My planning system setup with Erin Condren

Tech Wars: Time to get an upgrade Part 2

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This is the camera edition of “Tablet Wars: Time to get an upgrade”.  In the last “Time to Get an Upgrade”, dated June 13, 2015, I talked about upgrading my Ipad and my phone.  What had happened at that time:  I was grocery shopping.  Grocery delivery had not come to my area and I needed some vittles (southern talk for food-trying to be funny, bear with me, people).  Anyway, I knew it was about to storm, but it looked like it was so far away. 

Photo by: NDTV Gadgets

If you know anything about Ohio weather, you know that it could be sunny one minute, raining the next, followed by snow, sleet, and hail, topped off by a tornado warning in a split second.  I can see some of you from other states nodding your heads as well. Anyway, I thought I was safe.

The purse I was carrying at the time had pockets on the side and for convenience,   I went into the store, grabbed a cart, and started shopping.  In the middle of my grocery shopping, down came the rain.  I was not too worried because I thought that the rain would stop by the time I checked out, but I started to hurry.

I carried my Samsung Galaxy SIII in one of the pockets.

I paid for the groceries and started outside, but stopped because the rain was harder than before.  My car was too far away to do a full sprint to it, but I attempted when it lightens up.  Running to the car I go, popped the truck, grabbed my purse to toss inside to the passenger side of the car, not thinking that the USB hole on my phone was exposed to all that water.  I tossed the groceries in and left.  No worries (at least I thought).

I got home, put the groceries in the house, then put them away.  I thought that I had to turn off my phone, but it died from all that water going inside.  I took the battery out, put it in rice, and let the rest of the phone air out.  I could not believe it, my precious phone, gone.  The rest of the story is on that blog post, and even though it is an old post, it is still a good read.  I even upgraded my Ipad the day I upgraded the phone.  The bad side of the story was getting the bill, which Verizon charged more than I was willing to pay when the rep told me another price. 

For today’s Post

I am interested in another phone.  The one that replaced the SIII phone is dying a slow, painful death.  It is slow, and it is painful for me to watch as I decide to take a picture, video, or add a new app, and the memory isn’t there to support my forever growing social media presence.  I want the new Galaxy 9 phone, but the money does not support it, and not only that, my dad is the owner of the account and told me to forget about getting a phone anytime soon.  Same goes if I decide to switch up and get an Iphone.

I also need a new Ipad. The current one is still ok, and I still can do all the things, except drawing.  I can draw on it, but I do not have the proper stylus.  Plus, I would love to hook it up to the new laptop or the desktop, then I can see what I am drawing.  Enter the New Apple Mini Ipad 5, which I played with today at the Apple Store.  I was asking about a stylus that I could draw with my current mini Ipad, and the rep pointed me to another person who showed me the Ipad 5.  I love the price, $389, which is the same price as my Cricut Maker, and actually, come to think of it, the current Mini Ipad.  I also love that I do not have to pay for the Procreate software that I would have to get for my current Ipad. ($9.99, yikes!!!)

Last, I need a new camera.  The last camera, which was a baby camera (I will call Pocket), is lost somewhere in the condo.  This is how tiny it is or was, I cannot decide which is which, and it depends on if I can find it or not.  If I can, then it will be a backup camera, but if not, Oh well, I am not crying over a lost tiny camera.

I have been thinking about getting the Canon G7x, Mark II camera or the Canon Powershot Camera.  I tend to get cameras that I am familiar with or have heard good reviews on.  The Cannon G7x, Mark II camera is currently being used by one of my favorite YouTube families, Gabe and Chad Rader, and have been using it for a couple of years with success.  The only problem has been for them was Chad accidentally leaving the camera on the top of the family car and driving off.  The camera immediately fell off, and the screen broke.  Yep, sounds like me, but lucky for them, they have a warranty, and Gabe (as is Gabrielle) seen off the camera this week for a replacement.   I would also choose the Powershot Camera because at $369 it is a cheaper version than the Mark II’s $669.  I am not sure I will be taking that many pictures between now and my trip to Disney later in the year.

 Yes, I did it….

Photo by: www.wdwsecrets.com

I am creating a new series over on my At Home with Tricia's Baskets blog and it is properly (I think) says, “I’m Going to Disney World”.  The story starts like this:  Have you ever wanted something so bad until you can taste it? Well, that has been me for the past 8.5 years.  (as long as my youngest nephew has been alive, he will be 9 in August.) This trip was actually 16 years in the making.  I started planning my next trip (in my head) at the end of our last trip in 2004.  We went in 2007 to Disneyland, but it was part of the California trip.  If you are a true Disney fan, you know that any trip to Disney is not a proper trip if you add on going outside of the park, but while me, my oldest nephew (then 11), and my mom were at Disneyland, my dad took in a Dodgers game.  It worked out for all of us.  My sister was at home tending to my middle nephew, who was 2 months old at the time, and not able to travel.  Tip: ladies, your little one can get on the plane at 3 months.  He was so cute in the Disneyland onesie I bought him.  Now at 12, I think he is a little bit too big for it, LOL.  We flew out on one of the now-defunct airlines, which I forgot the name of.

Anyway, sidetrack moment, and a good lead-in.

I do not give out full trip details for privacy reasons (See protect yourself from Unwanted viewers-July 23, 2018). I will say that I and the family, minus three dogs (Strype, Chewy, and Duchess) and a cat (Gizmo) will be staying in a 3-bedroom Grand Villa at Bay Lake Towers at Disney World.  It is part of a package deal that includes the deluxe dining plan. 

To get details on the series, go to At Home with Tricia's Baskets soon.

My only takeaway tip for today is to research what you need and watch your camera budget. Sometimes suggestions are just that…. suggestions.  It could be that these cameras are out of your price range.  That is ok.  There are plenty of camera choices out there but go in knowing what your price range is, what you plan on doing with the camera.  Is it for photography?  For videos? What about both? For this, my plan is for all of it, but I need a phone that allows me to do Instagram and Pinterest posts as well.

As for trips, the same thing.  You do not have to go to Disney, nor have my package.  I will give more details on how I got my package in the first place, and how you can get it cheaper at a later time on both this blog and on At Home with Tricia's Baskets.

Until then, I will have to clean out my phone.  Goodbye and God Bless.

Goals For June 2019

Last month was a very trying month for me.  There are some things that I did not expect (like the electric going out in two of the rooms and leaving me without wifi for 3 days on Mother’s Day weekend).  I am humbled that in this country, power is a freely given, even though we must pay for it.  There are some luxuries that we as Americans do to order to afford them, and sadly this administration does not get it.  OK, that is it for my rant.  I am supposed to be talking about my goals for the month of June and that is what we are going to talk about.

What did I get done in May?

In May, on the social media side, the following happened:

Instagram:  Last month: 750 This month: 557

I have no doubt it is the photos I publish, but I have one slight problem.  While people like my photos, and it seems that I keep posting the same type of photos, I have received maybe one or two comments on them.  So, if you comment, it helps me a lot.  I am also commenting more on other people’s photos.  Generally, I am a shy, quiet person, so introverted, but as my pastor says, I have extrovert tendencies.  Interaction is the key.  Also, a tip:  to constantly get followers to interact with you, Kittens and puppies work.  I am just kidding.  My last photo of the boss cat got a lot of likes because she was sitting in her usual spot overseeing her “parents” making dinner.  No, the real tip is to follow the person who follows you.  You may not be interested in what they do, but it helps to support them.  It also does help to turn your personal account into a business account. You can see insights and see what works for your IG account.

Facebook: I am not tackling that as of yet.  I did get a chance to look at it from a non-grabbing traffic aspect (is Non-Grabbing a term?) and I will admit that if I want to grab a follower’s attention, I need to:

·         Get rid of the drama.  In other words, curb my issues, don’t react too much to Trump’s and other political antics, and get rid of my gaming (although that has been restricted to my Ipad).

·         Promote more of my business, but not too much.  Remember, Facebook execs do not want you to spam your readers, and I am on of those people who do not want to see an ad for ½ of Paparazzi Jewelry. I love the pieces (who can beat $5 jewelry), but I do not want the same ad popping up every 5 minutes or more.  Even Jesus took a rest, and you should too.  If I know how I feel about the same ad, then I need to rest about my business as well.

o   Tip: Talk about something related to your business that can be a takeaway tip.  For instance, talk about what types of jewelry goes with each other.  In my case, I would be talking about types of invitations to help when inviting guests to the wedding or a good size number of guest to invite when your venue is small.  This may turn viewers into buyers.  Do not always offer a product.  Let the post bring in the buyers.

This is something that I want to tackle starting next month.  This does not mean I am friending anyone it means I am adding followers.

Pinterest

I can always use more followers, but what I have notice is what I am not posting enough of, my blogs.  Just like Instagram, this is something that I need to work on, and this case, it brings more people to my blog posts and my Etsy site.  I have been mostly repining other people’s pins.  While that is a good thing for them, it is not good for me.  I am finding better photos by taking some of my own or using the ones that I purchased with a commercial license or free and the original photographer said I can use them.

Twitter: 1,679 (May) added 2 more for June (1,680).  I am going to work on posting my blog posts on Twitter and hopefully I have the same results as I did with Instagram.  At one time, Twitter was my go to, until the a few years ago, mojo when “No Go”.  Now that I am building up traffic again, I do need to work on all of them in some compacity and Twitter is no exception

YouTube:  I gained 5 new followers, with no new videos for the whole month of May.  I did put out a video on Instagram stories to see how I liked it.  It is good for short bursts of video, but for long ones, it is YouTube. I have a Vimeo account, but I have not made any videos on it in the 5+ years I had the account.

In June, the goal is at least two videos. 

Finally LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is the business Facebook, even though Facebook now has a legitimate Facebook business area, this is the first social media made for business people.  I do not talk about it much because it is supposed to be more professional than Facebook.  I have 363 connections.  LinkedIn does not call them followers or friends. Each connection is supposed to allow you to ask for business, sell your product, or apply for a job.  If that connection does not have a need for you business or product, or hiring in your expertise, they may know of someone who does or have a need.  LinkedIn is supposed to be a place to network.

I have been mostly lurking on LinkedIn.  When I first got the account, I was engaging so much.  Now I barely get on because the way I have this account setup, anything I do not Twitter or Facebook, reflects back on LinkedIn.  Lately, I have noticed that the dynamics have changed.  It seems that LinkedIn does not allow it anymore. So, I am looking into my account and changing things up a bit. 

OK, I am off of social media for now.

Other Goals

You may think that this is all I talk about.  No Sir/Madame.  These are my other goals:

1. P. Lynne Designs Website.  For some reason, I took a month off.  Not my usual depressive state, but I had things to do, people to see.  Also, I have been getting house stuff done.  When you only have so many hours of the day, and/or people and things give you limitations beyond your control, you have to take them. So, the website was put on the backburner for a bit.  So, the new goal is to have things running by the new year. (new fiscal year, that is, which starts in July).
2. Bedroom organization:  I am almost finished clearing my bedroom.  I cleared out my 3-tier long shelf for something that only holds my router/modem, my long basket with my rolls of vinyl, and my planner supplies, which are temporary until I get my craftroom set up. The new goal for this area:
1. Change out the final phase of Fall/winter/spring bed clothing (sheets and spread/comforter/blanket) for summer stuff. I have not decided what I want on my bed, but I want the ugly green comforter to get out of here.  I had it for 3 years, so it is bye-bye.
2. Clear off my dresser.
3. Get rid of the shoe rack and basket table.
4. Start hunting for bedroom furniture.  This is a purchase planned for 2020, and I need to start looking now, even though I am looking to move in the next 1-2 years.  Why?  I had this furniture since I moved out of my parent’s house in 1998, and this furniture was built in 1968 (at least that was what the previous owners of the furniture said). I want something that is a little more up-to-date.  Heck I have changed computers since this furniture was bought.  I need a budget for this purchase.
3. Product creation.  I think I have a handle on my Etsy store.  I had 2 sales in the month of May, but June needs to double the amount.  This means 4 sales.  I also need to renew one of the listings, the “Smile” in white lettering composition notebook.  I need to make some products for my website that may or may not be a product on my website who is to tell on that until I create it.  I need to do pricing for some product as well.  This means the introduction to change some placement products and finish my website.

Well, that is it for right now.  I had great response to the May 2019 goals.  My reason is not to brag that I can do this.  I am not perfect.  There are some goals that I did not meet in the month of May that I am not happy with, but you move on, you do what you can to meet and exceed those goals.  If you do not meet them, do not beat yourself up over it.  Things happen and life happens.  I am very proud of things such as meeting some social media goals, mad that I did not complete my craftroom and master bedroom, but things have not fallen around me, and if not, I will pray, ask for forgiveness, and move on.  This is the takeaway I want to give to you.