- decided to shovel more snow out of my driveway today since I heard we might get 4 more inches. At least I can say I got in a good workout! #
- You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. #
- appreciating all the support and advice I’ve received from WDG…I am feeling very motivated right now! #
- I’m psyched about my self-silhouette I made…had this idea for a while and finally tried it, and it turned out great! #
- I’ve got to go to bed…this is way too late to be staying up! #
- is working on ideas of what to do next… #
- The stray cats are under my house again… #
- I love my boyfriend! #
- Grrr…I’m still having trouble sleeping…I have so much on my mind. #
- is having a lot of shoulder pain #
- went for a long walk in this beautiful weather…it was Bentley’s first time on a leash, fun fun #
- Quick way to simultaneously test all smoke detectors in your house: forget to open damper on fireplace #
I am sooo excited that I finally found a way to have folders in Gmail!!
I love gmail and have been using it since it came out. The main benefit in using Gmail for me, is that I can handle all my email from various accounts in one interface. This has greatly simplified my life! The other major benefit is that my email is available to me anywhere, anytime, as long as I have access to a computer with an internet connection. I no longer use any sort of desktop email application, which means one less program running on my computer.
So, on to the folders. This only works in Firefox, as far as I know, so you have to use Firefox to be able to benefit from this increased usability for Gmail. I was browsing Lifehacker the other day, and ran across an extension called Better Gmail 2. I’ve had the original version of this extension installed before, a long time ago, but had to remove it due to some conflicts. However I decided to try it again, and whoa! I am sure glad I did! There do not seem to be any conflicts now, and even better, a lot more functionality has been added. And one of the best functions is the ability to organize your labels into folders. All you have to do is turn on the feature in options, and rename your labels like this: for a folder named Family with subfolders for Mom, Sis, Dad, you write your labels like this:
Family/Mom
Family/Sis
Family/Dad
Anyway, check out Lifehacker for a page complete with screenshots and lots of easy to follow instruction on how to fully exploit the full potential of Gmail!
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- Tags: email, gmail, lifehacker, tips
Blackberry 8320 Curve Theme: GlamourPink – Today Plus
Author: Shea In: Design, News & UpdatesWell, I have been trying my hand at a different sort of designing and it seems to have gone well. 
Since I got my Blackberry Curve phone early this year, I have become totally addicted to it…it’s like my mini-computer to play with when I’m not near my laptop or desktop pc.
Since my favorite color ever is PINK (of course!) I had to have a pink theme for my Blackberry. I scoured the net searching for the best themes out there that were pink but still elegant. I had a hard time finding them. I did find one theme designer who came close though, Nancy Drew, and that inspired me to try my hand at making my own theme. She has some great themes, but I wanted some specific looks, so I figured I’d give it a shot. Can’t be much harder than web design! 
Anyway, here’s my premier in theme design…
GlamourPink Today Plus, for OS 4.5
GlamourPink Today Plus, for OS 4.2
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- Tags: blackberry, pink, theme, today plus
The SayShea client support area is now restored and should be good to go for all your website maintenance management needs. If you need any assistance with anything, please submit a trouble ticket via the support system. Don’t forget there is a large knowledgebase with quite a bit of information regarding email support, optioncart, and more, so be sure to check there first!
Photographing Products for eCommerce Websites
Selling is all about image, and image is everything. Remember the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”? What do you want customers to think when they see your pictures? The higher quality image a product projects, the more people are willing to pay for it. There is such high competition for small businesses, that even the smallest attention to details can make the difference between success and failure.
If you sell products on your website, you need to have professional quality images of your products. What is the point of setting aside a budget for your website design, just to launch it with substandard photos? We see this over an over again, and frankly it’s an issue that needs addressed! Selling is all about image and perception, and it doesn’t matter how gorgeous and elegant your website is, if you have poor product photos, the perception will be off and you will lose out on sales.
So, you’ve made the jump into online commerce with your spiffy new eCommerce website, ready to sell all your fabulous products – but wait a minute…you realize you don’t have any photos. What to do? We’ve got some ideas and suggestions for you. It doesn’t matter what your budget is, there’s no excuse for poor product photos. Depending on your budget and/or your time, you can choose from the following:
- Hire a professional studio photographer to take your product photos. (Highest cost, but least amount of hassle, with most professional results)
- Hire a less experienced freelance photographer to take your product photos. (Medium cost, minimal hassle, professional results)
- Take your own photos. (Least costly, but more time intensive, results variable)
If you decide to take your own photos, which many smaller business do, that is fine – you can still have some great product images that look like a pro took them. Here’s some guidance:
For photos to be used on the web, you don’t need a fancy camera, elaborate studio, or tons of props. All you need is a regular digital camera which most people already own these days, a tripod, a backdrop, and good lighting.
Use a digital camera so the photos will already be digital. Use an inexpensive tripod to hold your camera steady and at the same angle for all shots.
You should choose a backdrop that is neutral and plain, white is really preferable for most products, although you can use another color if it fits the theme better. The key is consistency though, so be sure to use the same backdrop for all products. You can set up a backdrop easily by using a white sheet draped over a chair, etc, and make sure it curves behind the product, so that way the background drops out easily. Be sure to smooth out any wrinkles or folds in the fabric. You could also use paper for the backdrops, such as a matte poster board. Read up here for some easy to follow instructions on building a lightbox.
Professional photos should have soft, diffused natural lighting against the subtle background. The best choice is to take your photos outside on a sunny day. If this isn’t possible, then you can substitute with several clip-on lamps with daylight bulbs, like GE Reveal bulbs – very inexpensive! Don’t use the built in camera flash, it results in uneven light and dark areas on your product. Read up here about taking professional looking photos without a professional.
Final notes: do not put any props in the photo that aren’t being sold with the product. It’s unnecessary, as well as confusing to the customer. Take multiple shots so you or the web designer can choose the best one, or so you can show customers various angles or close-ups of details. Get some photo editing software and doing some of the basic photo touch-ups yourself will save you money as well. Some good inexpensive programs are GIMP (free), Ulead PhotoImpact (we use this in our studio, it is an amazing program), or PhotoShop Elements.
To conclude, we highly emphasize and encourage you to use professional quality photos for your products on your website, using one of the methods discussed here. There just isn’t much point to invest in a website and then put sub par photos on it.
Resources for more photography tips:
