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I think Telsa motors will help issue in a new breed of auto manufactures sorta like how the I-Phone turned the smart phone industry upside down.  Telsa’s first car the Roadster cost 100k, this Model S cost almost 50k, maybe in a couple years they will have a vehicle in the 25k range giving most of  us the ability to afford a fully electric car that has luxury look and feel.

It took a web 2.0 mind to create a car that meets the needs for the auto industry’s future.

Bravo Telsa Motors

JB

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Get found online. Create a self-hosted WordPress blog, implement search engine optimization techniques, and start getting free publicity that attracts the media and new business to you like a magnet!

Description
This is a full-day workshop that’s hands-on with your laptop. Learn from experts how to build a professionally-designed, self-hosted WordPress blog from scratch and optimize it (and your Web site) for search engines. You’ll also learn how to use other no- to low-cost tips and strategies for getting found online, including social media.

Dates & Time

Thursday, June 18, 2009
Again On
Friday, July 17, 2009
More Dates Will Be Added

9:30 AM – 4:00 PM
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM Help Desk

Location
AGL Resources, Inc.
Ten Peachtree Place, 2^nd Floor Training Room
Atlanta GA 30309 (Midtown Atlanta)

Prerequisites
Easy pre-work (e.g., register for a YouTube account) is required for this training and full details are on the official Website, www.DigitalBreakThroughs.com.

Who Should Attend?
The workshop is designed for small business owners, non-profits, virtual assistants, and anyone else who needs to build an online presence and get found.

Your Trainers
Peggy Duncan will teach you how she started her blog from scratch, maintains it with fresh content, and what she does to keep her top position in Google’s organic search results. She is a personal productivity expert and author of six books on organization, time management, and technology tips, tricks, and strategies. Peggy travels internationally helping busy people spend less time working but get more done. She is an award-winning blogger, and her technology blog was recently selected the Top Business Blog by Fast Pitch!  Visit Peggy online at www.PeggyDuncan.com and also enjoy tips in her award-winning technology blog, www.SuiteMinute.com.

JB Brathwaite will teach you how to build a professional WordPress blog from scratch and enhance it with some of the most popular plug-ins that will increase its functionality. He is an Internet strategist, WordPress blogging expert, and Peggy’s teacher. He’ll work with you to build your self-hosted blog from scratch or will take what you already have to another level with more functionality. Visit JB online at www.DentistSOS.com and www.2TheNextLevel.com.

Get Details and Register Here TODAY!
www.DigitalBreakThroughs.com
Space is Limited

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• PayPal
• Zoho CRM
• GrandCentral (GoogleVoice)
• iContact
• WordPress
• Google Reader
• Mint
• Twitter
• Hulu
• Facebook
• Linkedin

PayPal

PayPal.com: I have been using PayPal for almost 9 years now and still can’t do without it. Point blank if you are a Soloprenuer or Small Business owner and don’t have a PayPal account you are clearly missing out on  major revenue streams. Please check out my blog post PayPal.com Makes Ecommerce Easy for Solopreneurs and 10 Great PayPal Tips for Solopreneurs and Small Business Owners

Zoho CRM

Zohocrm.com: Clearly one of the best CRM’s for Small Business. I was at one time a very heavy Salesforce user until I found Zoho. Been using Zoho for over a year now and my Free version is still going strong. Check out my blog post Zoho.com Gives Solopreneurs a Suite of Successful Business Tools then go and get yourself a Free ZohoCRM account and let me know what you think.

GrandCentral/Google Voice

GrandCentral.com: One phone number you can have for life. Most of us have multiple ways to be contacted by phone.  We have a home number, work number, cell number and in many cases a second home office line.  I, only give out one phone number my GrandCentral number and it automatically forwards my calls to any one or all of my other numbers. Please read my post, Solopreneurs Stay In Touch With One Number From GrandCentral for more information on this great service.

iContact

iContact: Email marketing has come a long way from just gathering email addresses in Outlook and sending them through your local Internet Service Provider. The key to  using a service like iContact is taking advantage of all the broadcast email features like Open and Clickthrough Tracking, Message Scheduling and List Segmentation. Yes, there are many other email marketing services on the market like Constant Contact and Vertical Response but iContact is by far the better bang for the buck.

WordPress

Wordpress: I have been using WordPress to power this blog and many others I have created. I used to use the Joomla CMS for my blogs but decided to move them all to the WordPress platform and have never looked back. Although both platforms were what I was looking for in Open Source, I was really impressed with the amount of plugins and themes WordPress had to offer. Please check out my post WordPress 2.7 Is Finally Here!.

Google Reader

Google Reader: Google has many great tools to choose from and all of them are good. Google Reader is one of my favorites because it helps me manage and keep track of all the blogs I enjoy reading on a regular basis. As long as the blog has an RSS feed I can bring it into my Google Reader. I can also create Blog topic folders to help keep the 100 plus blogs I subscirbe to in order. If you are new to using a RSS reader for all you blog reading I highly recommend Google Reader.

Mint

Mint: With all that is going on with the financial challenges of our nation and the world many of us need to make sure our current finances are in order. Mint is the ultimate way to keep track of almost all  your finances online. I have been using it for over a year now and it has made a big difference in my financial bottom line. Please check out my blog post Web 2.0 Solopreneur Site Of The Week: Mint.com out how it can help you and your small business.

Twitter

Twitter: @jbrath is officially on the Twitter bandwagon and suggest you all come ride it with me. Twitter is a micro blogging service that is currently taking the Internet by storm. And when I say storm I mean it literally has helped people navigate storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and in my personal case house fires. See my blog post Twitter Gives First Response News On House Fire In The Bronx Everyone now wants to look like the Twitter interface with Facebook and just recently FriendFeed changing their look to imitate Twitter. I currently have just over 1100 followers and have had my Twitter account for almost 2 years yet @Oprah just got on Twitter 2 weeks ago and will have one million followers by the end of 2 months.  Now that Oprah is on Twitter we can be rest assured that Twitter will have a way to make profit soon.

Hulu

Hulu: I don’t watch much television anymore but I really don’t have to with Web 2.0 video services like Hulu. I was one of the first beta testers of Hulu thanks again to TechCrunch and have been a huge fan ever since. Hulu allows you to watch some of your most favorite TV shows on-demand for FREE. I watch past episodes of  shows like Burn Notice, The Family Guy, Lie To Me and Rescue Me. Hulu’s mission is to help people find and enjoy the world’s premium video content when, where and how they want it. I still own a TV but Hulu makes it so much easier to watch quality programing on my computer.

Facebook

Facebook: Like everyone else on Facebook I am pretty hooked. I don’t spend as much time as I used to on Facebook but that’s because my business keeps me on another social networking site that I will talk about next. Facebook is great for keeping up with all my high school and college mates. I have also recently used it to invite many of my Facebook friends to attend a teleseminar I held.  Facebook is awesome for keeping track friends and family members without having to call them on the phone or sending them an email.

Linkedin

Linkedin: LinkedIn has over 40 million members in over 200 countries and territories around the world. A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second, and about half of our members are outside the U.S. Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members. I have been concentrating me efforts on Linkedin for the past few months because I feel it is the best social networking site that meets the needs of most profesionals.  Soloprenuers should create a profile on Linkedin and start making connections. Take a listen to the Teleseminar I did with Linkedin Expert Lewis Howes.

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Lewis and I would like to thank all of those who were able to make the teleseminar on Social Media and Linkedin. If you were not on the call and want to hear the replay please click here for the Get Linkedin, Ask Lewis Howes replay. This blog will also give you the opportunity to ask your Linkedin Questions that we were unable to cover on the teleseminar. Lewis and I will be monitoring the comments so please feel free to tell us what you thought of the call and give us some feedback on how we can do better with future events on social media and especially Linkedin.

Here are the 5 tips Lewis gave our on the call that can help you take your Linkedin profile 2 the next level.

1. Put a professional picture on your profile.

2. Write a compelling headline

3. Give and Get recommendations

4. Use a custom URL
(http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyalexanderbrathwaite)

5. List your website:
Instead of  (My website) use (Twitter Marketing Case Studies)

Please ask your questions as a comment below.

Thanks again

JB

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There are still a couple of things not that quite ironed out yet. One is the fact that this upgrade to Google Voice is only available to current GrandCentral users. Another not so great thing is that when you upgrade your account from GrandCentral to Google Voice your GrandCentral contacts and phone numbers are not automatically imported into Google Voice. At this time you have to manually export your contact out of GrandCentral as a .csv file and then import them into Google Voice.  Last but not least you still cannot port your current phone number to become your Google Voice number therefore you will have to give out a new number to take advantage of all the awesome Google Voice features.

Take a look at some of the videos of just a few of the Google Voice features. Enjoy!

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At first I was very impressed with the way I could book my ticket via Amtrak’s website.  But I could not print out my own boarding pass and had to pick up a paper ticket upon arrival from the ticket both.

Ok, let’s talk train station. Atlanta has the smallest train station for a city of just over 5 million people.  The station is so small the lone Red Cap baggage handler has to make extra money selling tickets to events at the masonic lodge next door. The only parking space is at the Barnes and Noble books store across the street. All kidding aside, the Amtrak train station in Atlanta, GA needs a makeover.

OK, let’s talk security. I got there a little early and decided to check one of my bags. I then noticed that I was one of the few to check my bag because all the other passengers took their bags with them on the train. I then took notice to my amazement that even though we are post September 11th none of our bags were put through any kind of x-ray machine to check for illegal contraband. There was also no one there to check our tickets to make sure we were allowed to go down to the train platform. Many of the family member even followed us down the stairs to the awaiting train. I didn’t show anyone my ticket until I was sitting in my first come first serve seat.

OK, let’s talk comfort and convenience. Nothing has really changed in the 10+ years I last road the train. Mind you I road in coach class so I was really not expecting anything. The biggest change that I noticed was the adjustable foot rest that made a loud cranking noise every time you moved it.  One would think that Amtrak would have taken a lesson from plane travel’s SkyTV and equipped their train cars with Televisions to play movies or maybe even taped TV shows. Heck I was on a chartered bus trip to Washington, DC some years ago and even that bus had TV’s throughout the cabin for our entertainment on such a long trip.

OK, let’s talk about amenities. Amtrak had boasted on their website that they have T-Mobile Wifi Hotspots at most of their train stations (Atlanta not being one of those stations) but of course they never got around to putting it on their trains. Wifi on trains should have been a no-brainer for Amtrak since most trips usually take hours to get to ones destination. Wifi on trains has taken off in Europe and it is growing by leaps and bounds on commuter trains like San Fransisco’s BART here in the USA.

Not only could Wifi be another revenue stream for Amtrak but it would help as a marketing perk and could be used as a key tool to compete with the airlines. Soloprenuers alike would jump at the chance to pay for the ability to get their work done while on such a long business trip. Amtrak would have to act fast on this endeavor because Delta Airlines is looking to to have Wifi on almost all their planes by the end of this summer.

Ok, lets talk food. Thank goodness I had the peace in mind to take along food to eat on my journey up to New York.  Not only are the food items expensive but they are in limited supply and tend to run out before your trip is over.  I was not so lucky on my trip back to Atlanta from New York City for I didn’t pack enough food to last me the whole 17+ hours. I tried the dinning car first but they refused to sell me a cheese burger meal because it was not on the dinner menu. I was then forced to eat from the snack car and made the mistake in trying some microwave hot wings. My body will never and I mean never be the same for I got so sick I had things coming out of both ends if you know what I mean.

Ok, lets talk Amtrak staff members. Finding your seat was fairly easy but keeping it was like passing an act of congress. The Amtrak train conductors had such a hard time keeping track of what person was in what seat. They constantly asked us where we were sitting and made many of us move unnecessarily when they could not figure it out. I was woken up at about 2 am in the morning and asked to move because a husband and wife wanted to sit together.

Heading back to Atlanta there was a 2-3 hour delay in Virginia but there was no announcement as to why they had to stop the train.   Asking the staff was a joke because they were just as clueless and could only guess when we would be on our way again.

Ok, lets talk about the pictures and the people. The trip was really not all bad. I did enjoy the view of the picturesque American landscape rolling by my window. There is nothing like seeing the countryside from a train. The speed of the train allows you just enough of a glimpse to visualize and take in the quaintness of a small town.  I also enjoyed my fellow passengers.  I met some very interesting people both going and coming. Train travelers have a way of kicking back, relaxing and letting their hair down. This was true social networking at its best without a computer or a smart phone.  Think about the train scene in the movie Trading Places just without the gun or the gorilla. One older lady shared with me that she preferred to ride the rail cause she has never been in a hurry to get anywhere that a train could not satisfy her needs.

Amtrak really needs to take lessons from our neighbors across the ocean in the United Kindom, France and Japan.  They definitely know how to take train travel to the next level. Yes, I survived my Amtrak train travel 1.0 but I look forward to the day when trains here in the US can give us a cheaper, faster and greener transportation choice in our 2.0 world.

All the best

JB

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After speaking to my mom who reassured me that she was ok and on her way to the hospital, I then took to the Internet to find out any information on how this unfortunate incident could have happened.

I first tried to get the news from several websites of the local television station in New York. I then tried to get a local New York news radio station. Both proved to be very confusing and had no news about what happened to my mother”s house.

I then did a Twitter search on “Bronx Fire” and came up with the below results. All of which gave me more information on what happened to my mother’s house.

These search results not only gave me what I needed in more information but they also gave me up to date video coverage of what happened with the fire.

NYP and they were able to give me more detailed information on the damage of the fire.

As much as I am sad that my childhood home has gone up in flames, I am truely thankful and blessed that my mom was not seriously insured. I am also thankful to those who used Twitter that night and gave me the updates I needed to fill in all the blanks I was getting from traditional media.

The power of Twitter has become very real to me these past couple of days since the fire. I am now using Twitter to find out more on fire insurance and how to deal with public adjusters.

I will keep you all posted on my findings. Stay strong in this economy Solopreneurs.

All the best

JB

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The highlight of the morning session was culminated by a video conference call with Ruth Ann Harnisch, President of the Harnisch Foundation announcing a 1.5 million dollar gift to Kennesaw State College to establish the Center for Sustainable Journalism. Lenard Witt one of the founders of SoCon will oversee this generous gift. The center’s mission is to discover innovative ways to produce financially sustainable, high quality and ethically sound journalism.

Mr. Witt made mention that he was encouraged by a professor at MIT to share his idea with the world on his blog and not keep it as a secret hoping that one day he will have to chance implement his idea of  Representative Journalism.  He was then contacted by Ms. Harnisch who read his blog post and was inspired to act on helping him bring this idea to its full reality.

The morning session was then followed by and networking luncheon that really got the afternoon going. I met so many like minded people during this luncheon that I really didn’t want to leave my table to attend the afternoon breakout sessions.

After reluctantly leaving networking luncheon I then attended a breakout session lead by James Andrews, Director at Ketchum Interactive. His topic was Social Media in Public Relations. I then attended the late afternoon session lead by Josh Hallet. His topic was Return on Investment in Social Media.

All in all I thought the whole unconference was well worth the small price paid to attend. The keynote speakers of the morning session were not as good as last years but all of that was made up for with the networking luncheon and the afternoon breakout sessions.

I look forward to attending SoCon again in 2010.

All the best

JB

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The new Whitehouse.gov website is run by Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House.

http://change.gov/ is now redirected to http://www.whitehouse.gov

There is even a new White House Twitter account @whitehouse_gov

According to TwitterCounter the Whitehouse twitter account added 4,764 followers yesterday and predicts another 7k the next day, with 76k by the end of 3o days.

There is no sign of an official Facebook page for the White House yet but if one does crop up I will keep you posted.
If you see one before me please shoot me an email or send it in a comment on this post.

My favorite part of the website currently is the THE BRIEFING ROOM. President Barack Obama plans to publish a weekly video address every Saturday morning of his presidency and you can find it under this heading. The Briefing Room also has a section for the official White House Blog. I look forward to seeing and reading the many post but I don’t yet see a way one can make comments to the blog.

President Obama did a masterful job using the Internet leading up to his eventful election and will continue to use social media as a way to stay in touch with the many Americans that helped put him into office.  President Obama gave us many lessons on how we as Solopreneurs and Small Business people can use social media to help promote and market out businesses. Please see my blog post Barack 2.0 Will Help Solopreneurs Understand Social Media Marketing to learn more.

If you would like to take a look at the old  George W. White House Website take a look at the link below.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070910183923/http://www.whitehouse.gov/

I, for one look forward to the change our country is headed toward and I am so proud to not just be an African American  like our new President but finally proud to be an American.

All the best

and May God Bless our New First Family

JB

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