How to Sync Your IE Favorites between Computers with SkyDrive Using Vista
Live Mesh from Microsoft is going away in February. I have used this service from Microsoft to sync my IE favorites between four or five computers which I really love. With Microsoft dropping Live Mesh in favor of the new SkyDrive, I just had to find a new alternative way to sync my favorites between my myriad computers and screens.
This excellent video will show you how to set up this action to sync IE favorites using the new SkyDrive from Microsoft.
Here’s a special tip for Vista users:
These instructions work great for Windows 7 and 8 systems, but do not work for Vista. I have, however, found a work around for Vista users. If you follow the video instructions and are using Vista, when you try to open favorites in Internet Explorer, you will get an error saying that the favorites/favorites folder is missing and your favorites will not show.
To solve this problem, open your SkyDrive folder for your favorites and copy all the files. Then create a new folder called favorites inside of the favorites folder and then paste inside all the favorites you have just copied. I know this seems redundant, but it works. Now open IE on a Vista machine and you can now see all your favorites in Internet Explorer.
If you are syncing to a Windows 7 and Vista machine and you are saving a favorite, you will see that you have the option to save your bookmark now in two locations the plain favorites folder and the favorites/favorites folder. Save your same URL in both and this way you can see your new bookmark on Vista and Windows 7 and 8.
Want a Vanity URL for Google+ Now? Here’s How to Get One
Although Google+ is getting ready to create vanity URLs they don’t have them available for everyone right now. So GPlus.to has created a way for you to use their third party app to create a short easy to share URL for your Google+ profile page.
It’s simple go to GPlus.to and set up an account, enter in your Google+ long URL and create a simple short vanity URL.
Here’s a short video that give you the steps if you want to watch. Just remember that if GPlus.to goes away in the future that your marketing and branding efforts are for naught, but this does make your URL way more sharable.
Using Google+ Posts for Improved Web Visibility
Here are just a few tricks to help with web visibility when it comes to using Google+. First, it is important to know that your posts will appear in the Google.com search index. Your first line will actually appear as the title in the search results, so make sure that you consider what you’ll write first and make it work to your advantage.I’ve found more often than naught that my personal profile posts will be in the search results more frequently than my business page posts. Remember also that there is no limit on the number of links that you can add to a post, but I recommend not going link crazy. You’ll want something readable yet memorable while still being sharable for your update.
I’ve found that the Google+ community is more visual than text oriented and so make sure to use images, links — as Google will auto add the image for you, and videos.
While you are thinking of how you can leverage Google+ to your advantage, don’t forget to optimize your About page. You can embed links into your profile information so make sure to point back to important pages for more information on your website.
Google does not allow automation or scheduling of any kind to personal profiles. They do however allow automation to business pages. This unique difference assures that the voice on your Google+ personal profile is real. This authenticity is one of the reasons that I personally like Google+ but find it problematic for client’s to embrace for their own business’ web visibility. For now we don’t offer Google+ status update writing to personal pages, but do provide services posting to business profiles.