May 28, 2009

Pet DNA of Arizona Access Database

Dr. Michael Prochazka is the principal of Pet DNA Services of AZ. I met Michael at a class presented by the Maricopa County Small Business Development Center. Michael asked for assistance with building an Access database to replace the cumbersome Excel spreadsheet he had been using.

YCL created:
  • Forms with drop-down menus to allow faster and more accurate input of data.
  • Relational tables to tie together information about the owner, their horses, the tests they had    requested.
  • Two versions of the test report that could be emailed or printed for the owner.
Challenges:
  • Making the leap from the limitations of Excel to the many options of Access. Michael hadn't used Access previously so it was a new program for him. It took us several versions and updates to get to the final version.
  • YCL had to learn quite a bit about genetic testing to put together the tables, forms and reports. This is an area where YCL excels, however. We really want to learn how your business operates. The first project is always the hardest. But as we learn your preferences and the facets of your business, the whole process gets easier.

The Social Media Bible

I attended the Social Media Symposium yesterday hosted by Arizona Small Business Association. The author of this book was the keynote speaker.  http://www.thesocialmediabible.com/

May 20, 2009

Rush to Social Media

eMarketer article about the phenomenal growth of social media.

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1006910

Social Media Trends

Summary from eMarketer of their report regarding the 5 trends they see for the coming year in Social Media.

 http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_2000566

Social Media is Public Relations

http://blog.karasmamedia.com/2008/11/social-media-is-public-relations.html

This article is specifically about SM for law firms but the discussion is pertinent to any company.

50 Ideas for Using Twitter for Business

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/

One of social media's stars wrote this article. You should follow his blog and/ or Twitter too!

10 Ways to Use Linked In

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/ten_ways_to_use.html

Article covers:
  • Business applications
  • Job hunt applications
Twitter Demystified for Business Users
By Nancy McCord (c) 2009

http://www.sitepronews.com/2009/05/10/twitter-demystified-for-business-users/

Article covers:
  • How businesses can use Twitter
  • Why Twitter
  • Twitter tools to make it easier
  • Linking Twitter to your blog and vice versa