Really Social Strategies

Cool Web Tools for Screen Capture and Choosing a Color Palette

heather — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 19:50:03 +0000

We’re a bit enamored of the open-source, costless and cloud based tools available on the web. There are two that we are using a lot lately, and thought we’d share with you. First, we want to say that these work both on Mac and PC. Chris is a Mac addict, and I’m a PC girl. He uses Safari and Firefox browsers. I use Firefox and Chrome. More on that another time.

Screenshot Capture and Edit Tool

Awesome Screenshot really is awesome! I had been looking for a tool that gave me a choice of capturing the full webpage I was on, or a selection. And installation is simple and fast.

Instructions: Go to http://awesomescreenshot.com/ and choose the browser you want to use this tool on. I chose Firefox because that’s what I normally use. I like it so much I have now also installed on Chrome.

After that you will see a little icon in the top right corner of Firefox. So, navigate to a page that you want to preserve for later reference. Click on that round Awesome Screenshot icon and choose Full Page or Selected Area. Next an editor will open in a new window with your selection in edit mode. You can now draw arrows, boxes and other shapes, and annotate your screenshot. I find this invaluable for creating tutorials, or showing a developer an issue I’m having with a website or where to move a piece of text.

Oh, and a tip for new users and forgetful people like myself! Download to a new folder with the title of the project you are working on. For the screenshot I made for this article, I downloaded to Really Social Strategies/Blog Posts/June 27 Blog/Awesome Screenshot. That way I won’t forget where it is after I’m inevitably interrupted right when saving!

Color Palette Chooser for Websites

Color Scheme Designer is cool. Looking for colors that will work well together on your new website or blog? Try this tool. You just go here, and select the main color you are currently in love with. Then choose the icon on the top left to find a complementary color or a tetrad of complementary colors. After you’ve played with it and found the perfect combination, be sure to take a screenshot, save it, and send it to your developer.

Have fun!

Twitter Tip: Be Helpful

Christopher Roberts — Wed, 18 May 2011 16:06:07 +0000

Here’s something I like to do on Twitter that has served me well, and I recommend to clients and friends alike. Set aside a block of time — it can be as little as 10 minutes, but I typically try to find a half-hour if at all possible — and read through the feed of those you follow, and look for questions. If you can answer the question, do! And if you can’t, and it’s a question that could be answered by a quick internet search, perform the search and find the answer.

It shouldn’t surprise you that people really appreciate the help. More than that, they appreciate the interaction. Like any act of unconditional kindness, an assist on Twitter pays you back many times over in good karma and reputation. If you find it hard to believe in the value of this practice, try turning the circumstances around for a moment.

Have you ever asked a question that no one answered? You knew someone had the answer. But out of disinterest, shyness, or deafness, no one came forward to help. How frustrated were you? Bitter, even? Imagine standing on a corner in Manhattan and calling out, “how do I get to the Strand bookstore?” No doubt, 50% of people in hearing range know the answer, but how many actually speak up?

The good news is, someone will speak up — New Yorkers are actually pretty friendly and helpful, dontcha know. And that person will grow in your esteem, even if your interaction with them is limited to that brief moment in time. And the people who don’t answer will go down in your esteem. Wouldn’t you rather be the person who spoke up, than the person who just kept moving along in their on little world?

(If you want to take “being helpful on Twitter” to a higher level, check out Replyz, a service that lets you search all of Twitter for questions, organized around topics or groups. Someone somewhere is always asking something. You could go there right now and make someone’s day! Or, at least, their minute.)

Are You Social?

rss — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:28:27 +0000

Do you like to chat with your neighbor, belong to community organizations, or travel and meet new people? If so, we think you’ll take naturally to social networking online. For a great little visual explanation of social networking, take a look at Common Craft’s video “Social Networking in Plain English”.