Fuzzy about social media terms? Take a look at this guide

While a number of us have adopted social media as a standard form of communication, plenty of us still have no idea what certain terms mean. Luckily, these terms are generally easy to understand once you’re given a push in the right direction. This guide should serve as a first step to understanding social media terms.

1. Tag

A tag can pertain to quite a few things, depending on how it is used. When referring to blogs, tags typically refer to the keywords that were used in the post. Tagging keywords in blogs allows search engines to recognize your post as pertaining to certain topics, and helps the post rank higher.


Tag might also pertain to the act of tagging a friend in photos on Facebook. This essentially means that you link someone to a photo that they are in. This feature has been around for years but it’s becoming more sophisticated as it now uses facial recognition.


The latest form of tagging on Facebook refers to tagging friends in posts or status updates. You can now refer to people in a post and tag them, which will alert them to your post. This will also cause the post to show up on their wall for all of their other friends to see.


2. Troll

In this instance, a troll does not refer to a little toy with neon hair and a jewel for a belly button. A troll, in social media terms, is a person who uses social media as a way to irritate people. They often make taunting or offensive posts in order to generate anger.

3. Friend

While we all know what the conventional meaning of friend is, that’s often not the meaning applied to the word friend in the social media world. In social media, to friend a person simply means adding someone to your network.

4. Stream

This is another double-meaning word. Streaming something pertains to receiving a constant flow of information, such as a webcast. A stream is what many people call their Twitter or Facebook home pages, where all of the recent information and updates are posted.


5. At mention

An at mention, or @ mention, is when you talk about someone on Twitter. It’s similar to Facebook tagging in that it will show up on the person’s Twitter stream if you mention them, and alert them to your post.

Although social media terms can sometimes be hard to understand, they usually pertain to simple processes that can be easily recognized. If you’d like to see an even more in-depth guide to social media terms, take a look at this article.

How you can identify and avoid employee burnout

Most of us have experienced employee burnout in one way or another - whether we have felt burned out ourselves or recognized it in one of our colleagues. Luckily, there are plenty of simple steps you can take to make sure burnout doesn’t get the best of you or your employees.


Preventing burnout

  • Have fun – Making room for fun can reduce some stress and help to keep employees motivated when they are on the brink of burnout.

  • Switch it up – Let employees focus on new projects or teams when they’ve been concentrating on one thing for a long time, like Facebook is doing with Hackamonth.

  • Encourage breaks – It’s wonderful to have employees that don’t want to quit working until they get things done. Sadly, those are the people that are certain to burn out quickest. If you have employees like this, persuade them to take walks or go on a coffee run – anything to keep them from going stir crazy.

At times burnout is simply inevitable. When it’s already happened, there are several simple ways to ensure that it doesn’t overwhelm your employees.

How to cope with burnout

  • Accept it – Burnout isn’t always avoidable so it’s important to be conscious of the signs such as lethargy, decreased socializing or irritability.

  • Communicate – Growing businesses often undergo changes that leave employees frustrated. Making sure your employees know that they can talk to you is an excellent way to stop burnout before it gets out of hand.

Although employee burnout isn’t always avoidable, it’s critical to know what steps you can take to make it less damaging to your employees and your business. These simple tips can help reduce the effects of burnout and even prevent it when possible.

For more burnout-fighting tips, take a look at this article.

Perform better online searches with these suggestions

Often, when we conduct online searches we wind up getting hundreds of thousands of results – many of them irrelevant. Thankfully, there are many simple steps you can take to help generate more accurate results.


Keep it simple


When you’re performing online searches it is typically best to use as few words and phrases as possible, while still communicating what you’re searching for. If you’re looking for a bookstore in your area, simply type in “bookstore” and add the name of your town or your zip code. This should provide you with accurate results that will likely be quite relevant.

Learn about Boolean

Whether you know it or not, you are probably familiar with Boolean searches. This simply refers to using terms like “and,” “not” and “or” in your online searches. This is a good thing to do when you are more familiar with what you’re searching for and know which terms you wish to include or exclude.


This concept also is effective when you use pluses or minuses in your searches. If you want to include a word in your search results, simply type a “ ” before it in your search. If you want to exclude something, precede it with a “-“ when you search.


Be precise

When you’re conducting a search, it’s best to be as specific as possible. If you know what it is that you’re looking for, use exact phrases instead of just keywords. When you use broad phrases, they can often be misinterpreted by the search engine and leave you with results you don’t need.


Quotation marks are generally the international search engine symbol to search for an exact phrase. If you are looking for something specific, using quotation marks can help ensure that your results are more relevant.


All of these suggestions are unbelievably simple and extremely useful. Taking these into account when you’re searching online can greatly improve your search results.


For even more tips on performing online searches, take a look at this article.

3 simple ways to boost productivity

There are always a great many reasons for being unproductive. Every season brings a new problem or distraction. In the winter, energy dwindles and in the summer, all people can think about is being outdoors. While there is no solution for those distractions, there are a number of things you can do to help keep your employees focused and increase productivity.


Keep a clean office

Clutter often leads to distraction. Keeping your office tidy and encouraging your employees to do the same can help people to be more focused. Eliminating those unnecessary distractions by cleaning up every once in a while can make a substantial difference in employee productivity.

Increase the temperature

We all know what it’s like when we’re cold and find it hard to even move, let alone work. Studies have demonstrated that not only do typing errors diminish with a higher temperature; typing output increases by a whopping 150%. Next time your employees seem to be moving slowly, try upping the temperature a couple of degrees.


Lighten up

One study demonstrated that brighter offices can make a vast difference in employee productivity. Employees who worked in windowed offices spent 15% more time staying on task than those working in windowless offices.


Because this easy fix can make such a big difference it's wise to open blinds and move as many employees as possible into windowed spaces. Not only does this increase productivity, it can also save you money by lighting up the office without using electricity.


These office adjustments are extremely easy to make and can really make a substantial difference in daily output from your employees.

For even more simple productivity tips check out this article.

5 gift ideas that are great for Mom

With Mother’s Day coming up, you might be rushing to find a gift for the mom in your life. Luckily for you, we have a few excellent tech-inspired gift ideas that are sure to please. Read on for some terrific ideas.


Digital picture frame

If your mom is like most, she probably loves reliving family memories through old photos. With a digital picture frame, your mom can relive those memories whenever she wants. If she needs help, you can help her by pre-loading all of her pictures onto the frame and she can start enjoying it immediately.

Tech time

Many of our moms love technology but are entirely clueless when it comes to using it. If that’s the case in your family, a coupon for some tech TLC might be the best gift. You can fix or set up gadgets for your mom, or show her how to use them so she becomes more tech-confident.

Digital magazine or Netflix subscription

Does your mom have a TV show or magazine that she can’t get enough of? If so, a digital magazine or Netflix subscription could be perfect. Digital magazines provide her with all of the articles without all of the clutter.


A Netflix subscription gives your mom the chance to catch up on her favorite TV show. If she’s more of the movie type, she can watch that movie her friends have been talking about for months. Either way, this gift is sure to be a hit.


Tablet

A tablet is a fantastic tech gift for Mom – it’s small, lightweight, and rather easy to use. She can use it for practically anything she might need, and take it with her wherever she goes.


If a standard tablet is a little out of your price range, the Nook Color may work better for you. It still offers the portability of the iPad and has a great deal of games and apps available.


Quality time

If you live far away from your mom, or just don’t get to see her often, a coupon for time on FaceTime, Skype, or some other video chat service would be perfect. Your mom most likely would love to see you more than she does, even if it’s through a computer screen.


No matter what your mom is like, she is guaranteed to enjoy any one of these gifts. Show her that you care by getting her something she can really use.


For more gift ideas, check out this Unplggd article.

Is Prezi the best tool for you?

Prezi is a name you might have heard a couple of times if you’re into presentations. It’s an online presentation tool that’s different than most and, for that reason, has a lot of fans. What, specifically, makes Prezi so amazing?

Flash-based

Prezi is a flash-based tool, which makes it easier to produce non-linear presentations. Most presentation tools require you to go slide-by-slide and don’t leave much room for creativity aside from clipart. With Prezi, your presentation is more like a thought map than anything else, which makes it flow much more naturally.


You may zoom in and out of the image to different ideas, links and images. This eliminates the need for identical slides or backtracking when you have to revisit an idea.


Intuitive

Once you have become acquainted with Prezi’s interface, it is really rather intuitive. Because many people are non-linear thinkers, the thought-map method, where you can see everything at once, can be especially useful.


If you’re having trouble adjusting to the Prezi process, you can find several tutorials on the Prezi website.


Prezi is web-based but it allows you to download your presentations once they have been created so you don’t need Internet access to actually present. There is a free model available, but for $59/year you can buy Prezi for more storage and better privacy.


Everyone may not be looking to move away from the linear model of PowerPoint and tools like it. If you are, however, Prezi is a great alternative.

Keeping your online identity safe

The recent Playstation security breach has opened many Internet users’ eyes to the seriousness of online security. If the wrong person gets their hands on your information, there is a possibility that the outcome could be detrimental. Luckily, there are a number of simple steps you can take to better protect your online identity.


Use an encrypted connection

Using an encrypted connection is an unbelievably simple way to attain greater online safety. Many websites, including most social networking sites, have recently adopted more secure connections, although you sometimes need to change the settings to get the extra level of security.


You can figure out whether or not you have encrypted access simply by checking the URL. If the URL begins with “https” instead of “http” you have an encrypted connection. Unfortunately, some sites do not offer encrypted access so this is not always an option.


Use strong passwords

Strong passwords are unbelievably easy to create and can make a tremendous difference in online security. Using a combination of numbers, symbols, spaces and upper- and lowercase letters can help to create a strong password. If you can’t see yourself using a bunch of different characters, at least be sure to use a password that can’t easily be guessed.


It’s also extremely important to use a unique password for each of your accounts. Using the same password on a variety of accounts makes them all vulnerable if just one of them is hacked.

Look out for phishing

Phishing is basically when a hacker poses as a trusted company in order to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and account numbers. It is a rather common practice due to its relative ease – after all, hackers merely need your name and email address to pull this off.


The recent breach of Epsilon was a perfect example. Thousands of names and email addresses were exposed and the companies affected quickly sent out emails telling their clients not to trust any emails that claimed to be from them. Some browsers, but not all, will alert you if a website looks fraudulent, but you still need to be smart to avoid the scams.


These three tips are unbelievably easy to follow through with and instantly increase your online security. If you’d like more information on protecting your online identity, check out this article.

Tricks and tools for being productive from the road

Many people travel frequently for business. Unfortunately, the majority of business travelers don’t know how to be most productive while they’re on the road. We have compiled a list of tools and tips that can help you to be more productive and keep your work and devices safe while you’re on the go.

Tools for easier travel

There are virtually countless options when it comes to tools that make traveling easier. The choices range from luggage to apps, and everything in between.

One tool that can take a lot of stress out of traveling is TripIt. It is an app that organizes all of the travel information for you. You can email your itinerary to TripIt and it keeps track of your flight times, hotel information, and frequent flier numbers, all in one place.


Good luggage is also critical. It makes getting through the airport easier and can help keep you organized – a big plus when you’re doing business on the road. These are some key features to look for in your luggage:

  • Laptop compartment – It’s best to have a separate compartment for your laptop so that finding it at security, or even once you get to your destination, is a breeze. Nobody enjoys being the person who’s holding up the security line.

  • A wire pouch – Having a dedicated spot to place all of your chargers and other wires is perfect for anyone with lots of gadgets. You no longer have to wonder where you placed everything, as there is a designated pocket for it.

  • Convertibility – A convertible bag is ideal for someone who goes on a variety of business trips. If you need to carry everything through the airport one day and carry only your laptop the next, finding a bag that can serve both purposes is beneficial.

Security tools

It can be nerve racking to travel with all of your worldly possessions and then have to leave them unattended in the hotel room or unfamiliar office all day. Fortunately, there are plenty of tools such as laptop locks that can keep your devices secure. You can also use personal safes to keep all of your smaller items safe.


Usually, taking general safety precautions is sufficient. Either make sure that your valuable items are somewhere secure, or keep them close by whenever you can. If you’re interested in more tools and tricks to keep your things safe, take a look at this article.


Boosting productivity

Productivity can certainly wane while you’re working from a hotel room or coffee shop on the road. General unfamiliarity with your surroundings can slow down certain processes that are usually quick and painless.


For most jobs, it’s essential to have Internet access, especially when you are away from your coworkers. Some hotels do not have access to the Internet, and if that is the case you should consider bringing a wireless card or mobile Wi-Fi device that would let you easily access the Internet and your email.


Finally, consider bringing a back pillow. Hotel desk chairs are typically not ergonomic and can be seriously painful for your back if you sit in them for too long. Back pillows generally aren’t too bulky and can make all the difference when you’re working in an unfamiliar chair.


There are many things that can make working from the road easier and more productive. These tools and tips can be incredibly helpful and help you learn how to be at your best while you’re on the go.

5 approaches to a greener office

<p>Building a green office is an excellent way to save money and do good for the environment. Although creating a greener office does take work, it can be done by just about any business, big or small. In honor of Earth Day we are giving you a few simple tips that can help you convert your office into a greener environment.</p> <br /> <p><strong>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Use double-sided printing whenever possible</strong></p> <p>Set your printer or copier&rsquo;s default setting to double-sided printing to automatically cut down on paper use. This is a simple step and if anyone needs single-sided printing they can quickly change the settings.</p> <br /> <p><strong>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Use a water delivery service</strong></p> <p>Bottled water is unbelievably wasteful and, unfortunately, it is a staple in most office environments. Using a water delivery service can cut down on waste and also reduce the harmful effects that can result from drinking bottled water.</p> <br /> <p><strong>3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Turn lights and machines off when they&rsquo;re not being used</strong></p> <p>While this may seem like an obvious way to be greener, many people overlook its necessity. Some people believe that it&rsquo;s more efficient to leave computers and other machines on overnight, but it&rsquo;s far more wasteful than anything else. If you can afford to install motion sensors, they are always a great option as well.</p>

 <br /> <p><strong>4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Use recycled and recyclable products when you can</strong></p> <p>You can get recycled versions of nearly any paper product at popular office supply retailers. The recycled versions are often comparable in price to their non-recycled counterparts.</p> <br /> <p>Also using recyclable and compostable products when you can is a huge way to cut back on waste in your office. If you choose to use recyclable products, make sure your employees know about your recycling program and are actually utilizing it.</p> <br /> <p><strong>5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cut down on commuting</strong></p> <p>Organizing carpools is rather easy to do. Simply match people up based on where they live. If you can, offer parking incentives to those who carpool. If your town has public transportation systems, try offering a bus or train pass to employees who can utilize those systems.</p> <br /> <p>As you can see, these are simple and inexpensive ways to make your office greener. If you&rsquo;re interested in even more green ideas, take a look at this article.</p>

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<p>Most of us have heard how dirty our computer keyboards can be. They can actually be dirtier than a toilet, which is pretty disturbing considering how often we use them.</p>

 <br />

<p>If that alone doesn&rsquo;t make you want to clean your keyboard, the fact that you use it on a daily basis should be. The germs that accumulate due to sickness, food, and just everyday bacteria can quickly add up and spread to other items on your desk. Luckily, we have some tips that can help you clean your keyboard quickly and effectively.</p>

 <br /> <p><strong>Detach the keyboard</strong></p> <p>No matter which cleaning method you are using, it&rsquo;s always important to disconnect the keyboard from your computer prior to cleaning. This ensures that you won&rsquo;t unintentionally perform any actions on the computer, as well as keeps your machine safe.</p> <br /> <p><strong>For a quick fix</strong></p> <p>Try using a can of compressed air to get out any loose debris that has gathered inside your keyboard. We&rsquo;ve all seen how dirty it gets beneath those keys, and this gets rid of the majority of that dirt in just a few seconds.</p> <br />

<p>Spray the compressed air while your keyboard is upside down and tap the keyboard until you see loose dirt fall out. You might have to do this a few times in order to get rid of the majority of the debris. To make sure you&rsquo;re really getting it clean, dip a cotton swab in isopropyl alcohol and swab the edges of the keys.</p> <br /> <p><strong>For a more thorough cleaning</strong></p>

<p>If you are trying to do more than just remove the loose dirt, a thorough cleaning is in order. You can start by gently prying up all of the keys with a screwdriver or something similar.</p>

 <br /> <p>Once the keys have been removed, you should use the air compressor to get out all of the loose debris. Follow that up by swabbing everything with a damp cloth and cleaning the keys one by one with the isopropyl alcohol.</p> <br /> <p><strong>After a spill</strong></p> <p>If your keyboard is dirty due to an accidental spill, detach the keyboard right away and turn the keyboard upside down and shake it. Try to dry it with a cloth while it is still upside down, and leave the keyboard upside down for as long as possible.</p> <br /> <p>For more tips on cleaning your keyboard, check out this guide.</p>