One of the things I love most about being a Social Media Virtual Administrator is the fact that I have some control on my carbon footprint. You see, I don’t commute to work every day, my clients don’t need to have additional workspace, equipment and spend extra on utilities for me to get the job done. I also use recyclable materials in my office and home wherever possible.  This is all great. But I do virtually (pardon the pun) all my work online and what was starting to weigh on me, was the knowledge of just what an impact computing has on the environment and so I began to consider green hosting for myself and my clients.

While I don’t pretend to know all there is to know about the subject, one thing I do understand and that is that the IT sector has a big climate impact and all those datacentres out there are using a huge amount of electricity not only to power but also to cool their servers.  So,  I embarked on a journey to find a host provider that had not only talked a good story about being green but one who put their money where their mouth was and appears to have implemented an environmentally sound program for their business.

It might have been easy enough to find someone whose servers operated solely on wind.  That would have been ideal if that was the only criteria I had to consider.  The challenge for me was to find someone who not only had a green solution, but one who is successful with a good track record, provides great technical support, supports WordPress (the platform that most of my clients use for their website or their blogging vehicle) and who is reasonably priced.  Working with small local business owners, cost is always a factor.

About a month ago, I moved most of my clients over to Hostgator.  I have been most impressed not only with the work they have done on going green, but also with the organization as a whole. Their ‘up time’ is really good, they have a sound grasp of WordPress, their pricing is reasonable and their technical support people are great. The only down side? I wish they were Canadian!

You should know that I am not an affiliate, nor am I getting any compensation for this testimonial. This is strictly me being really happy to have found a hosting company that has to date met all my needs and this includes a green focus. This is good news for me and for my clients and I now feel that I am being responsible to the environment.

How about you? Do you worry about your carbon footprint? I know there must be other good green suppliers out there and I’d love your input! Let’s get people thinking in this direction.

Here on my blog you’ll get commentluv. This is a plug-in that allows you to leave a link back to your own site when you leave feedback.

Until next time,

Joanne

While physically located in Newmarket, Ontario where Joanne lives with her family, she is virtually yours anywhere.

Earth Day is Coming!

I don’t know if you are like me, but until recently, my office was inundated with paper! In addition to business related activities, I look after the bill paying for my household, and therefore any mail coming into the house, comes into my office. We also have three printers in our house which can make for a lot of paper, as well as a lot of ink!

Recently, I embarked on a mission to try and green my office as much as possible. I was on Rogers Daytime (TV) a couple of weeks ago and provided these ways to green your office on the show. Since then, I have had a few people ask me to repeat these tips, so I decided to dedicate my blog to this topic this week.  With Earth Day around the corner, I think this is a timely topic.   I hope some of these tips will help you as well. I apologize to my American friends. The websites that I will refer to here are Canadian so you might have to do some research on your end to find out if these exist where you live too!

1. Yellow Pages Directories

Until recently, we received 3 copies of the Directory in one form or another. There was a large general one for the Metropolitan area, and two regional ones.  I do all my searches online now.  I can’t remember the last time I pulled one of these out to look up a number and with the proliferation of  Social Media, Smart Phones, tablets and the IPod Touch, these are quickly becoming redundant.   To give Yellow Pages credit, they embarked on a mission a couple of years ago to green their process, which includes the paper that they print on. What was not addressed however, is the delivery system which is required to actually get these publications to your door.   In addition, when you recycle your old one, the same delivery process is needed to take it to the recycle plant.  Yellow Pages has now implemented a service whereby you can visit www.ypg.com/delivery, and on the main page opt out of receiving a hard copy of the publication.

2. Unaddressed Ad Mail

Have you ever stopped to think how many flyers and brochures you get in your mail in a week?  How many of you actually read all these pieces of mail?  I know I don’t.   Since the government clamped down on telemarketing, it appears everyone has taken to bulk mail.  Just think of the paper, ink and recycling effort that goes into these initiatives.  This is one reason why Social Media is becoming so important.  This is a way for your to interact with your prospects and clients online, 24/7 and it’s a place where you will actually get interaction!!  If you would like to stop this mail from being delivered:

a)  If you have a superbox (meaning a centralized mail box on the street), you can slip a note in to the mail carrier asking them to stop giving you unaddressed ad mail.

b) If you are still lucky enough to have your mail delivered to your home, you can post a note on your mailbox asking the same.

It’s as easy as that. There will still be some mail that is required to be delivered. Most of these revolve around political/electoral items and community newsletters.

3. Addressed Ad Mail

You know these.  The Credit Card companies are great for this kind of thing.  If I took every offer, I would have 100 credit cards.  You wonder how they get your name in the first place!  One way is if you purchase a large item and sign up for lease payments or purchase on a no-money down option and pay over time.  Financial Institutions then get their hands on your addressee information and many of these companies sell their lists.  One should always read the fine print.  If you would like to stop this mail from coming to your house, you will have to be a little more diligent.  Go to www.the-cma.org.  When you get to the website, click on the Consumer Information tab. Then click on CMA Do Not Contact Service.  Register your name there.  You will likely have to revisit this one a few times a year if you purchase a lot.  As you sign new contracts, you are potentially setting yourself up to be put on another mailing list.

4. Pay Bills Online

Many of you may still feel uncomfortable with this option and that is completely your choice.  I do online banking and pay bills online. It saves time, money and the environment.  I know in the U.S. many companies will give incentives for you to pay online, some with cash!  I also invoice my clients online.  No more snail mail!

5. Printing

When you print, consider these tips:

• Print on both sides of the paper
• Extend your margins to allow more printing on a page
• Use a font like Times Roman to get more words on a page
• Change to Draft printing until you are ready for the final version

These tips are great for helping cut down on paper.  Of course buying recycled paper is also a big plus. You may have to pay a little more for it, but I am a big believer in “Pay me now or Pay me later”. If you would like to ensure a sustainable planet for your children and grandchildren, then think of the big picture. A few cents more now for our children’s futures is a small price to pay.

6. Ink

Many people still throw away their printer cartridges…in fact approx. 70% still do.  There are companies out there like Cartridge World, who will refill your ink cartridges for you. They also refill or remanufacture toner cartridges for photocopiers and laser printers.  The result is the same as a brand new cartridge and at considerable savings.  These components take hundreds of years (some components 1000 years) to break down in landfill.  Look online for a Cartridge World in your area.  They have franchise outlets  in many countries.

7. Electricity

Using a product like the Smart Strip Power Bar is a great way to cut down on power usage. You can plug your computer into the main plug of this strip and the rest of your peripherals (printer, fax machine, etc) in the others. When you power off your computer, it automatically powers off the rest. Simple and easy.  The same would apply to your TV and peripherals.

Also using the Smart Fluorescent Light Bulbs is a great savings too.  Consider these for the whole house.

8. Consummables

When it comes time to buy office products, consider looking for recycled items.  I recently purchased a package of Papermate pens that have components that you can put in your compost!  The outside shell of the pen is made from a corn product.  There are other parts that can be recycled. Only a few (like the ink tube) needs to be thrown away.

I also purchase recycled paper, envelopes, folders, binders, paper clips and even a couple of file crates that are made from post-consumer waste.

I hope these tips help! I am sure there are 2 others to round it out to 10.  Let me know what you do!  I love getting feedback.  Here on my blog, you will get Commentluv.  That’s great for you bloggers out there.  By leaving a comment, you can attach a link back to your own blog. Great for SEO.  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment. I love to hear from everyone!

While physically located in , Ontario where I live with my family, as a VA, I’m virtually yours anywhere….

Until next time,

Joanne

‘Cardinal’ Rules of Twitter

As a Social Media Specialist VA, I have new people following me on Twitter all the time.  It is always my choice as to who I will follow back.  It is very important to stay focused on who your target market is and build your relationships in that community.   Having said that, I always check the profiles of anyone who is newly following me.

There are many people out there who have not yet grasped the concept of just how powerful Twitter can be.    The following is an example of a particular profile I reviewed recently.  The entire Twitter stream was made up of the same kind of ‘conversation’.  There was very little interaction.  I will share 5 tweets here  and give you some ideas as to how these tweets might have been done differently.  This individual is in the eco-friendly industry and their profile implied that they were looking for business contacts.  The following tweets are not business related. Here is how they might have showcased their expertise, and shared value-added information to their target audience.  See how you can use these examples and adapt them to your own environment.  Don’t be afraid to standout.  Be colorful.  Be a Cardinal!

Tweets:

1.  Just removed the lint from the dryer, yuck

As an individual in the eco-friendly industry,  while removing lint from the dryer is admittedly not a stimulating chore, it is one that needs doing. So if I were inclined to talk about this, here is a way that this could have been done differently.

Don’t throw out your dryer lint. Place it on branches of trees. Birds will use it to feather their nests. With Spring around the corner, this can be a timely tweet.  Even better..consider writing a blog post on 5 ways to use your dryer lint along the reduce, reuse, recycle approach and tweet a link to the blog post. You’d be surprised how many uses there are!

2. Just had my second cup of coffee from ******* .  Am finally waking up.

Take this opportunity to remind readers about not contributing to landfill.

Took my thermos for a second coffee fillup this a.m. to ****. Finally waking up. Glad I’m not adding more cups to landfill. Even better, consider investigating some organic coffee growers and write a blog post on the benefits. Share this information with your readers. Again, Tweet a link to the post.

3. Looking forward to dinner – chicken cordon bleu  YUM!

It’s ok to share some personal tweets from time to time.  Try to focus 80% of your tweets on business related information.  However, this doesn’t mean that when you post something personal, that you can’t add value.  This might have been better..

Looking forward to dinner – chicken cordon bleu. Love this dish. Here’s the recipe. Tell me what you think! Add a link to the recipe. Even better, provide a picture using  a product like Flickr. You can attach the pic to your tweet.

4. Good morning from ******. It’s sunny and beautiful here today. Hope it keeps up.

Again, there is an opportunity here to share some environmental news with your readership. Try this.

Good morning from ****. Weather is beautiful here today. Check this Farmers Almanac prediction for 2010. Provide a link to farmersalmanac.com.  Even better, Encourage people to start thinking about planting their own organic vegetable gardens this year.

5. Time to paint the kids’ bedrooms.  **** wants her room painted pink.

You might consider educating readers that there are low VOC (volatile organic compounds) available today.  VOCs are key to the ozone…so consider a tweet like this..

Time to paint the kids rooms. So glad there are paints with low VOCs now and in such great colors too! Even better, consider writing a blog post on 10 ways to decorate a room using eco-friendly products. Again, tweet about it and provide a link to your blog post or your website if you sell some of these products. Add pictures to your blog post to make it more interesting and include one in your tweet.

These alternatives share industry related information to your target market and showcase your expertise/understanding of the issues in the eco-friendly space.  By adding value, your readers are more likely to return, eager for more content.  In this way, you begin to develop relationships and build intimacy and trust.  Twitter is a great tool to drive traffic to your blog or your website.   But as I have said before, stay away from heavy marketing tactics where you are doing nothing more than selling wares.  The social media space is all about adding value and creating relationships.

Take a look at your industry and see how you can begin to adapt your tweets in this way. Let me know how it’s going. I love getting feedback.  As a Social Media Specialist, I am here to help you grow your business.  Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv.  That’s great for all you bloggers out there. Leave a comment and you can leave a link back to your own blog!  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment. I’d love to hear from all of you.

Happy Tweeting!

Joanne

While physically located in , Ontario where I live with my family, as a VA, I’m virtually yours anywhere….

It’s Really Not Easy Being Green 

Not enough eyes were rivoted on Britain this week as the Prince of  Wales launched his new campaign to save the Rainforests.  While his support of the environment is certainly not new, what is new is that he embraced social media to get his message across.    Notice how he signs off at the end of the video. Charles, Prince of Wales, very informal – so unlike his usual demeanor but very appropriate for this media landscape.  Social Media has certainly made an impact.

The video is both entertaining and educational.  So why are there so few views? Why is no one jumping on proliferating this link as they did for Susan Boyle just weeks ago.  Surely everyone knows by now that the rainforests are the lungs of the plant. This is critical situation and Social Networking is the ideal way to spread the message. Everyone needs to do their part!

We have the power to send this message around the world and make a difference. Virtual Assistants do their part in reducing the carbon footprint by supporting multiple clients from their homes therefore allowing business owners to cut down on the need for additional computers, electricity, automobile emissions, etc.

Please join me in continuing to spread the word and keep this issue at the forefront to help save the planet for our future generations.  Click here for more information on this campaign.

Your comments are always welcomed! Let me know what you think.

While physically located in Newmarket Ontario where Joanne lives with her family, as a VA, she is virtually yours anywhere….