My good amigo and business partner, Josh Mallard, recently launched a new service that helps photographers with complete branding packages that include a mobile-friendly website, offline print material templates, and more. I think this is a really innovative idea and I’m betting it will be a success. If you know any photographers in the market for branding or a cohesive web presence, send them his way.

He also just published a good post on the issue of Brand Image vs. Brand Identity. Check it out.

Thanks for reading. Branding and Photography is a post from Blake Imeson

(This is a guest post, interested in writing for us?)

Generation Y, those born between 1980 and 1995, are used to having the world at their fingertips. The rise in technology has given this particular generation more opportunities than their parents and grandparents. Add to this a growing entrepreneurial spirit, and it’s clear to see why this particular generation is poised for financial success.

The Wealthiest Generation?

The past trend was for parents to amass wealth, live out their retirement in comfort and then pass that wealth on to their children when they passed on. During their lifetime, the older generation was typically wealthier than the generation still gathering their wealth during their working years. This is changing.

In a recent study published by Deloitte, financial planning experts stated that Generation X and Generation Y will overtake Baby Boomers in wealth by the year 2018. Several factors have led to this change. First, the older generation has stopped waiting for death to pass on their wealth. Many are choosing to pass it on while they live, thus contributing to the wealth of their children and grandchildren.

The second, and perhaps more important reason, is the rise in technology. The world of technology provides nearly endless opportunities to make money, and the young people of Generation Y know how to capitalize on this.

A Generation Poised for Tech Success

What is it about technology that brings success to Generation Y? In order to be successful in a technology-driven world, people need to know how to use technology to promote their money-making endeavors. Gen Y has no problem with this.

The so-called “Internet success tools” of social media, including sites like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn, are tools this generation grew up with. They were just learning to use technology when these sites, or sites similar to them, launched, so there was little learning curve. They’re also adept at other online success tools, like PPC management and search engine optimization. Because they understand and use these tools regularly, they are in a better position to be successful online than older generations.

Not only that, but the new mobile form of technology in the form of tablets, smartphones and apps, is something that these young people seem to instinctively know how to use. Kids are designing and selling apps before they can drive, and young adults are capitalizing on the nearly endless income streams available in this new form of media.

Strong Entrepreneurial Spirit

Every day you read about kids and young people who are bringing in thousands, if not millions, while still living at home and going to high school or college. These young entrepreneurs point to another reason for the success of Generation Y, and that is a burning entrepreneurial spirit. This generation seems to have been born with the passion to make money without the trappings of a traditional job, and technology makes this more possible than ever before.

Young adults can use their Etsy pages to sell their homemade creations. They can set up a monetized blog and use social media to promote it and gain readers. They can design and publish videos promoting their product, service or blog with relative ease, even posting online for free. This means that the challenges their parents faced when starting a business, primarily the challenges of marketing in a cost-effective manner, are far less of a concern. These young people understand online marketing and know how to use it.

It is this combination of an entrepreneurial spirit, rise in technology and clear understanding of online success tools that is pointing the people of Generation Y to economic success. In just a few short years, they should easily overtake their parents’ generation in wealth. As long as technology continues to grow, this trend should persist, leading to a generation of people who live a comfortable, economically stable life that they began building in their earliest adult years.

Zach Buckley is a freelance writer who is interested in exploring the intersection of culture, science and education.  He lives in the Midwest and enjoys music, literature and good food.

Thanks for reading. Entrepreneurship, Social Media and the Economic Impact of Gen Y is a post from Blake Imeson

Behold, my killer guide for how to set up email for a website using Google Apps for Domains (Essentially giving your domain Gmail accounts)

I’ll be adding to this as I have time. If you have any questions, please drop them in the comments.

1 Sign-Up

Sign up for the free Google Apps Standard account (limit of 10 users)

2 Verify

To verify your domain, you must be able to do any one of the following:

1. Access yoursite.com’s DNS settings at your domain host’s web site
2. Modify the HTML of the site
3. Upload a file to the yoursite.com web server
4. Using WordPress you may optionally use this plugin: Google Site Verification Plugin (Source)

3 Change MX Records

Change the MX records (delete any that are already there) This can most easily by done by using cPanel if your site has one, usually at .com/cpanel

(See: how to Quickly change MX Records if you have to do this multiple times)

Important: there should be no MX records to start off with, not even a 0 one.

 These are the generic MX entries, they might vary some by host but use these and it should be a good catch-all.

MX Server address        Priority

ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM                  10

ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM         20

ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM         20

ASPMX2.GOOGLEMAIL.COM          30

ASPMX3.GOOGLEMAIL.COM          30

ASPMX4.GOOGLEMAIL.COM          30

ASPMX5.GOOGLEMAIL.COM          30

This is what they should look like after you are done.

4 Add SPF Record

An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record can help your mail not be misidentified as spam. See: http://yoast.com/email-reliability/

If your domain sends mail from other services like MailChimp ( servers.mcsv.net ) you can add those using the “Include” feature.

For Google add _spf.google.com

v=spf1 a include:_spf.google.com ~all

5 Add mail. Record

In the Google Apps dashboard go to: Settings >> Email and change the URL where users can access mail.

mail.domainname.com is usually a good way to do it (most memorable)

You may be able to change this in something called Simple DNS Zone Editor. You may need to delete a previous CNAME entry for mail, this may also be edited with the Advanced DNS Zone Editor.

If you don’t see the Simple or Advanced Zone Editors, at the bottom of cPanel there is a link to reveal all boxes. Some hosts may not allow the Advanced DNS in cPanel. If you have access to WHM it can be allowed in the Feature Manager.

Add a CNAME record for mail to point to ghs.google.com

6 Further Settings

Force SSL login (Domain Settings>>General)

On the page you will see this:

This is a good idea as it will force a more secure connection whenever your users are checking their email.

Catch-All Email (Settings>>Email)

It is a good idea to set up a catch-all email address so if someone sends you an email and the name is misspelled it will still make it to you.

This can also be used for marketing purposes allowing you to use email addresses for tracking without having to create new accounts. For instance, you could have an offline brochure that had  getinfo@domainname.com and then if you got mail from that you would know the origin.

Allowing users to delegate their inbox is a good way to allow management of a shared account like an info@ address.

You may also allow users to set their own themes.

Upload Logo (Domain settings >> Appearance)

This logo appears in the Gmail interface and adds a nice white-label look.

The image file should be in PNG or GIF format and scaled to 143 x 59 pixels. Ideally it should be transparent as some themes may not have white behind the logo area. The default background color is #f2f2f2.

For your convenience I have prepared a properly sized blank PNG:
Download logo template

Advanced Tools Page

Two-Step Verification

Activate Two-step verification under Advanced Tools>>Authentication which allows your users to optionally add a security feature that will text them a verification code if an attempt is made to log in to an account from an unknown location.

DKIM (Advanced Tools>>Authenticate Email)

Authenticate email with a domain key (DKIM) Note: this may have to be allowed by your host for it to work, can be easily set in WHM.

1. Click Authenticate
2. Prefix can be just google
3. Copy DNS Host name (TXT record name): which should be google._domainkey create a new entry for it using cPanel’s Advanced DNS Zone editor
4. Copy the TXT record in and save
5. Go back to Google Apps and click Start Authenticating

Summary

There are a lot of steps to this and it is easy to miss one, here is a checklist to make sure you’ve covered your bases.

If you ever need to get back to the Google Apps Dashboard you may visit:

http://google.com/a/cpanel/yourdomainname.com

or you may also log in to your email and click the gear icon in the upper right…

Resources

• Google Apps Testing Tools
• How to configure other email programs to use Google Apps

I truly hope this guide for setting up Google Apps for Domains was helpful. These tips come from having set up at least 40 accounts myself. However, I may have missed something, if so, please ask questions or provide clarification in the comments.

Was this helpful? Share it and show me some love.

Thanks for reading. Properly setting up email with Google Apps for Domains is a post from Blake Imeson

I did a quick video showing how you can use Excel to create 301 redirect (or a similar spreadsheet program like Google Spreadsheets) and create the 301 redirected using a formula to join cells together.

Formula format: =A1&B1&C1

Any tips on how to make this process better?

Thanks for reading. Make a Quick List of 301 Redirects with Excel is a post from Blake Imeson

So the site probably looks really bizarre right now. I’m FireReadyAiming this redesign.

The previous design was over 4 years old and quite dated. This new version will be more fun and hopefully better in all ways.

If you have any brilliant ideas design or functionality, share them please!

-Blake

Thanks for reading. BlakeImeson.com V2.0 is a post from Blake Imeson

A guy I met while at college pinged me on Facebook and asked:

I was looking at starting a small graphic design/ website design company and was wondering if you had any pointers or tips on the best way to start, and how to develop a client base. I was thinking about starting by bidding for freelance jobs but it looks pretty intimidating.

It is a great question and one that I feel I can give some good insight into.

I started doing consulting when I was a sophomore in college. I got to know an alum that was speaking on campus and he learned of my budding interest in SEO/Web Dev. He connected me to a Pilates Studio in Pittsburgh (dang that was a great SEO link hehe); they were just starting a new studio and needed a website. They took a chance on me and hired me to build them a brand new site. I was determined to succeed with this trust placed in my unproven abilities.

Fast forward a few months and word had gotten around to my friends, family, professors, fellow students, alumni I connected with…that I was doing SEO consulting and web development. It’s amazing once word gets out how many people start coming to you interested in having you do a project for them.

How to Get Started

So here is what I recommend to get started freelancing.

Don’t be afraid to jump into a project that is a little outside your comfort zone. I have taken on projects knowing I will have to learn new stuff in order to succeed. Sometimes the best growth and the most learning comes from putting yourself into a corner. It may be a bit sadistic, but sometimes you should purposely put yourself into challenging situations. Don’t go crazy with that idea but sometimes you need to push yourself.

I would say the best way to get clients is to approach family/friends first. They hopefully already trust you as a person (if not a designer/developer)

Secondly, non-profits are a great way to build experience, albeit for very little (if any) money. While at college there were a few non-profits for whom I built their websites. This didn’t pay anything but it gave me three very important things:

1. A portfolio item
2. Experience working for a client
3. Confidence – by far the most important of the 3

The third way to get clients early on is to watch for small businesses that need help. Approach the owner and tell him you are a starting out in the graphic design/web dev field and would he be willing to allow you to build him a site, design a logo, etc. With this last option you have the best chance of getting paid. You could even give the owner a guarantee that if he isn’t happy with it he doesn’t have to pay you. A bit risky but if you are confident of your skills then this could be a good strategy.

I need to write a follow-up post on why business owners should take a chance on budding professionals. It really can be a great thing for both parties!

So anyone want to hire my young friend just starting out? I have high hopes for whatever it is he ends up doing.

Thanks for reading. How to Get Your First Clients as a Young Web Developer is a post from Blake Imeson

Basically, if a “recent post” link in this widget was from the “Tools” category (for instance) then it could be styled with a CSS background image or a color specific to that category.

I ended up modifying this Recent Posts plugin. (In enhanced-recent-posts/includes/plugin-class.php line 116)

Here is what I ended up using:

<a class="<?php $category = get_the_category();  echo $category[0]->category_nicename; ?>" href="<?php the_permalink() ?>"><?php if ( get_the_title() ) the_title(); else the_ID(); ?></a>

Here is what it then looked like when the code worked it’s magic:

<a class="tool-category" href="..."></a>

This WordPress function for getting the category was very helpful.

Have a better way to style links with CSS by category? Bonus if there is a plugin already doing this.

Thanks for reading. Style Links with CSS by Category – WordPress is a post from Blake Imeson

I’m on a workation right now (this was last week, just got around to publishing now). Yep, I am sitting poolside in sunny California. (no jealousy)  This has been a glorious week of exploring the San Jose/Los Altos/San Franciso area. The work part of this vacation comes every morning when I get up before 6 a.m. to get a 3-5 hours of work in before the rest of the family wakes up.

This freedom is why as long as I am still blessed to be able to make my living as a small business owner / consultant I will.

No entrepreneur lets a moment of respite go to waste, so on this vacation I finished reading Crush it! by Gary Vaynerchuck. It was a terrifically motivating book and a worthwhile read for any entrepreneur. It could be summed up in, find out your passion and figure out how to make a living with it. Now the “how to make a living” part is very much how to make the internet work for you.. So it was right up my alley :)

Gary Vee emphasized the importance of:

• Embracing your DNA
• Building your brand with transparency and authenticity
• Blogging / generating content
• Getting involved in Social Media
• Being passionate!

So after an enjoyable read I did some soul-searching about, what I am really passionate about?

My conclusion was that what makes me tick is helping people use the Internet for business. This takes many forms but usually revolves around:

Web development, Web design, Internet marketing, blogging, Social Media, SEO, WordPress, graphic design, branding, analytics, etc.

I leave you with one of my favorite insights from the read…

“Your Blog is for communicating the essence of your brand”

Have you read Crush it! and did you find something valuable in it?

If not, what was a recent business book you read that you would recommend?

Thanks for reading. Finding Your Entrepreneurial Passion is a post from Blake Imeson

Here is where you can download Texter.

Here are the scripts that I used:
 

10{Tab}ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM{Enter}
20{Tab}ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM{Enter}
20{Tab}ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM{Enter}
30{Tab}ASPMX2.GOOGLEMAIL.COM{Enter}
30{Tab}ASPMX3.GOOGLEMAIL.COM{Enter}
30{Tab}ASPMX4.GOOGLEMAIL.COM{Enter}
30{Tab}ASPMX5.GOOGLEMAIL.COM{Enter}

Please let me know if you are using this and if you have found any other cool uses for Texter!

Thanks for reading. Quickly Add MX Records for Google Apps is a post from Blake Imeson

Every year the Internet collectively goes berserk for one day. I figured this year I would try and catalog some of it as it happens.

What follows is my log of the festivities. Happy April Fools Day!

(I will update this post as the day goes on)

6:00am – YouTube from 1911

6:10am - My friend Chantilly got engaged :)

6:10am – Hulu goes back in time.

6:40am – Google is hiring Autocompleters

6:44am - Gmail can now be controlled by your body!
Update: Looks like Google Docs is the same.

6:47am – The Pirate Bay won an auction for eBay itself.

7:30am – Woke my wife up and asked her if cats were allergic to Jelly Beans. I told her our cat had a few of them.
7:45am – Asked my wife if cats can get like babies do when babies have carrots and turn orange. She then sees…

8:10am – Envato announces a new 3D marketplace.

9:10am – Hootsuite releases “Happy Owls” – a more positive app than Angry Birds.

9:32am – Flickr has changed their logo to have an “e” in it. Rebranded as Flicker.

9:37am – Kodak has a new app to expunge your ex from photographs.

9:39am – Seth Godin unveils an awesome new startup named whItespAcelInks. (I’m even linking to them on all of my whitespace)

9:43am – Do a Google search for Comic Sans and Helvetica.

Please comment below with ones as you come across them!

Here is a good compilation post on Google tricks SERoundtable.

See a collection of WordPress April Fools

Newegg sold eggs.

A news anchor was tricked into licking an iPad

Google also now offers advertising on blimps!

Thanks for reading. An April Fool’s Journey | Watch the Internet Lose its Mind is a post from Blake Imeson