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Migrating PC to iMac

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The most challenging tech experience of all has begun; I’m migrating from PC (Windows XP, a life-time user) to Mac. The iMac, named Big Mac, sat in the box two weeks because I was in fear of how best to begin. I’ll keep you informed of my tips and tricks along the way, but I thought it best to ask the experts who have already graduated from this experience.

Today’s special guest is Mark C. Robins, CEO of Lawyer Locate, a Canadian firm that does exactly as its name suggests. Mark is one of the most generous Twitter pals on Earth. Nary a Friday goes by when he isn’t doling out #FF greetings, and I love him for that.

My questions have multiplied since I wrote this; the Big Mac was still safely ensconced in its box. Today is day two of the experience, and my head is swimming. Mark is going to help me and you, too:

What is the first tip you’d offer someone migrating from PC to Mac?

If possible let Apple transfer all your PC files and programs for you; there may be a small cost if you did not Buy “Joint Venture” but well worth it to have the experts do it.

If you have an external hard drive that houses photos, music, files and Outlook email what do you recommend for files migration?

Again same as the previous answer let Apple do it for you. In Canada it is simple to take your Mac and drive to the Apple Store Genius Bar (make an online appointment first) and they will do the rest, sometimes while you wait.

Are there resources you used when you/your company migrated over? Sites, links, apps that make it easier?

Sorry to sound like a broken record but we did a great deal of research into this and found that even our PC IT people recommended letting Apple do it. In our case we have four iMac’s to set up and they took care of all the transfers and set up over a single weekend.

Here is the link to joint venture. Jayme Note: I bought three years of Geek Squad, Ask An Agent, and I want to say I have called several times and am duly impressed. They will take remote control of my PC or Mac and do all the set up for me.

On a scale of 1-10, how hard is this migration? How long do you expect it to take?

It took 1 weekend at the Apple store to completely migrate all our PC data and  programs. We opted to use “VM Virtual Machine for our Windows stuff.

Talk about iMail vs. Outlook? Compatibility? Best way to migrate files or archives?

There were some issues at first with bringing over PST files and the iMail does not have as many pretty bells and whistles. In the end, we have found iMail much better and more stable than Outlook. There’s also the issue of ease of use with our iPhones , iPads etc. We chose to use PST Converter Pro to import our Outlook PST files.

I’m already going to run Windows for Mac, but not Outlook. What other software is recommended to ensure compatibility?

VM ware Fusion is what we use and it works great; there’s a bonus of faster speeds as it uses 100% of your RAM to run the windows program so no bogging down, and easy switching between Mac and windows.

I’m thinking I’ll always need to keep a Windows computer/laptop handy to access external hard drives’ files; what do you think about that?

No need at all! You can have all your PC and Mac files on the same iMac hard drive and I suggest you invest in a Mac “Time Capsule” back up drive.

What advice can you give someone without an IT department migrating on his/her own? (I’m thinking it’s “have patience!”)

At the beginning I suggested that you use Apple care, Genius Bar and Joint Venture. The Apple support is second to none and I highly recommend using them when you have issues or problems. You will no longer need an IT person or company. With Apple they take care of you from beginning to end and everything in between.

Making the change was a huge fear for me but once we started there has been no looking back. I cannot imagine ever going back to PC-based computing and even now I rarely use the Windows side of my iMac. There’s really nothing there that I can’t do with an Apple App.

Enjoy the new way of computing, Jayme, one without blue screens and crashes!

 

Boing Boing Corporate PR

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What a time to be in corporate public relations…can you pick three corporations right now that have been in a boat load of trouble lately? Right alongside these three examples are CEOs at the helm suffering from poor brand image as they take the fall for the team.

>>Avon. CEO Andrea Jung is struggling with recent mismanagement. Stories in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere suggest her leadership is suspect. Forecasts are way off base, the SEC has launched and investigation, and investors are none too pleased.

(Aside: I used to sell Avon; so did my mom. I was my own best customer. I still love many of its products but the line diversified to include Curves fitness products, attire and a teen line. Way too much; unruly, but who asked me?)

>>Netflix. No surprise, right? This company flip flopped its subscribers about DVDs and pricing while opening new markets in the UK at the same time. Who is tired of reading about Reed Hastings’s PR debacle already? Read the link on this; Gini does a fab job of rehashing the entire mess, so no need to reinvent the wheel here.

>>H-P. I was surprised to learn the company would spin off its PC business unit. Without its flagship product line as a source of revenue, how would it meet expectations on Wall Street? Then, after installing Meg Whitman, former e-Bay executive and California gubernatorial candidate, as CEO, the company flip flopped and decided to keep computers in its product suite. H-P cited expense as a deciding factor.

I am certain you have more examples to share of corporate flip flops that unfolded in the public domain.

Now, let’s segue to the corporate boardroom. For sure there is a chief public relations officer who has a seat at these boardroom tables? I mean, right? One would expect serious PR strategy and input into serious corporate decisions that impact investors, analysts, stakeholders, consumers, the media, and more.

Why then are these corporations being “permitted” to make these customer-facing errors as if they weren’t thought through? Is there no PR counsel at the table or is PR not being invited to lend its expertise? Honestly, watching these gaffes unfold and multiplied hundredfold by word-of-mouth marketing makes me wonder.

The H-P debacle is pretty intense. The company just told the world it really didn’t want to devote innovation to its PCs; rather, it would produce subpar product. That’s my takeaway after a spinoff failed. I already have a negative image of H-P’s computers anyway; having them try to get out of that business doesn’t bode well for future sales.

For any business regardless of size, here is the type of PR counsel I provide (as do my colleagues):

>>We are trained in strategy to assess the effect of corporate decisions on markets and external audiences.
>>We know how to create story angles and to which media to pitch them for best light in sticky situations.
>>We contribute to messages developed with each audience in mind, and we draft appropriate communications targeting each.
>>We anticipate the backlash and negative impact of un-vetted business decisions.
>>We develop ongoing strategy to counter market pulse and rebuild damaged brands.

It strikes me that corporate PR, in two out of three of the above examples, is getting the raw end of the stick. Who’s responsible for allowing these very public gaffes; certainly no reputable PR professional would counsel its C-suite to engage in flip flop at the risk of damaging stock, brand, sales, and future growth.

Strategy for Summer Mompreneurs

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Hello world; I’m a mompreneur in summer. Not a day goes by starting April 1 that mom-owned businesses don’t struggle with June, July and August. It’s called summer in the northern hemisphere, and we who also dual as moms die. That’s right, we die, and don’t tell me you don’t. Let me be equal opportunity and include dads here, too. Dads, you die.

*The kids are off school.

*Camp starts 90 minutes later than the school bus arrives, and ends an hour earlier than after-school programs (-2)

*Taxi service daily required to and from camp and appointments. (-3)

*Bedtime is up for grabs; likely 90 minutes later. (-4.5)

*We may as well just subtract 30 more minutes of quality work time to make it an even five; that’s FIVE HOURS of LOST WORK DAILY IN SUMMER!

    Sorry, I’m screaming; it’s what summer does to me bar none. It’s the biggest lack of routine I’ve ever experienced, and I begin to wish for school about July 1. This year I’m not going to stress out as terribly as I did last year or the year before or the year before that. How will I do that? Not sure, but here are some things I’ve put in place:

    *Hired three people to help pick up the slack in between their kidlets being home for summer and their vacations and their full-time jobs. Heh.

    *Hired the 14-year-old across the street to come 3-days a week from 4:30 to 7 p.m. so I can exercise on the trails and pick up lost work time (that means finding food for the sitter, too, right?).

    *Begun to query moms for play dates in the evenings and perhaps will ask the folks to help out, too.

    *Promised to unplug from social media.  (KIDDING! But, wow, wouldn’t that buy me five hours of time a day, and I’d be back to center?)

      I have no idea how this will work, but it’s a start. What are you doing with your kids this summer when you’re working?

      Do You F*!@-n Jam?

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      Please pardon the borderline-naughty language today! (Hey, notice the byline — it’s NOT Jayme Soulati.)

      One of my exes was a drummer who took the idea of his drumming pretty seriously. He was forever getting the “let’s hang out sometime and jam” from not-as-serious musicians. Privately, these requests outraged him. “I’m a PROFESSIONAL. I don’t f*!@n jam,” he seethed at me after yet another one of these requests.

      Recently my best friend Steph and I decided to borrow this phrase and apply it to requests for free labor.  You know, “Can I pick your brain?” or even “want to be a part of my project (where I’ll end up sticking you with all the work)?”

      “Sorry, I don’t f*!@n jam.”

      Possibly this is an internal response. But slackers and cheapskates be warned: we don’t f*!@n jam.

      Do You Jam?

      Michelle Quillin of New England Multimedia asked recently on FB “How do you handle requests for “free” or “super-reduced price” services with a promise of “future work” and “referrals”?”

      My polite response was: “’thanks but no thanks’ in most cases, “yes” in very special cases.” Of course, what I meant was the above (sing it with me!), “I don’t f*!@n jam.”

      Small businesses need to be careful about jamming. You want to say yes, because saying yes feels good…right until you finish saying it, when it starts to feel terrible. Projects drag on and on. Your ideas are stolen and profited from. The “future work” and “referral” payoff never come.

      Davina Brewer posted how she handles the “jam” request –she lays out some good responses you can actually say aloud. I particularly like step #1 – “tell ‘em it costs money.”

      Gini Dietrich wrote about the true cost of brain-picking here. Her argument is, “…[in]  industries where people sell their brains for a living…Time is how we make our money. We don’t make widgets. We don’t sell products. We don’t manufacture anything. We don’t process anything. Our brains are our products and…every time someone asks us for free help, they’re taking us away from clients or opportunities to make us money.”

      Who’s In Your Band?

      On the other hand, you’ll play music with your band, won’t you? So who’s in your band? For me, I’ll always help out a friend, because my friends rock and give it back to me in spades. If they don’t pay me, they’ll return the favor for sure.

      If I don’t already have a relationship (business or personal) with someone, they aren’t in my band. No jamming.

      So…do you jam?

      Have you jammed? What was the result? How do you handle jamming requests?

      (Image: Flickr Creative Commons by Jonas Bengtsson)

      Standardize (Don’t Automate) Personal Success Measurement

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      Rebecca A. Denison is a “klutzy, bubbly youngin’ taking on social media and PR measurement.” (Hey, those are NOT my words to describe her!). Today’s post is by an up-and-comer in the public relations profession; a woman I’ve been fully impressed by since I first met her on Twitter. Rebecca blogs over at One True Sentence (link above), and you can see her measurement topics appearing just about everywhere in PR blogs and circles. She’s got some fabulous posts on her blog about measurement, and how perfect is it that she segues from the series on Influence last week. Thanks, Rebecca, for sharing your expertise here; I’m so jazzed!

      REBECCA A. DENISON SAYS:

      Recently, Jayme wrote a great post which included some thought-provoking questions to start measuring your personal social media success (be sure to read the comments, too – tons of wisdom there). She also mentioned Klout as one tool she has used recently to measure her influence online.

      I will be one of the first to jump at the chance to tell you why you should never rely on just one tool (especially an automated one) to measure influence. Influence is too contextual and situational. But that is certainly not my point today.

      Personal success, much like influence, is entirely contextual and situational. This is never truer as when people, brands and companies search for the best ways to use social media. And so like influence, you just can’t automate the measure of personal success. Not with a single metric.

      I joined Twitter in July 2009 when I was still a recent college graduate and searching for my place in this thing they call the workforce. Being a complete nerd, I literally wrote out the goals I had and how I would measure them. At the end of the day, my goal was to find a job, a company, a role that I fit into perfectly. But I was also looking to make a name for myself and share my passion with other nerds like me. I measured things like job offers and interviews, but also how many people referenced me as a thought-leader.

      Everyone will have different goals for their own success in social media, but there will always be direct and indirect methods to show how far you’ve come. And it all starts with your goals. So let’s start there.

      Standardize measurement of your personal success

      1. Write your goals with pen. Goals don’t have to be nitty gritty. Think big picture. At the end of the day, if you were completely happy with your success, what would that mean? Would you have thousands of followers on Twitter? Would you be running a business through social media? Dream!

      2. Define your terms. So let’s say you said you want to be a thought-leader. What does that mean exactly? Does that mean you’re well known? Does it mean your blog posts get read a lot? Maybe you are retweeted a bunch? This is where you get nitty gritty to really understand all the pieces that make up your goals. Think about setting time limits here, too. Do you want to be a thought-leader next week or next year? Give yourself time or even set smaller goals through the next year.

      3. Find direct measures. Go through all of the pieces you defined above, and write down all the direct measures you know of. If you want to be retweeted more by next month, that’s an easy way to track, right? Using a tool like TweetDeck, HootSuite or CoTweet, you can easily find out how many times others share your thoughts. If you think there is a direct measure but don’t know what it is, do a bit of digging or ask around (even ask me). Don’t focus on finding an answer for everything, though!

      4. Brainstorm indirect measures. For those terms that you just can’t find an easy way to measure, this is where you have to get creative. Something important to me was to be a source of expertise in measurement. I used the number of times someone recommended me as a person who might know the answer to track this. Not direct, but it’s close! If you’re a small business owner and want to increase foot traffic but can’t track your customers every hour of every day, try tracking foot traffic during lunch on Thursdays. If you see an increase, you can guess that overall traffic is increasing, and you can probably think up other ways to measure it more accurately, too.

      5. Set yourself up to succeed. Once you have an idea of how you will be measuring, set yourself up to measure properly. If you want something to increase or decrease, make sure you measure a benchmark for comparison later. If you will need to use a tool to help you, sign up now and start tracking even if you won’t need the data yet. Trust me when I say measuring retroactively is much trickier.

      How do you measure your own personal success? Even if you don’t take it too seriously, how do you measure progress?