May 2012 - Stay N Alive

Why do I Think Marketers That Don’t Embrace Google+ Will be Out of Business in a Year?

(Want to skip all this and get the courses right now? Go to http://www.pluralsight-training.net/microsoft/TwitterOffer and sign up now!)

As I mentioned earlier on Google+ (where you’ll always hear tech news first from me!), I recently just finished a course on Pluralsight all about how you or your friends can embrace Google+ better for your business or clients (you can see what this course covers at http://www.pluralsight-training.net/microsoft/Courses/TableOfContents?courseName=googleplus-business). In a new series for businesses provided by the video training site, Pluralsight, we’re doing a new deal that will expire this week where you can get 30 days to watch my videos for free. This is an excellent way to get your friends and family to understand the value of Google+!

In my new, 2 hour, Google+ course, I show why Google+ is about so much more than plus.google.com, and step-by-step demos on how you can link your website or blog to Google+ and instantly improve your site’s presence on the web. You’ll learn tips and tricks and techniques to get engagement flowing, and how to build your audience on the entire Google platform.

This new training course complements my already existing Facebook Applications course targeted at marketers and businesses to learn how they can do some very simple things to fully integrate Facebook into their existing apps and websites (see the overview for this course at http://www.pluralsight-training.net/microsoft/Courses/TableOfContents?courseName=intro-fb-dev). The 30 day free course is a super deal, and gets you 4 full hours of training from me on the subjects I know most about. I’ve put a ton of time into these!

To get the 30 days free, just go to http://www.pluralsight-training.net/microsoft/TwitterOffer, follow me on Twitter (@Jesse), then follow @Pluralsight, and they’ll DM you a trial code to get the free access. Go do it now, and get your friends to take advantage as well so they can learn why I think Google+ is such a powerful tool!


This was originally posted on Google+.

Custom Tailoring 2.0 – "Dress Code" is Set to Become the Zappos of Tailoring

Back in October I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong for business. While I was there I decided to get a custom suit made. I’m a sucker for a good suit! While Hong Kong is certainly not as cheap as Thailand when it comes to custom-made suits, it is generally much cheaper than the typical run-of-the-mill tailor in the United States. In the United States it’s typically “go cheap (as in poorly designed) or go broke (as in way too expensive for the 99% to afford)”. In Hong Kong for about $300 I can get a pretty nice suit that is completely custom-tailored for my body type and size, something that would typically cost near $1,000 in the United States. I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.

That’s why I was a bit curious when +Chase Murdock from Dress Code heard about my trip to Hong Kong, and approached me to consider having them doing a suit for me. He and his partner offered to make a suit for me for free to show off what they’re able to do that other tailors aren’t able – create a custom suit is typically affordable to the average consumer. A free suit? Why not? I’ll bite.

The arrangement through their site is simple. Dress Code has no physical stores. They’re a pure e-commerce model. So I just visit http://DressCodeCustom.com, schedule an appointment by filling out some simple information on their site, and soon they’re knocking on the door at my home or business to measure and consult with me on what I want them to make for me.

My visit with them was very pleasant. Chase and his partner came to my house dressed in very stylish clothes, and I could tell they knew what they were talking about. We went through some fabric books of theirs, and they gave me all kinds of suggestions and recommendations of things I would have never thought about. My tailor in Hong Kong just asked me the basics and went with it. These guys were much more thorough, and wanted to ensure every step of the way that every little detail was thought of. We went through number of buttons, tapering of the pants, and vents in the back of the suit coat. But they also recommended various linings for the inside of the suit, and even the color of the seam that ties the lining to the rest of the suit. By the end I was relying on them to be my experts, and I trusted their expertise to do so.

By the end of the appointment I asked them what a suit like this would normally cost. When they said “cheaper”, I thought they would say in the range of $500-$700. I almost gasped when they told me $250-$300. That’s not much more expensive than a typical, non-tailored suit!

I’m very excited to see what comes of this appointment. If the suit turns out as well as the service and simplicity of ordering that I experienced with Chase and his partner, I anticipate I’ll be very pleased. The good news is if all goes well I won’t have to travel overseas to get my suits any more. I’ll just call my “suit guy” and he’ll make me whatever clothing choice I want, all at a lower cost, and I barely have to make any effort to make it happen.

My suit is currently being made by their company at the moment. I should receive notice in the next couple weeks that it is done. When finished I’ll provide a final review of their service and product for everyone to see.

If you’re looking for custom clothing of any kind, these guys are worth taking a look at. They currently service Utah and Nevada/Las Vegas. However, they do take trips to Colorado, as well as the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas on occasion. Contact them and have your company get them to come set up a pop-up location to get your employees all styled up for cheap.

Stay tuned – I’ll share more when I get my suit! Oh, and be sure to follow their style blog at http://www.dresscodecustom.com/blog – if you’re into understanding the latest styles, this blog really shows they get it!

I got a free suit in exchange for doing an honest review of their services – while certainly biased, I am always truthful and objective in these types of reviews.




You’ll Always Hear it First on Google+

I’m starting a new experiment. From now on every post I make to StayNAlive.com will originate on Google+. This goes in line with my earlier post where I suggested that the Blogging landscape is significantly changing, and the blogs that want to survive will need to embrace social means of publishing and discovery. You’ll recognize this trend immediately as you visit my blog and see the ability to automatically share the articles you read on StayNAlive.com to Facebook, and today I’m going to continue that trend with the strengths that Google+ provides.

The Power of Google+ Circles

One of the coolest features of Google+ is the ability to not only target posts by Circles and groups of people, but also the ability to send updates to specific email addresses and people. This opens up the ability for some really cool hacks. For instance, want to archive a post? Send it to your Evernote email address (Evernote allows you to send content to an email address and it archives right inside Evernote).

For all future posts on StayNAlive.com I’m going to use this same hack. One of the advantages to hosting StayNAlive.com on Blogger.com is that I can post to an email address, and it will post automatically to the blog. I’m going to set it to save my posts as a draft so I can go in afterwards, add links and pictures, etc. But you’ll immediately receive updates on Google+ the minute I hit share. All other social networks will have to wait for the blog post to go live because I’ll need a link to share those with.

The Best of Both Worlds

Now you can get the immediacy of Google+, while at the same time getting the RSS Feeds, and customized interface of the blog. If you want to subscribe via Google+, you can subscribe via Google+ (Go to http://profiles.google.com/jessestay to subscribe). If you want to subscribe via RSS, or receive updates to posts via Facebook or Twitter, you can go to StayNAlive.com. I still have a home base, and you have the option of getting real-time updates via Google+.

So come follow me on Google+ if you want real-time updates from the blog, or subscribe right on the blog – it’s your choice.