the car window, I see Verizon. Now I have pestered this poor guy at the Verizon store for months because I knew my upgrade date was in May and he was always so helpful. I couldn’t decide on Droid or iPhone. I like the Google based Droid but everyone, everyone, everyone swears the iPhone will change your life. So I found Kyle at Verizon, again, and said I’m ready this time. He persuaded me to go with the iPhone and at the same time assured me that I s
hould not judge the newer Droids based on the Eris I had. So I went iPhone, then he threw me the white one which just shows my coolness factor right?
I couldn’t pass up the deal, with my upgrade, contract renewal, and the ability to put it all on my next bill, it was practically free!
Now the real question…Did it change my life? It has been
less than 24 hours and yes, it has changed my life. I used to make fun of the people raving about it saying it is life changing. IT IS LIFE CHANGING! It is sooooooo user friendly! I love it and now I’m one of the cool kids on the block.
P.S. Thank you Ian for the Droid, I really do appreciate it!
What is a QR Code?
Chanda’s Info
We all know what a barcode is, right? A series of parallel lines in varying widths to represent data attached to a particular item. The first UPC barcode used for supermarket checkout systems was on a package of Wrigley Gum in 1974. Revolutionary! Now 37 years later, we are still using the UPC barcodes at the grocery store among other places, but have you noticed the new “barcodes” popping up on products and magazine ads lately? Created in Japan by Toyota in 1994, QR codes, or quick response codes, were originally designed to read at higher speeds. This little gem has reached far beyond tracking auto parts. QR codes can be used in a broader context and have the ability to store and display text, URLs, contact information, event info, video, and images.
What does this mean for you?
QR codes require a free downloadable application on a users smartphone to be able to read the QR code. If you create your own QR code to use on your website, Facebook page, business card, blog, etc., then you are on the cutting edge of sharing user information. For example, create a QR code with a link to your website and post the code to your Facebook page and blog. You may even want to get real creative and link the code to a YouTube video advertising your business. Your QR code may have a discount, coupon, or incentive for your store. The options are limitless, just use your imagination and run with it! Considering there are roughly 70 million smartphone users in the U.S. to date, and constantly growing, everyday there is a new person just waiting to scan your personal QR code.
Coming Soon…
- How can you use YouTube to market your business?
- 20 place your business should be in 2011
- I have a Facebook business page…Now what?
