True Light Resources

Twitter Fail Whale While being Interviewed about Twitter

noemail@truelightresources.com — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Can you Twitter on Twitter that youre being interviewed about Twitter if you cant get on Twitter? Nope. Damn that fail whale! If it werent so cute I would have some serious anger. ~ Matthew Wettergreen (@organ_printer) On April 28th my business partners Comcast internet went down. Normally that wouldnt be a big deal, who needs a better excuse than that to head out to a wifi coffee shop. This day, her son was home sick from school and when our kids are sick - we stay home. One of the most important reasons we started True Light Resources is so we could be available to our families. We have set up our work environment accordingly. We both have home offices and though I work harder and longer than I ever have before, that just may look like working on the laptop in my rocking chair with a flu ridden 4 year old sleeping in my lap. But if I am home with a sick kid, or the repairman, or cause dang it I want to work at home that day and I dont have internet - well that just throws a...

3-Jul-08 4:00 PM

Got Social Media for Non-Profits

noemail@truelightresources.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Join us in Austin, Texas on June 27th to discover how Social Media can take your Non-Profit organization to new heights! After selling out our first Got Social Media event in Houston, Texas, Got Social Media is back - and this time were targeting Non-profits. Weve assembled some of the top minds in Social Media, Technology, Design, and Marketing - to help your Non-profit soar. If you currently work with a Non-Profit, or in Advertising, PR, Marketing, Technology then the Got Social Media conference is for you. The American Red Cross and local organizations like NetSquared, churches, schools, and basically any non-profit trying to get the biggest bang for their buck -- all across America, are discovering that Social Media is a great tool for community outreach, publicity, and grassroots marketing campaigns. The Got Social Media™ Conference will show you how to use Social Media and Community Based Marketing to gain clients and get the edge on your competition. Click...

11-Jun-08 4:00 PM

Houston Chronicle Covers Coworking + Caroline

noemail@truelightresources.com — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Tuesday, April 8th’s Star Section in the Houston Chronicle splashed a couple of familiar faces on the the cover. In a story about Houston’s alternative working spaces, Caroline Collective was featured, along with Houston Jelly, and quote <3 from Alex Hillman of Philly’s Indy Hall and Tara Hunt of San Francisco’s Citizen Space.

Thus inspired, Rice University graduate students Matthew Wettergreen and Ned Dodington are developing what they say will be the largest co-working space to date. The Caroline Collective is a planned 6,000-square-foot, two-building office and art studio space in the Museum District.

“I see it a lot as a product of our friendship and working relationship. He’s a bioengineer; I’m an architect,” said Dodington. “We started to collaborate on projects and are consistently wowed by the fact through a collaborative effort you can produce interesting results.”

Dodington said, fee-paying members as well as the public — it’s seen as a magnet for freelancing or self-employed Web designers, programmers, artists, writers and other “creative types” — will gather to work and hang out. (A Chronicle employee is among the investors.)

Wettergreen and Dodington, who are working to raise the $15,000 to $20,000 to renovate the space in time for a June opening, said they hope it becomes a community gathering spot. They plan to charge $300 per month for anytime access to a desk and facilities that will include a lounge, conference room and, if the members demand it, an administrative assistant. Occasional access will be available for $125 per month, or a private office ranging from $450 to $600 monthly. Five out of the seven offices available have already been committed.

Read the entire article here.

2-Jun-08 9:00 AM

Tracey Lee Wallace Featured in Houston Chronicle Article

noemail@truelightresources.com — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:00:00 GMT

On April 28, Tomball resident Tracey Lee Wallace woke to discover her Internet access was down.

And because her phone service is tied to her broadband connection, she also had no dial tone. For the single mom who runs a Web site development business out of her home, this was something of a crisis.

But when she called Comcast, her Internet service provider, scheduling conflicts on both her end and the company's meant she couldn't get a technician out for a repair until four days later.

"I seriously considered getting DSL, but AT&T couldn't get out here any sooner," Wallace said. "If they could have, I would have switched."

Wallace complained about her situation on Twitter, the microblogging service that's captured the hearts of techies but left many nongeeks scratching their heads, wondering what the fuss is about.

"Damn Internet down in my house," she wrote, using her BlackBerry. "Arrrrgh can't fix until THURSDAY. Shoot me"

A Comcast employee whose job is to troll cyberspace in search of frustrated customers saw Wallace's grievance and asked if he could help.

And indeed he could. By the end of the day, Wallace was back online and delighted with a company that, just hours earlier, she'd been cursing.

"I'm a crazy loyal dog now," she said.

--> Click here for full Houston Chronicle Article

1-Jun-08 10:00 AM

Little Fish, Big Pond - SEO Enlightenment

noemail@truelightresources.com — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:00:00 GMT

Google: 1,310,000 for litte +fish +big +pond Ok, I make websites for a living. Well, I do a lot of other stuff too, but one of the things I do is make websites. I make these sites 90% of the time for small to medium sized companies, and of course these days everyone knows (well just about everyone, I do occasionally still run into a person who thinks just cause they have a website for their TOTALLY off the wall widget they are going to instantly sell a million of the dang things and retire on an island they buy with the money, anyway. . .) almost everyone knows if you build it, it doesnt mean theyll come. Enter SEO, Search Engine Optimization that is: SEO, SEM, META-Tags, Pay-Per-Click, etc. I know with a limitless budget I could buy my way to the top, yet all the data out there suggests I can get to the top organically (yes, like the milk that doesnt have any additives.) Still, no matter how much I read, see, and hear about SEO, I cant get the Little Fish in a Big Pond out of my...

16-Dec-07 12:00 PM

Website Pop Quiz - How well do you know your WWW

noemail@truelightresources.com — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:00:00 GMT

Website Pop Quiz Sponsored by www.truelightresources.com 1. How much time to do you have to capture someone’s attention before they leave your website? a. 1 seconds b. 10 seconds c. 1 minute 2. What is SEO? a. Secular Equality Organization b. Security Enhancement Optimizer c. Search Engine Optimization 3. How many searches are conducted per day on Google? a. 900,000 b. 90,000,000 c. 90,000,000,000 4. Who has control of your website? a. The President/Owner of the company b. Our company’s IT Manager c. Uh, I have no idea d. The Dude 5. What is a Meta-Tag? a. An HTML tag that provides information about a Web page, such as its title, description, and subject keywords b. A demarcation that allow statistical information to be collected regarding number of visits to Adult Sites c. A particularly harmful Web-borne virus 6. Is there a difference between a Search Engine and a Search Index? a. Yes b. No c. ...

15-Dec-07 5:00 PM

www.SaveTheCenter.org

noemail@truelightresources.com — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:15:00 GMT

www.SaveTheCenter.org

Hello All,

We have just returned to the office after attending a press conference held by Shelia Jackson Lee at The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation.

The City of Houston is intending to sell the property The Center resides on, relocating 600 individuals with disabilities. The City thus far is intending to do this without consideration of the emotional and logistical impact this will have on the individuals served by The Center and their families.

Many of you have been made aware of this issue from the article in this Sunday's Houston Chronicle.

To read this article and much, much more you can visit
www.SaveTheCenter.org

Please visit this site and Sign the Petition (http://www.savethecenter.org/contact/petition.asp) telling Mayor White and The City of Houston,

"I am opposed to the City of Houston pursuing an agenda that would have the West Dallas Campus of the Center Serving Persons With Mental Retardation confiscated and the property sold. The Center must be allowed to continue its services and operations at the West Dallas location or hundreds of people with disabilities will be affected."

Thank you so much for your support in this.

Peace, Love and Light

~JJ & Tracey

www.TrueLightResources.com

9-Apr-07 2:15 PM