I would like to form a group/co-op to create daily user tips and training

[tankman1989]

Greetings,

I am in the process of setting up my business web site and have decided to create a page or blog that will have daily tips on computer maintenance and "usery".

I may have novice, intermediate and advanced tips and possibly have sections for various versions of Windows, Linux & Mac. I'll also have networking and security tips. I may start small and expand if I find that it is used.

I figure that this will look good in the eyes of the clients/customers as I am in business to support and teach users how to best manage their computers and networks.

This is going to be a fairly large project and I will always work ahead and have at least a weeks - months worth of tips prior to publish.

I would like to find other business owners, or bloggers, who would like to share in this endeavor, so we can pool our resources, expertise and time. I think it would be a win/win for all involved.

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on the pro's and cons of doing this and let me know if you would like to participate.

If this starts to grow, we could copyright and publish the postings.

In my vision of this project, we would find out who has what expertise and assign catagories on which to research. If someone finds tips outside of their area they can do a write up or suggest it to the person who's topic it falls under.

As far as competition, I figure that it will not be much of a problem and I will take only one individual/business in a given area.

I am somewhat concerned about liability and this will be handled by a disclaimer on each post that warns that the user should have all data backed up prior to performing any actions with which they are not familiar and that "we" are not responsible for any damage or problems that arise after following directions. I see this only a problem if their system is already comprimised by corruption, virus/malware or faulty hardware.

I know that I have a lot of back issues of various PC mags from which I can draw a lot of info and we have this magnificent forum to search as well!

This would be a great learning project for anyone who is just getting into the field! Also, this could be a resume booster for students and could possibly be looked at as an internship. (If I find a lot of interest in this, I may form a small company and offer true internships which can be used as a resume builder. Any proceeds will be distributed among contributors or spent as the members see fit).

Thoughts?

 

[PCS]

I've been thinking of the same kind of thing.

I'm in the process of setting up and re-doing my site. I decided to have a section called 10 minute tech, which will contain simple things you can do to improve your computer skills.

You have a good idea of trading tips and tutorials and this way would build our resources at a greater pace.

 

[tankman1989]

I've been thinking of the same kind of thing.

I'm in the process of setting up and re-doing my site. I decided to have a section called 10 minute tech, which will contain simple things you can do to improve your computer skills.

You have a good idea of trading tips and tutorials and this way would build our resources at a greater pace.

That sounds like a good idea. I dont' know how many times I read an article and think that this is really good info and it should be consolidated in an easy location for customers.

I also don't think we will have a competition problem as I'm in the US

So, can I possibly count you in on being a contributor? I figure that the more people that we get, the less each will have to do.

Even if we each contributed 1 tip every other day (which shouldn't be difficult) and we have 10-20 people, we could have a very nice amount of tips which we could distribute.

 

[kagman]

I think thats a great idea. Im not business owner, yet. Only time I've been posting or helping others has been on this site since it peeks my interest.

There is so much to talk about, give users tips, etc etc.. Count me in!!!

 

[tankman1989]

I think thats a great idea. Im not business owner, yet. Only time I've been posting or helping others has been on this site since it peeks my interest.

There is so much to talk about, give users tips, etc etc.. Count me in!!!

That is great! Welcome! Can you send me a PM with your email address? I am going to set up a mail list so I can communicate with everyone privately.

Do you think we should make a site specifically or this? I have a hosting plan and all we need to do is add a new domain.

I think it would be a great idea to have a central domain for the tips, where people can reply and add comments. If we include them on our individual sites and people comment on our own sites, then the comments/replies won't be able to be seen by everyone. I'm wondering if there is a way to mirror a blog over a number of sites.
Exapmle:

Computer-tips-site.com/blog

Mirrored to the following sites:
yourdomain.com/computer-tips-site-blog/
Mydomain.com/computer-tips-site-blog/
Everyone-elses-domain.com/computer-tips-site-blog/


Do you have any web design skills?

 

[Iconic]

I would be interested in contributing to something like this for both the shared knowledge experience and the ability to refer a customer to a site with 100% usefull information.

 

[sjlplat]

I think it's a good idea. Group collaboration can go a long way for developing revolving content.

If this is a group effort, how do you propose presenting this information? A central location is ideal for compiling and storing the data, but it seems unprofessional to route prospective clients to an outside website for tips. If contributors want to integrate this data into their existing sites, I think it would be worthwhile to render it in XML for universal accessibility.

BTW, I'm a PHP/MySQL developer. I can generally deveop a backend script to do just about anything. I also have a few unused domain names.

 

[Ciaran]

It's a great idea and I'd be interesting in helping out

Something that's always been part of my business plan is to help the customer to help themselves, and it was my intention from the start to include a blog on my website with common tips and tricks and how-to's. I've never had time to sit down and start writing them so I think a collaberation is a great idea.

I'll PM you my email address

 

[PDXMicro]

Count me in I think this is a great idea.

 

[cmonova]

I thought I replied to this but it must of been to early

My question is would you write something such as "how to secure your wireless network" and then put procedures on how people are suppose to do this type of thing?

Reason I ask is, a lot of techs provide this service for a fee, so why would they rather a potential customer just reading how to do it themselves?

 

[Methical]

I thought I replied to this but it must of been to early

My question is would you write something such as "how to secure your wireless network" and then put procedures on how people are suppose to do this type of thing?

Reason I ask is, a lot of techs provide this service for a fee, so why would they rather a potential customer just reading how to do it themselves?

Too true.

And then f**k it up and then be ringing you saying "I read your tips on how to do this ... blah blah blah ... now it doesn't work. I want you to come round and fix it for free .. blah blah blah ... "

 

[MM PC Solutions]

I have tips on my site, pointing to free software (Open office) but then discuss about backup & why it's important, I then refer them to my company to help them with that.

Use the page to create sales.

 

[tankman1989]

I thought I replied to this but it must of been to early

My question is would you write something such as "how to secure your wireless network" and then put procedures on how people are suppose to do this type of thing?

Reason I ask is, a lot of techs provide this service for a fee, so why would they rather a potential customer just reading how to do it themselves?

Well, I think the topics will be voted on and most services that tech's charge for will be either a brief explination of what CAN be done or a short tip on the generalities. I don't envision a super detailed step by step how to that will make techs loose customers, more along the lines of "DO you know if you computer is doing XXXX properly?" or "Is your Wifi secure" or "If you are interested in Wifi, this is what you will need. Make sure you have all the security settings correct, blah blah blah"

I guess you could think of it as a way to inform customers of possible issues on their machines. If they are adventurous enough to search for the in depth technical how-to on how to do hat you suggest, more power to them, but you will probably get a call after 45mins-1hour of trying and failing. Think of it as a marketing item.

 

[RhodyTech]

As a business owner trying to sell my services to local consumers, I would not want to put step-by-step instructions on how to anything on my website that I'm currently getting paid to do. There's a conflict of interest there.

That said, I think a basic/vague "tip of the week" blog is a fine PR/marketing tool as long as it doesn't cut into sales. Better yet, it can be a "teaser" to get people to call and place an order. For example, you might talk about how to save money by lowering power consumption and put up a few tips on Windows settings to accomplish it on a basic level. Then at the end of the article you do the "pitch" and say "For further money savings tips, call us at 555-5555" and when they call, you sell em on some new "green" equipment with installation service.

Ultimately, the idea is to generate more sales, not lose em.

 

[numnutz]

I dont see anything wrong with putting tips on your website if thats what you want to do... how to avoid getting a virus tips, how to setup a wireless printer etc etc. As long as you have some kind of disclamer at the begining or at the end like these steps / instructions should work in most instances however every situation, network and computer setup / configuration is unique and without knowing all the details of your situation we do not Guarantee complete success and you may require further technical support at a fee etc etc..

If someone asks me how to do something I always give them the best general, basic and as accurate directions I can. I see many posts on here where techs are saying they hate it when a customer is looking over there shoulder watching them troubleshoot something because they might see how easy it is. Or that you are using a tool that they could have just as easily downloaded for free and use. If you were already up front and suggested these things, and for whatever reason they couldnt follow your steps, or didnt want to be bothered. Then Once you get there you dont care if they are watching you. And it builds trust and a relationship between you and a client that you are not trying to rip them off.
Eric

 

[callthatgirl]

I would be interested in getting involved, but I think the forum should be here at Technibble and make it a private forum. I'm sure Bryce has no problem setting that up if so many are interested.

 

[PDXMicro]

As a business owner trying to sell my services to local consumers, I would not want to put step-by-step instructions on how to anything on my website that I'm currently getting paid to do. There's a conflict of interest there.

That said, I think a basic/vague "tip of the week" blog is a fine PR/marketing tool as long as it doesn't cut into sales. Better yet, it can be a "teaser" to get people to call and place an order. For example, you might talk about how to save money by lowering power consumption and put up a few tips on Windows settings to accomplish it on a basic level. Then at the end of the article you do the "pitch" and say "For further money savings tips, call us at 555-5555" and when they call, you sell em on some new "green" equipment with installation service.

Ultimately, the idea is to generate more sales, not lose em.

Very well said. A tip per week is also enough to get potential customers to visit your website more often (but not cause the hassle of updating your blog daily).