Tag Archives: Illinois

Giving Tree Band Green Guitar

Do you remember the “The Giving Tree” book written by the late Shel Silverstein? It is one of the first books I owned. Enter the Giving Tree Band from Yorkville, Illinois.

The Giving Tree Band uses social networking to connect with their fans and share their message of environmental sustainability. The band knows their audience and how to connect with them. They made a green statement when they recorded their “Great Possessions” album in 2009. While recording, the group stayed near the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center where they recorded the material to reduce their carbon emissions. Even the instruments used were made of recycled materials. After the recording, the band raffled off this guitar, signed by the band, through the Chicago Blues & Blue Grass Festival. Kyle also a song writer and guitarist, won this Taliesin model guitar which Jason Harshbarger of Highland Strings created from reclaimed materials.

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Guitar Giving Tree Band used on the “Great Possessions” album
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Guitar inlay Giving Tree Band used on the “Great Possessions” album

Read more about the band’s eco friendly practices and recording. Purchase the Great Possessions album.  Listen to their music on MySpace and Facebook. Follow Giving Tree Band on Twitter.

How to Follow a Twitter List

Twitter lists are a way for Twitter users to group other Twitter accounts together. How might you use this feature? A shopping center could create a list to promote each other. A Chamber of Commerce might use a list to follow and cross promote other local businesses.

I created a Twitter list of McHenry county, Illinois businesses to follow and promote what is happening in our area. Since this list began, I learned about many new companies and services I was not aware of.

Another benefit of Twitter lists is you can view the recent tweets of the account holders without actually following each of these accounts.

Here is a recent blog posting about the McHenry County Business Twitter list.

You can see all recent tweets from these McHenry County businesses on a single page.

How are you using the Twitter list feature?

Here is a short video on how to follow a Twitter list.

Finding the Email Address Of Someone You Want To Meet

Have you ever wanted to contact someone but could not find an email address? Below are some tips from Rich Sauser, our guest blogger today.

Rich is a networking expert and is often quoted in the media. He is sought after as a presenter and I was glad to have Rich working with me when I started my company. Currently residing in Charlotte, you can contact Rich through many social networking sites. Thanks to Rich for sharing these tips with our readers.

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Creative Commons License photo credit: Katie@!

Here’s Rich…

Have you ever wanted to connect with someone on LinkedIn, but they were out of your network and there was no easy way to connect? You can still try to get an introduction but it may take a bit creative of work outside of LinkedIn. Recently, someone asked me how to connect with someone in the County of McHenry Department of Health in Illinois. Although I have over 1,200 first degree contacts in LinkedIn, there are not a lot of people on LinkedIn from the McHenry County Health Department.

Listed below is the approach I used to find someone who could potentially introduce me to the person I wanted to contact.

  1. Look up the company the person works at on LinkedIn and see if there is anyone else you can connect with or contact. In this case there were a few but not too many:
  2. In this case there was nothing really there, but I was able to get the website of the company:
  3. What you are now looking for is the format of the email address of people who work there (e.g. FirstName.LastName@CompanyName.com)
  4. First thing I do is go to the “Contact Us” page – sometimes when you attempt to contact them it will pull up in your email and you will get the format.
  5. By going to Public Health and clicking the “contact us” I get the following address: Health@co.mchenry.il.us – while better than nothing it is still a generic email account.
  6. So now having nothing else to go on, you need to do a Google Search to get the name format. In this case I did a search on “@co.mchenry.il.us”. A few hits down, you will see your first listing of a name followed by the “@co.mchenry.il.us
  7. Based on the email addresses shown, I have a couple of options for the email format: first letter of first name and then last name or first letter first name, first letter of middle initial and then last name.
  8. So now I can either do a search on Google for the person I am trying to contact with both versions of their email address or I can send an email to both versions and see which one works.

Last Minute Social Networking Class Openings at Shah Center

Are you a McHenry County business interested in social networking? Are you hearing all the buzz from your fellow business owners who have attended these sessions at the Shah Center and are now using social networking to attract new business?

We have a couple of open spots for the social networking classes at the Shah Center in McHenry. These new sessions on Facebook, Twitter and blogs were just added to the schedule as the previous sessions sold out in record time.

Designed with a business focus, these classes focus on attracting prospects, increasing Google search results, building relationships and making your business top of mind for local consumers.

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Creative Commons License photo credit: rafeejewell

If you are interested in these sessions, do not wait to sign up. Seating is very limited. Each student is assigned their own workstation in this new computer lab.

  • May 5
  • May 10
  • May 17

For additional information and registration for these classes, contact the Shah Center directly by phone at (815) 455-6098.

Other class titles are available later this summer. Sign up for my newsletter so you do not miss out.
See our events page for a full calendar.

Shah Center McHenry

I am going to let you in on the best kept secret in McHenry County: the Shah Center. If you are part of a for profit business in McHenry County, I encourage you to find out more about the center and how your business can benefit from their services.

The Shah Center offers workshops, seminars, assessment and on-site, customized workforce training to help your business stay ahead of the competition.

As an adjunct teacher for the site, I have the pleasure of teaching social networking classes (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and blogs) in their new technology class rooms. Each student has their own work station for hands on learning. In these sessions, local businesses learn how to use social networking sites to build relationships, identify partners and connect with loyal customers.

The Shah Center is located at 4100 W. Shamrock Lane in McHenry, Illinois 60050.

You can find out more information at

www.shahcenter.mchenry.edu

Phone: (815) 455–8593

Email: shahcenter@mchenry.edu
See our events page for a full calendar of our upcoming classes.

Richmond Spring Grove Chamber LinkedIn Class

Watch for information on the upcoming Richmond Spring Grove Chamber Mixer dinner and LinkedIn training event.

Thank you to the Richmond Spring Grove Chamber of Commerce for inviting me in to talk about using social networking in your business and community. We had a full house for the event overlooking the scenic country club. It was fun to connect up with the owners of businesses I have visited through the years.

Many of you asked for a follow up session and we listened. We are planning a June dinner with hands on LinkedIn training co-sponsored by the Richmond Spring Grove Chamber and the Shah Center in McHenry, Illinois. The event will include dinner, networking and hands on training in the computer lab. Before the session, create a free LinkedIn profile then bring your user ID and password to the class.

Contact the Chamber at 815.678.7742 for more information or to register.

Social Networking Classes Shah Center McHenry May

During April and May I am teaching hands on social networking classes at the Shah Center in McHenry. These session will focus on the business use of social networking. Classes include two hour hands-on learning sessions on each of the following tools: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

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Creative Commons License photo credit: rafeejewell
Create a free LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter profile before the class. We will create our blog profiles and post our first blog posting together during the class. You will need access to your web email account (Yahoo, Gmail, etc.) during the class.

Due to overwhelming demand, the Shah Center is opening up new social networking classes during May.

Dates for these new classes are:
May 5
May 10
May 17

For additional information and registration for these classes, contact the Shah Center directly by phone at (815) 455-6098 or email at sbdc@mchenry.edu.

The Shah Center, located in McHenry, Illinois, is a part of the Illinois Small Business Development Center and McHenry Community College.

Information on social networking sessions at the Fox Valley Business Center in Elgin will be posted in our newsletters. Sign up here so you do not miss an edition.

See our events page for a full calendar.