Richard Tubb's Blog, page 76
January 11, 2018
BestNine – Get your best nine photos of the year on Instagram
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is BestNine – Get your best nine photos of the year on Instagram.
What is it?
BestNine is a website/app that connects to your Instagram account.
How can it help me?
BestNine selects your best nine photos (as in best nine photos liked, shared or commented on by other users) from Instagram and collates them into a nifty collage for display on your Instagram channel, website or other social media.
BestNine will collate your most popular photos from Instagram into a collage for you to display on your social media channels
You can follow me @tubblog on Instagram.
A post shared by Richard Tubb (@tubblog) on Jan 9, 2018 at 3:15am PST
How much does it cost?
BestNine is free to use.
How can I get it?
Visit https://2017bestnine.com/ and input your Instagram ID.
You can also follow the creators of BestNine, @nine_press on Instagram.
Thanks to Kathryn Dishman-Baird of KD Communications for suggesting BestNine!
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December 28, 2017
SergeantClip – A Simple, Effective Cable Management Tool
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is SergeantClip – A Simple, Effective Cable Management Tool.
What is it?
SergeantClip is a physical cable management tool to be used by IT Professionals.
How can it help me?
The SergeantClip adds a physical layer to your Networking projects by eliminating the chance for mis-patching following network Switch replacements or upgrades.
You label the SergeantClip, install on cabling, and you can then remove cables as needed.
SergeantClick comes in 6-port, 12-port and Fibre options.
SergeantClip is a cable management tool that helps you avoid mis-patching on network projects
How much does it cost?
SergeantClick starts at £12.50 ex-VAT for a 24-port bundle with other bundle options available from the SergeantClick Shop.
How can I get it?
You can find out more about SergeantClip at the SergeantClip homepage.
You can also visit the SergeantClip Facebook page, follow @SergeantClip on Twitter or find SergeantClip on LinkedIn.
Thanks to Kyle Heath for bringing SergeantClick to my attention!
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December 21, 2017
Google Opinion Rewards – Answer Quick Surveys and earn Google Play credit
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Google Opinion Rewards – Answer Quick Surveys and earn Google Play credit.
What is it?
Google Opinion Rewards is an app that asks you to answer quick surveys. For every survey you answer, you are rewarded with up to 60p in Google Play credit.
How can it help me?
The Google Opinion Rewards app allows you to build a surprisingly nice pot of Google Play credit which you can use to pay for apps, movies, music and more on the Google Play Store.
I have found the Google Opinion Rewards app to be non-intrusive (it’s not constantly bothering you) and takes mere seconds to complete a survey.
If you’re a business or organisation looking to gain market research insights from consumers, then you can use Google Market Research Solutions to feed questions to Google Opinion Rewards consumers.
Use the Google Opinion Rewards app and build up a nice pot of credit to use on Google Play Store
How much does it cost?The Google Opinion Rewards app is free to download and use.
How can I get it?
You can download the Google Opinion Rewards App for Android from the Google Play Store, or download the Google Opinion Rewards App for iOS from the Apple Store.
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December 14, 2017
Glympse – A Simple Way to Share Your Location in Real-Time
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Glympse – A Simple Way to Share Your Location in Real-Time.
What is it?
Glympse is an app that provides a simple way to share your location in real-time.
How can it help me?
If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of meeting up with friends or colleagues and trying (in vain) to describe your location to them via a call or instant messenger, then Glympse is a great solution.
You can use the Glympse app to send a real-time GPS update to contacts that shows them where you are. You set who sees this update and for how long.
For example, running late for a meeting? Send your contact a Glympse so they can see where you are on your journey to meet them.
Do you have friends meeting you at an undetermined time? Keep them posted on your location (even as you move around) by sending them a time-limited Glympse.
Running late for a meeting? Use the Glympse app to send real-time GPS updates to show them where you are
It’s safe and easy to use. Select a contact, set a duration, and hit send. You can set a destination or customise a message. Whether you’re working on mobile, tablet, or desktop, anyone can receive a Glympse and there’s no software or setup required for recipients.
How much does it cost?
Glympse is free to use.
How can I get it?You can download Glympse for iOS, Android or Windows from the Glympse Download page.
To find out more, visit the Glympse homepage, visit the Glympse Facebook page, follow Glympse on Twitter, or follow Glympse on LinkedIn.
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December 12, 2017
Webinar: Making January Count — A Guide to Selling Services for MSPs
A heads-up that I’ll be the guest on a webinar with my friends at IT Glue next Wednesday 20th December 2017, starting at 4 pm GMT.
The topic? Making January count — A guide to Selling Services for IT Solution Providers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs).
Making January Count — A Guide to Selling Services for MSPs
Most businesses consider January a “dead month” when winning new business is unlikely to happen.
I disagree. The most successful businesses see January as a great opportunity to gain an edge while their competitors are easing back into the New Year.
Those MSPs who plan to grow in January gain a head start over their competitors. The key is to prepare to start the new year with a bang NOW instead of simply winding down for Christmas.
Setting yourself up for a successful 2018
This webinar will be hosted by Alex Ford of IT Glue and Alex and I will be offering a 3-step approach to selling services, plus some of the tools and practical ideas you can use to set yourself up for a successful 2018.
Register for the webinar now at https://www.itglue.com/selling-services-webinar. We’ll be answering questions from participants during the live webinar.
If you’re unable to make it for the live event, register for the webinar anyway and you’ll be sent details of the on-demand recording after the event.
How are you going to start 2018?
How are you going to start 2018? Quietly, like most of your competitors, or exploding into action?
How are you going to start 2018? Quietly, like most of your competitors, or exploding into action?
I’m interested to hear your plans. Leave a comment below or Tweet me @tubblog. I’ll feature your best ideas during the webinar.
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December 7, 2017
Curve – Combine all your Debit and Credit Cards into one card
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Curve – Combine all your Debit and Credit Cards into one card.
What is it?
Curve connects all of your credit (and debit) cards into a single card and app.
How can it help me?
How many credit or debit cards do you have? I have half a dozen, including a bank account debit card, two personal credit cards, a business account card and a business credit card.
Curve allows you to securely connect all of those cards into a single credit card. Via the Curve app, you can then choose which of your credit cards the Curve card represents when you next use it.
So if you’re purchasing a coffee in a business meeting, set your Curve card to your business credit card. The Curve card will remain your business credit card until you change it via the app.
When you’re buying groceries at the supermarket later that day, set your Curve card to your personal credit card. The Curve card will register the purchases against your personal credit card.
If you’ve charged a purchase to the wrong credit card via Curve, you can go back and reallocate the payment to the correct credit card afterwards.
Curve allows you to securely connect all your credit cards into one so you only have to carry a single card.
As well as allowing you to carry a single credit card which can be used as any of your credit or debit cards, the Curve app gives you instant updates on purchases made with your Curve card. You’ll spot unauthorised charges instantly and be able to freeze the card from within the Curve app.
Curve also allows you to travel without any hidden currency fees. The Curve card allows you to make purchases via your own credit and debit cards but charges no fees when used for foreign transactions.
Curve integrates with Xero (with other integrations coming soon), allowing you to automatically sync business expenses to your expense account.
How much does it cost?
Curve is free to use.
How can I get it?To apply for a Curve card, download the Curve App for Android from the Google Play Store or download the Curve App for iOS from the Apple Store.
Free £5! If you use my referral code of IUPWR when signing up, both your account and my account will be credited with £5 when you make your first transaction.
You can find out more about Curve at www.imaginecurve.com
You can also visit the Curve Facebook page, or follow @ImagineCurve on Twitter.
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November 16, 2017
Appenate – Empower Your Business with Worker-Facing Apps
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Appenate – an app building platform for businesses to improve processes and replace paper.
What is it?
Appenate is a no-code platform for creating data-driven applications that replace paper-driven fieldwork activities.
How can it help me?
Solutions built on Appenate help businesses:
Increase productivity
Enhance communication with other departments
Streamline tasks
Save time and manpower costs
Improve service quality
Optimise performance
Enforce accountability
and Manage compliance.
App creators can achieve the following without any programming:-
Show/hide fields and Screens based on formula logic.
Perform calculations – totals, scoring, custom outputs etc.
Populate data to PDFs using data templates.
Coordinate flow of apps – button events, “on scan” events, response to user interaction.
Query datasets – write own filters, aggregate functions etc.
Update / insert data into datasets.
Create conditional logic – to change text displayed, colour scheme etc.
Apps can access native device features to capture GPS and map locations, photos, audio, video, barcodes, NFC tags, signatures and annotations.
Use @Appenate to create data-driven business apps with no coding required
Once you’ve designed your app, it can run natively on Android, iOS and Windows devices in the Cloud, or on your own server.
In my opinion, Appenate is a very good fit for enterprise IT departments and solution providers who want to create custom business applications, without the risk and costs associated with building them from scratch.
Here are some examples of how Appenate is helping their customers be more productive.
How much does it cost?
Appenate Standard users cost $9.90, and Premium users cost $14.90, per month when paid annually. There is a 5-user minimum and discounts are offered for additional users and for annual subscriptions.
Learn more here.
How can I get it?Sign-up for an Appenate account and try the platform for 30-days for free.
You can download the Appenate Mobile Client for iOS from the Apple Store, the Appenate Mobile Client for Android from the Google Play Store, or the Appenate Windows application from the Appenate website.
You can also follow Appenate on Twitter, or visit the Appenate Facebook page.
Still curious? Take a tour of Appenate here.
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November 15, 2017
The 2018 List of IT Channel Events for MSPs
Each year I produce a list of IT Channel events that will be of interest to IT Solution Providers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) based in the UK and Europe.
All dates are subject to change and I’d strongly encourage you to contact the event organisers directly before making any travel plans based on information listed here.
Notes
For readers in the USA and Canada, my good friend Karl Palachuk has a great MSP events listing in Karl’s Weekly Email Newsletter.
I also publish a monthly list of UK User Group events and free training webinars that are of interest to MSP’s. To receive a regularly updated list by email, sign up for my MSP newsletter .
I frequently attend IT Channel Events myself. You can take a look at the events I’m attending as well as events I’m speaking at. If you’d like to engage me to present at, or report from your event, please feel free to contact me to discuss my availability.
Updates and Amendments
I try to keep this list regularly updated, so if you have an event then please feel free to contact me and let me know about it.
Last Edit: 13th November 2017. Latest updates in bold.
Annual UK IT Channel Events
Jan 30th – 31st 2018 – Network Group Focus Event – Stratford-upon-Avon
Jan 24th – 27th 2018 – BETT – London
Mar 21st – 22nd 2018 – Cloud Expo Europe – London
Apr 18th – 20th 2018 – IT Nation Europe – London
April 19th 2018 – IT Europa European IT & Software Excellence Awards – London
Apr 25th – 26th 2018 – IP Expo Manchester – Manchester Central
Jun 5th – 6th 2018 – The Service Desk and IT Support Show – London
Jun 5th – 7th 2018 – Info Security Europe – London
Jun 12th – 14th 2018 – AppsWorld – ExCel, London
Sep 11th – 12th 2018 – Channel Live – Birmingham
Oct 3rd – 4th 2018 – IP Expo Europe – London
Other Regular UK IT Channel Events
Monthly – IT Showcase Live! – Regional locations
Monthly – Computer Weekly CW500 – London
Annual European IT Channel Events
France
Mar 14th – 15th 2018 – IT Partners – Disneyland Paris
Netherlands
Oct 31st – Nov 1st 2018 – Info Security – Jaarbeurs Utrecht
Germany
Jun 11th – 15th 2018 – CeBit – Hannover
Oct 9th – 11th 2018 – The IT Security Expo and Congress – Nuremberg, Germany
Spain
Jan 29th – Feb 2nd 2018 – Cisco Live! EMEA – Barcelona
Oct 9th – 11th 2018 – Canalys Channels Forum – Barcelona
Nov 5th – 8th 2018 – VMworld Europe – Barcelona
Sweden
Sept 19th – 20th 2018 – IP Expo Nordic, Stockholm
November 14, 2017
How to monitor online mentions of your business with Google Alerts
Do you know what is being said about you and your business online? If not, then you may need to set up Google Alerts.
As an example, would you be aware when your business is mentioned in local or trade press?
Many business owners are not aware of what is being written or said about us online.
I was recently speaking to Managed Service Provider (MSP) business owner who shared with me a great written article on his business that a channel trade publication had published. The business owner had not been notified of the article publication, and he’d only stumbled across it a few weeks later by accident!
How can you be notified if an article mentions you or your business online? Thankfully, there’s a free tool that’s easy to use — Google Alerts.
What are Google Alerts?
Google Alerts is a free service that allows you to monitor the web for interesting new content. This includes (but is not limited to) alerts when you or your business is mentioned online.
Signing up for Google Alerts is free and easy by visiting https://www.google.com/alerts. Log in to your Google account. If you don’t already have an account, you can create a Google account for free.
Once you’re logged in with your Google account, you can type in a word or phrase that you want to be alerted about.
For instance, I’ve set up Alerts for “Richard Tubb” and “Tubblog” to alert me when my name or business is mentioned online.
Whenever Google indexes a new website or page that features the words “Richard Tubb”, it will send me an email alert. This is a great way to be made aware of articles featuring you as soon as they go live.
Google Alerts can be used by businesses to notify them when they are mentioned online.
How to modify a Google Alert
As you can see from the above screenshot, though, I’m not the only Richard Tubb in the world (who knew?). There’s the White House Physician, Richard Tubb, plus noted designer Richard Tubb in Alabama, USA.
I don’t particularly need to know when either of those Richard Tubbs is mentioned in an article. I can avoid this by modifying my original Google Alert of “Richard Tubb” with search operators.
If I modify my Google Alert from “Richard Tubb” to “Richard Tubb” -“House” then I’m spared any false alerts. Articles about Richard Tubb that also mention the White House or are talking about House Designer, Richard Tubb, aren’t sent to me.
My advice? Play around with the search options for Google Alerts and then read the alert preview to see whether the results broadly match your needs.
If you find yourself getting daily email alerts that are not relevant, then you can always go back and amend or delete the alert by visiting https://www.google.com/alerts.
How often do you want to be alerted?
You can also modify the alert options, changing how often you’re alerted (“as it happens”, “once per day”, “once per week”) to minimise the noise Google alerts creates. You can send the alerts to other email addresses, too.
ConclusionGoogle Alerts is used by businesses to notify them when they are mentioned online.
Google Alerts keeps an eye on what people are saying about you. A business owner can also use Google Alerts to monitor mentions of your competitors, clients or suppliers.
If you use Google Alerts for just one thing, make it this. Keep track of the positive mentions you receive in the press. Then, share these stories with your prospects and clients.
Keep track of the positive mentions you receive in the press. Then, share these stories!
I am a fan of the old adage “What other people think of me is none of my business”. In this case, though, Google Alerts can make what people say about your business, your business!
How do you use Google Alerts in your business? Please, let me know in the comments below.
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November 9, 2017
Listen Notes – A Podcast Search Engine that actually works
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Listen Notes – A Podcast Search Engine that actually works.
What is it?
Listen Notes is a Podcast Search Engine. It’s a website, like Google, but for Podcasts.
How can it help me?
Listen Notes can help you find relevant Podcasts to listen and subscribe to. It enables you to search by people, places and topics.
I’m an avid Podcast listener and I’ve written about why you should listen to Podcasts for personal development. Traditionally, you can only find Podcasts either by word of mouth (such as my recommended Podcasts for IT Professionals) or by those that hit the charts in iTunes. This overlooks a huge swathe of good quality, niche Podcasts.
Listen Notes helps you find Podcasts that are of interest to you.
Listen Notes is a Podcast search engine that helps you find podcasts that are of interest to you.
If you’re a Podcast producer (as I am) then you can submit a Podcast to Listen Notes to enable it to be found.
How much does it cost?
Listen Notes is free to use.
How can I get it?You can search for Podcasts by visiting the Listen Notes website.
You can also follow Listen Notes on Twitter, visit the Listen Notes Facebook page or follow the Listen Notes story on Medium.
Thanks to Mark Dodds of Compex IT for suggesting this Friday Favourite!
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