Shaine Mata Blog

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by shainelee via Flickr"] [/caption] As a preacher of the Evernote, I am often asked how to use it. The answer is a little tricky; most of us use paper differently. Some of us write detailed notes; some of us write broad concepts. What may work for me may not necessarily work for you. So, how can I help you figure out Evernote? The answer is to highlight some of the features of Evernote with some examples of uses, then you can see how the feature may fit into your lifestyle. The important thing to remember is that the more you use it, the more useful it becomes. What Evernote Does and Doesn't Evernote saves information and makes it easy to organize and find that information. Many new users expect Evernote to organize information for them. Evernote doesn't work that way. It's up to you to organize information within the Evernote platform. Evernote provides indexing...

At last month's Social Media Club RGV meeting, we talked about mobile marketing , which included ideas on how to use Google Buzz to reach local audiences. Google Buzz had a layer on Google Maps that you could use to browse geotagged posts on your phone and on the desktop. I've posted about it before. I've made some online friends via this method. So, the launch of G+ threw my presentation under the bus; but, I'm ok with it knowing what's coming up. Well, a couple weeks after showing others how to use Google Buzz for location-based marketing; Google launched Google+. Great service; I love it. BUT, they removed the Buzz layer on Maps and nixed the Google Buzz widget on Android . Much of the check-in functionality and location-based posting that came with Buzz has been transferred to Google Plus. Well, that is except for the ability to browse nearby posts on a map. They did add a Nearby post viewing option in the mobile app. But, it doesn't do much good until...

*What bugs me about zombie movies* Too often in apocalypse zombie-type movies, surviving non-zombies live in relative comfort. If utility workers don't show up to work, you have a short while before your utilities shut off on their own, or become unusable. Electricity is the main factor. Municipal water treatment plants need water and electricity to do their job. Assuming water flows via gravity, electricity is the limiting factor to run pumps and other equipment. Assuming a power plant continues to operate on its own for a few days, I don't know how long a power plant can run without people, water needs testing, chemical treatment, and physical cleaning. Even newer plants that use UV light to sanitize water require periodic decrudding. So, you may get water; but it wouldn't be safe. I don't know enough about natural gas. I think some of it has natural pressure. But at some point, it would need pressurizing to complete long distance travel. Fortunately, gas is easi...

Image via CrunchBase Google +1 was necessary to make Google search results match Facebook Likes in terms of relevance. While visiting some websites today, I noticed that +1 still has a way to go to reach Likes, which makes sense given the recent launch. Having Facebook know who likes your pages is beneficial in providing you some insight into who is visiting, it doesn't really help Google figure out how awesome your blog post or website are. Yes, Google could probably mooch the Like count on your page; but, that would be uncool in some way.  Having +1 gives Google the same idea about which pages are relevant and popular, which is important when you are running a search, right? I know, it throws SEO under the bus when people get to vote on which web pages are good quality.  Besides giving them metrics on who is visiting what pages, +1 actually helps Google provide their core product, search, much more effectively.  Related articles Google Now Lets Website Owners Measure...

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"] [/caption] Google + Circles are not YOUR filter, they filter YOU. It would be a mistake to create a circle thinking that it will limit what you read from that circle of friends. For example, I created a Foodie circle on Google+. The circle is where I post pictures of food and recipes. However, when I look at the Foodie circle stream, it contains posts about anything and everything my friends in that circle have shared publicly, which doesn't necessarily include food. On the other hand, when I post items to a specific circle, only those people in that circle receive my posts, leaving everybody who is not interested unaware. PUBLIC is the bane of the whole Circles concept. It completely bypasses Circles and blasts everybody with the same message regardless whether they are interested or not. As a blogger, my first impulse is to share with the world.  It r...

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Image via CrunchBase"] [/caption] I've been neck deep in Google+ since the field trial was opened up a couple days ago. I wrote a blog post about how Circles is nothing new to Google .  They've had a few runs at tailoring content for each of your audiences with Orkut , Wave, and Buzz. Like Facebook , grouping your contacts has always been possible on Google products; but, people aren't doing it. I can't say for certain why it's any different now; but, users are doing it. You could just as easily create Public posts for everything, like the default settings on their other services. But, the possibility of targeting your content to specific groups of people makes me re-evaluate how I distribute content. The Way It Is The status quo is to broadcast. Having a blog typically means you are broadcasting to the world, or a set of subscribers. There really are only two ...