Website Experts

How to Use The Split Keyboard on the iPad

Luc Arnold — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:32:00 +0000

This is a trick for all those iPad owners who like to type with their thumbs. The iPad has a ton of features, some of them are covered on Website Experts and others remain to be discovered. With the new iPad you have the option of a split keyboard which takes the regular keyboard that you need both hands to type to a way of using your two thumbs to type instead. For those of you who have never seen the split keyboard, here is what it looks like…

… Pretty neat eh? So now its time for the fun part. Get and get your iPad. I’ll wait… Okay now take your two index fingers and put them on the “T” and the “Y” and pull them apart toward the side of your iPad screen and this will split the keyboard on the iPad. To remove the split keyboard take your two fingers again on the “T” and the “Y” and bring them together on the screen of the iPad.

How To Move App Icon Positions on Your iPad

Luc Arnold — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:00:38 +0000

Since getting an iPad about a month ago I’ve managed to learn a number of cool tricks. Besides the fact that the iPad is useful, interesting and easy to use its got its share of learning curves which is why I wanted to provide a tip to help you change the position of icons on your screens. Let’s learn how to change the position of app icons on your iPad in 4 simple steps.

Touch and hold the icon that you want to move on the iPad UI and you will notice that the icon will begin to shake or wiggle.
Drag your icon to its new location with your finger to drop it into place and move any other icons that you want to move and organize in a way that makes sense to you
If you want to spread your icons out over multiple Home screens, drag an icon to the left or right side of the screen. A new Home screen will appear and you can place your icon in its new position.
Lastly, when you are finished rearranging your icons, tap the Home button to save your changes (you will notice that the app icons no longer wiggle and shake) and lock them into their new positions in the iPad’s UI respectively and enjoy!

How to Add Users in SalesForce

Luc Arnold — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:00:21 +0000

User management is always one of the hot button topics for any SalesForce administrator out there today because its so complex. For those of you who might be new to SalesForce CRM the path that you need to take to see, edit and add users is Setup | Manage Users | Users. From here you can add users, edit existing users and inactivate old users. Above is a screenshot of what it looks like when you add a new user. You’ll notice that you have a number of required fields which need to be added in order for you to create new users.

With all the profile, role hierarchy, permission set options available for users of SalesForce it’s all too common to find it difficult to manage users on an ongoing basis. For that reason, I put together a matrix so that you can plan the profiles, roles and general information needed to add users into SalesForce quickly and easily.

In the following template which you can use to plan and collect information about the users that you are adding to SalesForce you will notice that I’ve only included the fields that are required to create a user. Please feel free to re-purpose it for your own needs when you download it and use it. I hope you find it useful in administering SalesForce. Click here to download this template today!

How to Search for Jobs without Searching Using LinkedIn

Luc Arnold — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:00:57 +0000

I am a big fan of the 80:20 principle and today I wanted to show you a way that you can take this principle and apply it to your job search on LinkedIn. Anything that can make your life easier and takes less time is always a good thing, Right?

I wanted to show you a way that you can automate some of your job searching on LinkedIn. In LinkedIn, you have the option to setup saved job searches which will email with the latest job postings on LinkedIn on a daily, weekly or monthly basis depending on what you want. To do this you will need a LinkedIn account and the rest shouldn’t take you any time at all.

Step 1: Search for jobs with the keywords you are interested in and that are in the area you are located in. As you can see above, when you are searching for a particular type of job there is the option to click “Save” and when you do this you see the following dialogue box appear…

Step 2: When you complete this information will add it to your saved job searches in LinkedIn and select the frequency you want to receive these job postings sent to the email associated to your LinkedIn account.

Step 3: The last thing that you need to do is check your email inbox and wait for the saved job search to find positions that match what you are looking for to arrive.

I hope that you enjoyed this tip on using LinkedIn in a more effective manner so that you don’t need to spend so much time searching for that next job online

One Week of Living With My New iPad

Luc Arnold — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:00:08 +0000

To say that I was skeptically about iPad in general is an understatement. After my first week using the new iPad I must say that it’s been a really positive experience. Apps, accessories and style aside the new iPad is a very useful tool for anyone looking to embrace being truly mobile and living a mobile lifestyle. This is what technology should do by and large, I am referring to “freeing us from the desk” and Apple does a good job of this with its products especially the iPad. It’s not a “laptop killer” just yet however the case could be made that laptops and desktops (for those of you who still own one) are on their way out. After seeing the new iPad I believe this is true.

Ranting and product praise aside, I wanted to share my experiences with you about the new iPad (iPad 3) and give you my unbiased opinion.

Gotcha’s of the New iPad

One beef that I do have with the iPad is the lack of a case to protect it. Now I know that Apple has never shipped a case with its iPad products to the best of my knowledge but honestly. If you pick up an iPad its usually 9 times out of 10 the first thing that you are going to buy for it is a case or a protector or both and spend upwards of $40 to $100 dollars on.

Do It In An App

If you’ve never used an Apple product like an iPad, iPod and others then the concept of an app might still be something new to you. Not to worry though because it’s really easy to add an app to your iPad and easy to update them to keep them current. The beauty of the app besides those points mentioned above is that there is such a wide variety of them and most are relatively cheap to buy for your iPad.

Laptop vs. the New iPad

During the first week of using the iPad I must say that I didn’t turn my laptop on that much. There really are quite a lot of things that you can accomplish on the iPad including the ability to check email including from a windows (exchange) client, checking out Facebook, reading eBooks, listening to music, surfing the web and pretty much anything that is offered in an app for the iPad. The only thing that I am still tackling to is the fact that the keyboard takes some getting used to (I am still getting used to it actually) and that writing isn’t as simple as using a keyboard on my laptop.

Another thing that I loved is that I don’t need to spend precious minutes starting my iPad to check emails or to go online. Just power it up and you are ready to go which is something that I cannot say for my laptop.

5 Free iPad Apps that you need when you first use your new iPad

Personally when I started to use my iPad for the first time there were 5 apps that I really needed to install and so will you to make your iPad usage much easier, more fun and

Facebook - Chances are you want to keep track of your conversations on you iPad and the Facebook app coupled when your Facebook account gives you the ability to do that quickly.

Calculator - Oddly enough there is no native calculator functionality on the new iPad so adding a Calculator app to your iPad is a must if you are using it for business to do quick calculations.

Instagram - Personally since I downloaded Instagram add I must admit that crafting photos I’ve taken with the new iPad has been fun and useful. It’s definitely worth playing around with.

Your bank’s app - I normally log into my bank account on my laptop but I wanted a way to access my bank account without opening the web browser. Glad there is an app for that. Chances are your bank has created an app for you to add to your iPad so search it out and add it today.

Angry Birds - Angry Birds is a guilty pleasure of mine so having it on my iPad makes it the perfect time waster and best of all its fun and addictive and free to add to your iPad

If you choose to pick up an iPad you really can’t go wrong even if you aren’t an Apple fan boy or girl. I can personally say that having an iPad makes you feel like you’ve got an HD powered Swiss army knife that simplifies a lot of what most people use technology for today.

How To Add A Custom Activity Button in SalesForce

Luc Arnold — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 04:12:12 +0000

Today, I wanted to give to a tip and this one is aimed squarely at people and companies using SalesForce. Have you have been looking at opportunities in Salesforce and wondered “I wish there was a way to click a button that would create a task!??”. Well! I’ve got some great news! I am going to show you how to do just that in a few steps. What you need to do once you are in SalesForce is go to Setup | Customize | Opportunities | Buttons and Links and then follow these steps…

Step 1: Give the custom button a name.
Step 2: Set the “Display Type” should be set to Detail Page Button
Step 3: The Behavior should be set to “Display in existing window without sidebar or header”
Step 4: Set the “Content Source” to URL
Step 5: Copy the code below and paste it into the text box and click save.

/00T/e?title=Enter Activity Subject Here&what_id={!Opportunity.Id}&followup=1&tsk5=Enter Activity Subject Here&retURL=%2F{!Opportunity.Id}

What you will notice after you’ve finished implementing this is that you can now click a button that generates activities for you and your users in Salesforce.

In using the above mentioned code, you can pass values using URL parameters. For the purpose of this article we won’t dive too deeply into this but just be aware that it is possible to pass and populate specific values on activities generated from a custom button. After you’ve set this up you can start to generate activities with the click of a button in SalesForce.

How to List Job Experience on LinkedIn

Luc Arnold — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:00:03 +0000

When it comes to listing your work experience on LinkedIn its important to think of who will be viewing it from potential employers, recruiters, people that you’ve worked with in the past and people looking to network with you. I’ve seen people showcase their experience many ways on LinkedIn from simply updating their title when they get promoted keeping in mind that their role may have changed entirely with their company, stating every position change they’ve had with the start and end dates for each role as they get promoted. To understand how you might want to go about adding your work experience on LinkedIn, lets review some examples…

Updating Your LinkedIn Profile with your Latest Title

In my opinion this is one misleading way to pad your experience on LinkedIn. Let’s say that you’ve worked for a company for the past 6 years and you started as a Sales Representative then after that you became a Sales Manager and you are now a Regional Manager. The issue with doing simply updating your title to “Regional Manager” is that it is assumed that you have been a Regional Manager for the past 6 years when in actuality it looks more like this…

Sales Representative - 2006 to 2009
Sales Manager - 2009 to 2011
Regional Manager - 2011 to Current

As opposed to this…

Regional Manager – 2006 to Current

Their are a number of issues with this, despite the fact of ethics being called into question, the biggest issue is that if a potential employer approaches you and assumes that you’ve been a Regional Manager for the past 6 years needless to say that you’re actual experience doesn’t match up. Honestly is usually the best policy in matters where you are marketing yourself and your skills to the world.

Updating Your LinkedIn Profile with using Job Descriptions

If people viewing your profile on LinkedIn want to know more about you there are a few schools of thoughts on how to showcase your professional experience.

Using Job Description from a Job Ad – This is sometimes a great way to showcase what you were hired for however sometimes the job ad doesn’t accurately reflect what you actually do on a daily basis
Using a Brief Write-up to Explain Your Job – If you choose to create a write-up about your current position keep it to a few concise points that nail exactly what it is that you do. No one wants to read a novel about your current role and the idea of adding a job description on LinkedIn is to get people interested in you (your skills, abilities and experiences).
Using No Job Descriptions – If you aren’t looking to disclose too much information about what you do then sometimes not having a job description related to a position is a great idea. If recruiters and companies are interested in you then they will contact you regardless for your resume

Using Yearly or Monthly Dates on Your LinkedIn Profile

If people are looking at your profile its important for them to get an understanding of how long you’ve been with some companies because it helps to tell the story of your employment experience.

One common mistake is to try to pad your LinkedIn profile by matching the end date of a previous position with the start date of a new position if that isn’t the actual case. If you finish a job in December of the previous year and you don’t start to February of the following year as a rule of thumb don’t state that you finished in January. Ultimately this will come out in the interview or the background check and it could call your ethics into play and cause a trust issue with your potential employer and may also result in you not getting the job.

If you are considering yearly dates try to limit them to positions you’ve held for multiple years. To some recruiters the month and year will still be important to validate your employment with the company but if you’ve been at a company for a while, years is sometimes easier to use as a way to outline your career experience.

Finally I wanted to leave you with my 3 tips for successfully using LinkedIn as an effective marketing and self promotion tool and they are…

Be Honest – This sounds like simply advice but the truth is that we should all be honest as opposed to the adage of “fake it till you make it”. Act with integrity and represent yourself accurately so that your character is never called into question.
Decide on how LinkedIn can best serve you – LinkedIn is a tool so its up to you as to how to best use it to serve your needs whether you are looking for a job or just as a way to build your network.
Keep it Simple Stupid – There are a lot of people that try to include everything they’ve ever done on their LinkedIn Profile and I suspect their resume as well but the truth is that this is highly ineffective.

How Does Pinterest Work?

Luc Arnold — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 09:00:21 +0000

Pinterest is one of the latest social media networks that allows you to create a virtual pin board and “share all the beautiful things you find on the web.” The social aspect of Pinterest hinges on the fact that you can follow people, their pins and boards and share across a wide range of interests.

Today let’s cover a few key aspects including how to add a pin, how to upload a pin and how to create a board in Pinterest. In all cases of adding and creating in Pinterest it’s important to remember that all you need to do is click the “Add +” button once you’ve logged into your Pinterest account.

How to Add a Pin

In order to add a pin to Pinterest you will need to first search for images related to what you want to pin using the URL of the site and select an image to then pin and you are ready to go after adding a comment about the image you’ve decided to pin and the board you want to Pin it on.

How to Upload a Pin

Uploading a pin to Pinterest is just about as easy as simply adding a pin with really one key difference. You will need to upload the image, video or other document that you want to pin but other than that you should be ready to go.

How to Create a Board

When you first setup your Pinterest account you are asked to select some things that you like and these create the first boards that you have access to but creating boards that are all your own is where it’s at in Pinterest. To do this you need to name your board, select a category it falls under and decide if only you can add to it or if you will allow contributors as well.

With social media networks these days being all about sharing Pinterest offers a unique slant on what is possible and makes it easier to share things you are interested in to a wide range of people.

How to Stop Answering Email and Be More Productive

Luc Arnold — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:00:11 +0000

I don’t know about you but in my opinion there is no bigger waste of time then email. I probably check it at least once a day including weekends even though my wife would rather that I never check it again. With that said and all joking aside, email if it isn’t tamed can run your life and in most cases it does. Its integrated into our work and personal lives, into our smart phones and tablets and it seems like we just cannot escape it regardless of no matter how hard we might try at times. All of this can lead to higher stress, burn-out on the job and a feeling that we are somehow disconnected. Its funny how a technology that was created to make our lives easier has made it harder. Well its time to take back our lives and simplify the process by scheduling times when you check email and time when you don’t check your emails which is easier said then done.

Scheduling Time to Review Email

This is a pretty tough concept to implement but it sounds easy in theory. The basic idea is that you use an autoresponder or out of office assistant to follow up with people that email you telling them when you will be checking emails and instructions for urgent requests. Feel free to have a look at this message below…

You’ve reached the desk of Luc Arnold,

I am currently only checking and responding to e-mail two times during the day at 11 am EST or 4:00 pm EST.

If you require assistance with a truly urgent matter that cannot wait until 11 am EST or 4:00 pm EST please contact me on my cell phone at 999-999-9999. Otherwise, please send an e-mail and I will return it at the next of those two times I’ve mentioned above.

Thank you for understanding this move to be more efficient as it only helps me serve you better.

Sincerely,

Luc Arnold

How else can people be expected to be more effective in their jobs if they are consistently checking emails? Think about it, when you are answering email after email do you actually feel like you are really getting work done? Or do you feel like you are wasting away, chained to your device whether its an iPhone, Laptop or any other device that connects to the internet and allows you to receive email after email? Don’t answer all at once now. The important point here is that there is a better way to manage the email that you receive. Try this tip out if you dare and you just might find yourself more focused, in control and relaxed and checking email less frequently too.

A Few Reasons to Check Out BlackBerry Playbook Again

Luc Arnold — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 04:01:16 +0000

Lately I’ve been looking at getting a mobile device and in trying to make the move from a laptop to a tablet device I looked at a number of devices. Today the market for these devices is only growing with each day that passes. As a long time lover of new tech products and gadgets I must admit my first thought of the Blackberry Playbook was needless to say less than favorable.

I never thought that I would even be considering the Playbook until recently. With the release of the latest OS, the price drop (its not all about the money but that does help), integration with android apps and the android app market just to name a few got me to reconsider Blackberry’s Playbook. When I saw the following video I must say that this “cemented” my thoughts on picking one up. Have a look…

I really enjoyed this video because it highlighted more of the usability aspects of working with the Playbook versus an iPad. I know some iPad users who’ve said that the iPad is slow and I think this video shows that successfully plus a number of other factors. I will keep you posted as to when I finally pick one up and give you my final thoughts. Stay tuned!