This web site launched yesterday afternoon. The items for sale on the site, mostly t-shirts but other items are planned, are the creation of Greg Cardiel. Greg is a registered nurse who first came up with the idea for FlatLineWear in 1999. And finally, after much hard work, it is now a web site.

Greg has designed a line of unique fashions for medical professionals. Check out his site to see what he has to offer. If you like it, stop by the Feedback page and leave him a comment!

You can click on the image below to get to FlatLineWear.net.

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We had another photography class this past Saturday. It went very well. We had two students, which seems to be a good number for this class.

I changed everything up this time. We started by playing with the cameras. Taking pictures of some jewelry. That started the questions going. Some of them I deferred until the “classroom” part, but everyone seemed more interested since they had already seen the questions in action. And somehow, we took more pictures in less time.

It was a good class.  If you’re interested in improving your close up photography, you should sign up for the class.

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Here’s our schedule for the second quarter of 2008. If none of these dates/times meet your needs, let us know.

• July 19, 2008
• August 10, 2008
• September 14, 2008

All classes are held at And The Bead Goes On. Click on the date for registration information.

Follow this Close Up Jewelry Photography Class link for complete information on the class.

Sign up today!

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Have you checked for a mobile device?

I recently went to Toyota’s web site with my iPhone. Guess what? Nothing. All I saw was a message that said I needed to install Flash. Well, now. That’s not going to happen. I went to the site later from a computer and discovered there isn’t much to see at all if you don’t have Flash.

Which is fine if I’m on my computer. For years, there was an attitude that if someone didn’t have Flash then they could just lose out. But that doesn’t work so well now. With the growing use of mobile devices, a site that uses Flash should have something to serve up to the mobile world. Something better than a useless message that I needed to install Flash.

In fact, maybe your web site should check for a mobile device even if it doesn’t use Flash. Be friendly to the mobile world. If it’s a site for a restaurant, you could serve up (pun intended) phone numbers and the take out menu.

If you don’t have a mobile device that can get to the internet, borrow one and see what your site looks like. Your visitors will be glad you did.

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Inbound links are an excellent method for getting your site known on the internet. Authoritative links are even better. Web site directories are a good source for such links. I’ve listed several of them below. When submitting your site, be sure to check each directory’s rules first. You may also need to ensure that your site isn’t already listed as some directories really frown on multiple submissions.

• Open Directory Project - DMOZ
• Jayde - The B2B Search Engine
• Web World
• TurnPike Emporium Directory
• Directory Vault

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Thought I would post some of my recent photographs:

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Here’s our schedule for the second quarter of 2008. If none of these dates/times meet your needs, let us know.

• April 12, 2008
• May 17, 2008
• June 21, 2008

All classes are held at And The Bead Goes On. Click on the date for registration information.

Follow this Close Up Jewelry Photography Class link for complete information on the class.

Sign up today!

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We held another photography class on March 16. There were two students for this class. We had a great time and everyone learned a lot.

Students are asked to bring an item that they’ve found difficult to photograph. That’s what we work on in class. This class brought two very challenging pieces. We could have spent the entire class on just these two items.

If you’re interested in improving your close up photography, this class is a definite must for you! Watch this blog for announcement of our next scheduled classes.

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Do your newsletters include an opt-out mechanism to allow recipients to unsubscribe from your newsletter?

Do your newsletters include a physical postal address (either physical location or PO Box)?

These are just two of the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act. Are your email newsletters in compliance?

I get e-mails frequently from well-intentioned companies that are in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. Can your business afford such a violation? For starters, each violation is subject to fines of up to $11,000! Ouch!! In addition, deceptive commercial email is subject to laws banning false or misleading advertising.

There are a couple of ways to avoid those penalties. One is to read up on the CAN-SPAM Act. Which would mean monitoring changes and keeping up to date with the changes in the law.

The other is to use an email marketing company such as VerticalResponse or ConstantContact.

Here are just a few of the functions they provide:

• Keeping current with anti-spam laws. Such as the requirement to have an address and an unsubscribe link.
• Reviewing your email for common spam elements.
• Allow recipients to view your newsletter online - for those recipients who can’t see it in their mail program.
• Communicating with major ISPs to help ensure your newsletter doesn’t get bounced or put in a junk folder.
• Campaign tracking - See who opens your newsletter and what links they click. You can also see bounces and unsubscribes.

bwh Web Designs researched several of these companies in 2006. We now use and recommend VerticalResponse. Here’s just a few reasons:

• A reasonable price, based on the number of addresses to which you send a newsletter.
• Ability to maintain completely separate mailing lists.
• Flexibility in newsletter design, including uploading your own HTML to coordinate with your website.
• Ability to send postcards through the U.S. Mail.

You can sign up with VerticalResponse through this link:

Email Marketing from VerticalResponse

Our favorite feature is being able to maintain separate mailing lists. We use one VerticalResponse account to manage mailing lists for 3 separate websites. One of our clients uses it to track customers by geographic location. She can target a newsletter to let people in one area know when she’ll be in their area.

Contact bwh Web Designs today to get your mailing list started!

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Why not start the year off right by learning to take better close up photos of your jewelry. We’ve scheduled 3 classes in early 2008. If none of these dates/times meet your needs, let us know.

• January 20, 2008
• February 24, 2008
• March 16, 2008

All classes are held at And The Bead Goes On. Click on the date for registration information.

Follow this Close Up Jewelry Photography Class link for complete information on the class.

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