Posts Tagged ‘internet’

“Simplify, simplify.” – Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau lived more than a century ago, but his words of wisdom apply just as much – perhaps more – today as they did when he penned them. In our world of instant messaging, instant microwavable dinners, and instant gratification created to make things easier and help us succeed, we have somehow managed to make life much more complicated.

In the deluge of information that inundates us on every side, many people suffer from information overload that unnecessarily complicates life. Simplify by eliminating unnecessary information while still taking advantage of the technologies that enrich your life. Here are a few tips to help you do so.

Choose favorites. There are a lot of places online to find information on nearly any topic, and there are people writing in every niche. Don’t try to follow every blog, subscribe to every magazine or read every tweet that mentions your industry. Instead, trim your blogroll and RSS feed until you are left with the authors you really care about. This will significantly decrease the amount of information you face and will keep you from getting overloaded.

Skim. If you try to read every article that comes your way, you’ll waste a lot of time on details when you just need the main idea. Filter through e-mails and paperwork to determine what needs a second look. After you’ve skimmed enough to determine what is worthwhile, your reading pile will have decreased significantly.

Delegate. This step can be difficult if you run your own company from home, but do what you can to help lessen your load. If you have an assistant who can help you filter unimportant messages, ask him or her to do so. You might also assign certain employees the task of staying up-to-date in certain areas. Having other people glean information for you can give you more time to run your business and keep you from getting overloaded.

If you grew up before the internet was a necessity in every household, you might feel like you have some catching up to do in order to keep pace with current technology.  Technology is developing at an exponential rate and many users feel overwhelmed by the rapid changes. Read on to find out about some great websites that will teach you how to make the most of your internet usage.

How to use a search engine

Without search engines, the vast wealth of knowledge that is available to us online would be useless.  If we can’t find the information we need, it might as well not be there.  Learning how to effectively use search engines is one of the most important skills an internet user can develop.  Here is a link to an article that demystifies search engines: http://www.learnthenet.com/how-to/search-the-web/index.php.  There is even a website dedicated to using one of the most popular search engines in the world: Google.  Check out www.googleguide.com to learn everything you need to know about conducting searches with Google specifically.

How to send an email

Email is one of the most common ways people use the internet.  As a child, I remember having an email service for at least a year before my family finally got an internet service that allowed actual surfing.   A great guide on how to send emails is located here: http://www.learnthenet.com/how-to/send-email/.

How to bookmark a website

In your internet exploring, you will undoubtedly find websites that you want to be able to return to quickly and easily.  Bookmarks are place holders that you can add to a list on your web browser that will allow you to return to your sites with one click.  There are free services that you can use to organize your bookmarks like www.delicious.com or www.google.com/bookmarks.  A simple article that explains bookmarking for beginners can be found at http://www.learnthenet.com/how-to/bookmark-websites/index.php.

How to subscribe to an RSS feed

RSS feeds are indispensible for people who find themselves frequently returning to the same blogs or websites to check for updated content.  With RSS feeds, readers can choose to subscribe to frequently updated blogs and websites.  All newly posted content will be automatically sent to the user’s RSS feed and they can read them all in one place rather than visiting each separate website every time they want to read the new content.  Guidelines for setting up an account with an RSS service are outlined here: http://www.learnthenet.com/how-to/subscribe-to-rss-feeds/index.php.  Some of my favorite RSS reader services are www.google.com/reader, and www.feedreader.com.

How to start social networking

Social networking is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family or even to market a business.  On social networking sites, internet users can create personal profiles that house their own pictures and information.  Users can interact with other people through their profiles and create “groups” for individuals with similar interests.  Businesspeople can market their products for free on social networking sites by creating profiles for their businesses and inviting people to become “fans”.  Here are some tutorials on how to use the most common social networking sites: http://www.learnthenet.com/learn-to-social-network/, http://www.aarpmagazine.org/lifestyle/facebook_step_by_step_guide.html?CMP=KNC-360I-MSN-ATM&HBX_OU=52&HBX_PK=how_to_use_facebook&utm_source=MSN&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=how%2Bto%2Buse%2Bfacebook&utm_campaign=MSN-ATM%2B-%2BLifestyle.