April 2012 archive

Apr 04

WordPress–A Plugin to Secure Your Site

Security for your WordPress site is essential for  smooth operation of your business. You have to think about securing your site  from hackers or spammers. Hackers can do lots of things after breaking in, they can attack your site’s viewers with Trojan viruses to steal information from their computers and if it’s going to happen Google will block your site with a message like this “This site may harm your computer”. One of my sites was hacked and it caused me a lot of work to get it back to the way it was. Fortunately I found a plugin that could secure my sites with minimum effort. The plug in is  WebsiteDefender WordPress Security. There are two versions but I found the free version was all I needed.

Easy to use, and now easy to secure

Although the WordPress platform is well known for ease-of-use and speedy configuration, securing your website can still consume lots of precious time when one considers all the possible issues that put your site and data at risk. WebsiteDefender WordPress Security takes care of doing all the rounds by checking your WordPress installation, site files, and database, for a complete assessment and report on how to correct any security issues with the way your site is configured.WebsiteDefender can look at your website configuration and flag any known or potential flaws related to user accounts. This information is invaluable for maintaining a secure website.

Apr 03

World Autism Awareness Day

Today is Autism Awareness Day. Autism is dear to my heart as I worked with Autistic children for ten years. It is important that we  raise awareness for this disorder.

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person’s lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Please   be more tolerant in public of  parents of a child with autism.  What may seem to be a parent being unresponsive to a tantrum may be an important way to reinforce desired behaviors and ways to communicate.

Cnn news has an encouraging article – Victoria, British Columbia (CNN) — Joseph Sheppard.  Mr.Sheppard, 42, has high-functioning autism. He found out only about six years ago, but the diagnosis explained the odd patterns of behavior and speech that he’d struggled with throughout his life. And it gave him the impetus to reinvent himself as an autism advocate.

People with more severe forms of autism may not be able to live independently or hold complex, social jobs. But those considered high-functioning can have a wide range of careers; you may even have a classmate or coworker with high-functioning autism who isn’t as vocal about it as Mr. Sheppard, or who never got a diagnosis.

Being different is OK and having tolerance and love for those who handle life differently than we do makes us a better person and a more humane community.

What are your thoughts…

Apr 02

Pinterest??

If you’re a small business owner, then the Pinterest statistics ought to grab your attention:      Just last week, Pinterest reached 11 Million monthly unique visits, 70% women, and 2 million Facebook users daily.. For many companies, it’s driving more referral traffic than Twitter and Google+. That growth is faster than any standalone site – ever.   Those are some impressive numbers if you’re looking to find a market for your goods.

Get the “Pin It” button for your blog AND bookmark bar. You want people to share your content, product photos and even book covers on Pinterest to drive incoming traffic. But you also want to have a “Pin It” button for yourself, so you can pin things you find interesting in a snap. Find them both here:  http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/

Here’s how it works: Users can set up “boards” to store all the images they find in their daily surfing. Cute puppies, home décor ideas, fun crafts for kids, and recipes are some favorites among the Pinterest devotees. When you pin an image, that image is linked to the original page you found it on, so others can check out that great new way to store wrapping paper, too. Those other users can also re-pin your image to their own boards, thus spreading the word far and wide.   I have a pinboard called “love Your boxer” sharing images of my favorite boxer dog and my images have been re-pinned.

This kind of viral sharing is – in large part – why companies are so interested in using Pinterest as a part of their marketing plan. And why you should be using it as well.

Share how can you  participate, and create value with your boards.