Dawn's Blog is moving

I am moving my blog to Wordpress - the new address is http://www.dawncullo.com and the site is almost done so you can see it evolve this week.

New Peeps to Follow on Twitter

This week I have had my eyes on all things Twitter and reading blog posts by @MariSmith and pouring through @Mashable site. Here are some of the new people & companies I have started to follow this week.

Check their Tweets and follow them too for some great Tweets.

Companies

@starbucks -http://twitter.com/Starbucks

@Overstock - http://twitter.com/Overstock

@OReturns - http://twitter.com/OReturns

@Nascar_On_Fox - http://twitter.com/NASCAR_ON_FOX

@zappos - http://twitter.com/zappos

@sactweetup - http://twitter.com/sactweetup

People

@jimmyfallon - http://twitter.com/jimmyfallon

@britneyspears - http://twitter.com/britneyspears

@pattysouza -http://twitter.com/pattysouza

Happy Tweeting!

To Twitt or not to Twitt

Yes, you should use Twitter for your business and for fun.

I think that Twitter is the coolest customer service tool since the phone! Where else can a company get instant, and I mean INSTANT feedback about their product? You don’t have to find the company’s phone number or wait on hold until you can talk to a customer service person. I personally have communicated with DirecTV about how happy I am with the free Nascar HotPass this season, and yes he responded right away! I also have been known to communicate with the local news guy about a few things too. It is like direct access to these companies and we should all be taking advantage of this great technology.
Here is how to get started:

1. Sign Up. Go to http://www.twitter.com/ and sign up for a free account under you name or your company name.
   
2. Create a short but sweet bio and upload a pretty picture of YOU, not your dog or your pet parrakeet, just you or your company logo.
   You can create a custom background and upload it or choose one of the nifty ones provided by Twitter. I created one in photoshop and saved it as .jpg. Just remember to keep it simple.
   
3. Get a Twitter Desktop Management tool. Go to http://www.tweetdeck.com/ and download an awesome desktop management tool to manage all the awesome Tweeting you will be doing and receiving because Twitter is like a dorito chip, once you start with one, you can’t stop. There are some other great tools to use as well such as http://www.tweetlater.com/ where you can schedule automatic Tweets to go out on specific days at specific times and it helps manage other Twitter goodies such as keyword searches and sending out automatic direct messages.


4. Start Tweeting! You have 140 characters to work with , so keep it short. OK, so now what do you Tweet about? You can Tweet about anything you want, what you are doing, what you are going to do, comment about a show you are watching, something or someone you want to promote. During Nascar races I follow a handful of people and we all comment about the race, it is great fun. We also use hash-tag the # sign after each Tweet so we can keep track of the conversation. Not sure what a hash-tag is? Check out this YouTube video by @MariSmith - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAHitI26MmE
   
5. Start following people. Here are some people that I recommend following right away you will get some great content from them @MariSmith @JoeComm and me too @DawnCullo.
   
   The easy way to add people to your Tweet Stream is to follow a few people and then look at who they are following. You can also do a search for people or companies on Twitter. Some companies to follow are @DirecTV, @CNN , @Zappos to name a few. You search here http://twitter.com/invitations for people or companies. I even follow my local news stations and local traffic alerts on Twitter. I actually found out the my husbands company was going to lay off workers before he called to tell me, I heard it on Twitter!
   
6. Interact with people and learn the lingo.
   
   RT = ReTweet
   If you see a Tweet go by and you think it is cool you can Re-Tweet it. Just use the letters RT before the Tweet.
   
   @ = Responses
   If you want to respond to someone use the symbol @TheirName such as @DawnCullo before your comment. The replies will be placed in the Tweet Stream for everyone to see.
   
   DM = Direct Message
   You can send a private message by using letters DM before your content and it will be sent to the person in private.
   
   To make it easier on your self down load TweetDeck and it will automatically put all the corect letters before your special Tweets based upon the action you select when you hover your mouse over their tweet.
   
   This is a screen shot of TweetDeck. I have it set up in 5 columns. All Friends Tweets, Replies, Direct Message, Favorites (people's tweets you don't want miss) and TwitScoop, which shows the trending topics based upon the popularity of words in various Tweets.
   

There is so much more I could say about Twitter, I could go on for days. So check out my main resource on all things Twitter http://www.marismith.com/blog/ for some great info.
See you in the Tweet Stream.

Reasons Why I am a Computer Nerd

Apparently I have always been a little geeky but hid it well, some would argue not. Now that I stay at home and am able to embrace the Computer Nerd in me I really like it. Looking back I can see why I am a computer nerd today. I am sure that there are more times where technology and I crossed a path and gave each other a High Five but these are the most vivid ones for me now.

1. I have no idea of the year but it had to be around 1984 because and I was about 10 and my neighbor lady got a Mac. She showed it to me and then left me alone with the computer. I opened up the manual and there was a tutorial in the book for making a ball bounce across the screen, which were basically lines of code. I vividly remember typing this onto the screen - "10 Clear Screen Next Line, 20....Run" I proceeded to type the rest of the code and made the ball bounce, no one was around, just me and the computer watching that ball bounce. I am pretty sure I said something like "Radical" or "Cowabunga" and then went about my merry way. There I was running BASIC at age 10. Lily is the same way now except she is 3 and thinks nothing of going to the computer and starting her Purple Palace game using the mouse and clicking through to the Start Menu.
   


2. My Dad had an Atari (yes I know you did too) and I was hooked from the moment the box was opened BUT he also had some other weird game where you had to use a cassette recorder and plug it into the Atari using some freaky cartridge called the Starpath Supercharger. The games were stored on a cassette tape and they were kind of creepy I am surprised he let me play them. I was so into it that there was this game that just came out and we couldn't find it anywhere, we went to some guys house and bought the game from him. I am not sure if it was legal but that would be my first experience in paying any price for cool technology.
   
   


3. My Dad always had computers around when I was growing up. He had a Commdore 64 for years and would always bring home games for me to play but never give me the instructions, he just told me to figure it out. At first I was like 'uh ok jerk' but after a while I liked the challenge of figuring it out on my own. I still do that today, when learning new things like web page design. I like to tinker around with the HTML code just to see what it will do.
   




4. I remember using Compuserve to look at the bulletin boards and forums in the early 1990's. OMG how long did it take to dial in an connect, I think I made dinner once while waiting for the connection to establish.


5. One day in the early 1990's again my Dad said, hey check this out, I got this program for the computer called Windows. I am pretty sure I say 'WHAT ? That sounds stupid" but then when he wasn't looking I was pouring over the manual and thinking this was the coolest thing EVER.


6. The invention of CD - Rom players also caught my attention and I was so thrilled to be able get so much information on one tiny disc. I think the first thing I bought was a Disney Game / Storybook (shocker).


7. My Dad has always worked with computers in some way during his life and has helped many people troubleshoot their systems and build custom computers for them too so I guess you can say that I grew up around computers and thought that it was always cool, until I was tripping over monitors as I walked down the hallway.
   

Now technology moves at such a rapid pace and it is hard to stay on top of it all or be on the cutting edge of the next big thing. I think that you have to decide where you want to focus your energy. Today I focus on Web 2.0 and the social media arena. I am also working on HTML codes for blog designs. The best way that I stay informed is through my connections on Facebook (professional account, sorry guys) and on Twitter. Here is a link to the coolest thing I've seen today. It is a map of the most commonly used words on Twitter during the Super Bowl, how flippin cool is that? A friend of mine Tweeted it and I picked up on it right away.

All of this technology stuff from my early years has weeded its way into my adult life. Any place that I have worked I have always tried to figure things out on my own, see how something works, improve upon it, teach others and then move onto the next thing.

Currently, I am doing the Virtual Assisting gig for Cybertary.com but I want more (which should be my tag line "Dawn Cullo Wants More") skills that I can market that are needed now! It seems like I start to learn a new skill like the WordPress blog design but then a client wants some information about SEO, which I know NOTHING about and I want to learn more about using Ustream.TV in business and using Teleseminars too. I want to someday own my own company and there is so much to do on my nerd list.

Now the role between myself and my Dad has changed, I am now the one showing him the cool next thing in technology and teaching him or just telling him to figure it out on his own (just kidding) and I think that he likes how I have embraced my inner nerd.

Daytona Baby!

Today I saw my first Daytona commerical while I was in the same room as the stupid football game. I screamed " Whooo, Yeah "...really really loud. I got pretty excited and can't wait for racing season to start. If I win the Lotto, I'm going to Daytona.

Here is the broadcast schedule...I know you want to watch!

Tater Tot Casserole Recipe

I hope you enjoy making your first Tater Tot Casserole. Then the next time you make it you can add your own variations. I got the recipe from my Mother-in-law but have changed it a little bit over time.


Here is how I make mine.


1lb ground beef
1 - 10.75 ounce of Cream of Chicken Soup (can use Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery)
1 - 16 ounce bag of shredded cheese.
1 - bag of tater tots (I use enough to cover the ground beef)
1 - 9x13 Casserole Dish or bigger if you are doubling the recipe.
Seasoned Salt such as Lawery's

• Preheat over 400 degrees
• Brown ground beef and season as you wish. I add some garlic powder and pepper
• Drain grease and place ground beef on the bottom of a casserole dish.
• Spread soup on top of the ground beef
• Layer the Tater Tots (frozen) on top of the soup
• Layer cheese on top of the tater tots and sprinkle with Seasoned Salt
• Bake uncovered for 30 minutes
• Serve with some Tabasco sauce or Franks Red Hot if you like things spicy!

Here is a link to other variations.

New Cell Phone Carrier FINALLY !

Since we moved to Rancho Cordova two years ago we have had to deal with the AT&T cell phone curse! Now, I will admit that we live somewhat in the middle of nowhere. We are 'on the way' to Elk Grove if you want to take the 'back roads' instead of the freeway.

We have experienced No Bars in More Places with AT&T since we have lived out here. I use my phone for work and often times if you were to take a peek at me in my office while on my cell phone you would have to laugh. I have had to develop a few work arounds that have gotten me through a phone call with my boss or a client. The only way to get a really good signal in my office is to be tall (need an Uncle Josh) so I have to either stand on a stool and talk or sit at my desk and hold up my phone with one hand and take notes with the other, but sometimes I can also just lean the phone up on the wall next to my printer and for some reason that works well too. But just about every where else in the house, nothing but static, dropped calls and robot voices. We contacted AT&T and did get our phones changed out because they had upgraded the antenas in our phones. But overall they said that the signal was just not strong in our area because there isn't a cell tower nearby. My parents live a few houses down from us and their AT&T phones don't even get a signal.



We did some research with other family members phones and found that Sprint had the best coverage in our house, even in the office...without a stool!


So we had been trying to find the right phones for us both with a specific price range of 100.00 after rebate. There were a large number of phones to chose from within this range so it was a little bit of a task.


Initally, I really wanted the Samsung Instinct but the more I played with it at the Sprint Store the more I didn't like it. I really wanted the Treo 800w because I had a Treo before and really liked it and this one is now a windows based phone but it was way out of the price range. There were others on our list too but due to our price limit we had to exclude those phones.


We have really been active with our text messages and photo messages and we love to have the internet on our phone so we went with the Sprint Family Share 1500 minute Unlimited Text & Internet. This plan even ended up being less than what we would have padi with AT&T for the same services so we were stoked about that.


With the Sprint Everything Plan you get more than just the unlimted do dads, you get so much more. Sprint TV, Sprint Radio, NFL Mobile, Nascar Mobile. Since we would have access to those things with our service plan we wanted a phone that could do those things as well.



Sprint is now offering the Blackberry Curve 8330 for $99.00 after rebate. This a great phone that retails for $569.00 and they give you a $370.00 instant rebate and then you send in for the $100.00 rebate. Great deal on a super duper phone. I got a red / black one and Louis got a black / silver one (he really liked that idea since he is a Raiders fan).



We are selling our old Samsung BlackJack's on Ebay right now. We are hoping to fetch $50.00 for my set and $65.00 for Louis'. He had a few more accessories than I did so hopefully his will go for more.

If you are looking for a new phone or carrier, give Sprint a try, they have a lot to offer.

Cell Phone Update: Our cells phones both sold on Ebay within just a few hours of posting the auction. Yippie!!