Just as you don’t live in a vacuum, your blog does not exist in utter isolation. There is a huge world of possibilities out there in the blogosphere and on the Internet, so it makes sense that you want to take advantage of this interconnected web. People who are friends with you on Facebook may be interested in following you on Twitter, just as they may be interested in reading your blog.

As such, it is a good idea to tell you readers where they can find you elsewhere on the Internet. You could provide a series of basic text links in your About page or in the sidebar, but using a plug-in like SocialGrid 2.0 can be much more attractive. The icons associated with each social network are familiar enough to the people on those networks, so you may as well use these images.

With SocialGrid, you get a sidebar widget that can be easily customized from within your WordPress dashboard. You simply click on the plus sign to add any of the networks that you desire. From there, you put in your username and the icon is automatically added to the widget. You can also drag the icons around to change their order. SocialGrid supports LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Twitter, and more.

For more information, including a demonstration video, go to Whalesalad.com. You can also download the latest version of SocialGrid there.

In an effort to continually improve security on the servers we have now set all our servers to require TLS Encryption.

Did you know that standard FTP sends your password and usersname through text?

That means anyone with a packet sniffer could easily scoop up your login details and access your account. As that can be detrimental to you and others on the server we feel it is important to close that hole permanently.

I have tested and the current release of FileZilla has no problem with SFTP. If you get any error be sure you upgrade your FTP software to the newest one or download the free FileZilla software and use it.

Lawsuits are never a pleasant thing, so it is also in your best interest to exercise caution and prudence when it comes to your advertising campaigns. More specifically, you don’t want to make claims in your print ads and television commercials that may be undermined by another company. You don’t want to claim that you are the “best” at something, unless you have some hard evidence to back up that claim.

One of the better examples that rose to the surface recently comes from Rogers Wireless, one of the major cell phone carriers in Canada. In a series of ads that have appeared in a number of different locations, Rogers exclaimed that it has the most reliable network in Canada. Apparently, Telus took offence to this claim, because it implied that the Telus network was less reliable than the one belonging to Rogers.

I’m not exactly sure what became of the legal action that ensued, but I have noticed that Rogers has changed all of its ads so that they no longer claim that Rogers has the most reliable wireless network in Canada. Instead, the commercials now say that Rogers has just a reliable network (and not necessarily the best). This significantly weakens the impact of the ads, of course. It’s like saying that you’re “good” at something, instead of saying that you are number one.

Before you embark on any kind of marketing campaign, be sure that the claims you make are legitimate and can be justified suitably. Otherwise, you could have an unfortunate and expensive lawsuit on your hands.

Even though it was a name that only a handful of computer geeks knew just a few years back, Asus has quickly become one of the more popular brands of consumer electronics in North America. This company started out specializing in motherboards, but these days, it is perhaps better known for its Eee PC line of netbooks. Everyone knows about the Eee PC.

If you’re looking for a real notebook instead of just a netbook, you might want to consider the Asus K40IJ-D2. This is “entertainment laptop” comes powered by an Intel T6600 (2.2GHz) Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 320GB SATA hard drive, DVD Super Multi Drive, 1.3 megapixel webcam, integrated 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit). The 14-inch HD LCD display is also LED backlit, giving you bright colors that are perfect for watching videos and surfing the web.

Hopping on over to Amazon.ca , you can find this great laptop on sale for just $778.99 and it does qualify for free shipping.

To make matters even better, Asus is currently offering a $100 mail-in rebate on top, effectively bringing the price down to $679. That’s quite the deal. The mail-in rebate will also work with other Asus notebooks, so feel free to browse around for other configurations and different-sized laptops too. The mail-in rebate is good until the end of December.

It seems that the older I get, the faster time seems to fly. On the bright side, we can choose to be the pilot. As we get closer to the end of the year, we want to make this a December to remember… in a good way. To help kick off your weekend, here’s some good reading from around the blogosphere.

David Turnbull reminds us that it is easy to get caught up in the commercialism of the holiday shopping season, yearning to want this new toy or that new gadget. However, it is very well possible to want very little and still lead a happy and meaningful life. It’s about having vision.

Raul Pacheco could choose to work from home, but he much prefers the coworking environment. That’s why he’s pretty excited about the expansion of the Network Hub some time this month. They’re getting more office space for all the working professionals in the audience.

Tyler Ingram loves taking lots of pictures, so he jumped at the opportunity to shoot opening day at Whistler and Blackcomb. The ski season is upon us and it’s great to see all the infrastructure falling into place in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Let’s welcome the world!

John Biehler was lucky enough to attend a special LG Canada Mobile Event last weekend. He may like his iPhone, but he was thoroughly impressed with the LG Eve Android phone. The QWERTY and touchscreen-packing handset will be made available through Rogers Wireless in Canada.

Ruth Kaufman has had her fair share of ups and downs in her life, but she has learned that life is a rollercoaster and you just have to enjoy the ride. From small moves to big swings, we have to remind ourselves that we wouldn’t know happiness without knowing sadness.

The holiday shopping season is upon us. This means that you will likely be spending some time in the local shopping malls looking for the perfect gifts for your loved ones and co-workers, Just as you want to save money while shopping, you want to capitalize on these shoppers from the seller’s point of view.

With so many customers out there looking to spend their money, you need to do what you can to capture as much of that revenue as possible for your business. What promotions are you going to offer to entice a customer to your store instead of the guy down the street?

The initial inclination may be to offer a discount or some sort of bonus item with a purchase at your store, but this makes for a one-time transaction. While you could certainly offer 25% off selected items in your store, it may be interesting and worthwhile to consider the post-holiday promotion.

This can be used in place of or in tandem with a current discount. The idea is that you offer the customer a gift card or some sort of special coupon, but this cannot be redeemed until the new year. This way, you can generate additional income for the current year, while getting a customer to return in the following year.

Do you have any ideas for holiday promotions? Feel free to share them below.