Cheryls Purple Cow Blog

At the same time I was setting up this blog, Blogger added the pages capability to its blogs.

So I decided to stay there because I am used to Blogger and that is where my followers already are.

My blog is Cheryls Purple Cow: Raising Awareness One Bead at a Time.

You can also find me on Facebook at Cheryls Purple Cow and My Extra Beads

Or in my 2 new stores on ArtFire:

Jewelry by Cheryls Purple Cow

Cheryls Extra Beads

Big Plans and Dreams for this Year

I have not been attending to my blog the way I would like to but that is due to the changes I am in the process of implementing.  I decided that I would share my plans with you.  

I started selling some of my destash supplies in my shop but I don’t really like the way they look in the shop with my creations.  So I opened a new shop.  I call it MyExtraBeads.  the address is http://MyExtraBeads.etsy.com.  I will be selling quite a few extra beads and other arts and crafts supplies.

I opened a new FB account for my Epilepsy Awareness efforts.  If you are interested you can find that page at MyEpilepsy Page on FB. My personal page has way too much going on.  I have my friends and family, Larrys friends and family, people that I have met and fanned through Etsy, and all my Epilepsy contacts on my personal page.  Some days I have to go through 4 or 5 pages to see an hours worth of posts.  I decided to break off the epilepsy because that is something that needs undivided attention.  I even opened a group page along with it so that others could contribute more to the page.

I have been doing well with the Awareness Treasuries. I have kept them going almost continuously for almost a month now.  


I am also working on a comprehensive list of Awareness Ribbon Colors that shows all the causes for each color.  I am trying to figure out how to add a page to my blog so that the list can be posted here.

I started the Facebook Tutorial on my Tuesdays Tutorials segment of the blog.  I still need to come up with a couple more segments that I can publish weekly.

I am going to announce a blog giveaway as soon as I hammer out the details.  I will be giving away a custom made bracelet from my shop.  I think I know which one, but I’m not sure.

Hmmm, I need a couple new segments.  I need something to promote my blog giveaway.  Maybe I will combine the two.  

Boy, just seeing this list is making me tired.  


Till next time.

I

New Weekly Feature Tuesday Tutorial How to Create a Facebook Fan Page

Facebook Tutorial  How to Create a Fan Page

I answer many questions about Facebook Fan Pages and decided that I was going to start writing the instructions for others in the form of Tutorials.

The first tutorial is written as if the reader has not played around with Facebook much.  I am going to give basic information that may bore some of you.  Please bear with me while I bring the new to Facebook audience up to speed.

This tutorial is going to walk you through creating your Fan Page.  You should already have a page set up for yourself.  That page is the “Profile” page.

There are a 2 ways to get to the “Create a Fan Page”  and both ways take you to the page below.

1)  If you are on someone else’s Fan Page, scroll down to the bottom of the left-most column.  You will see this:

click on “Create a Page for My Business”.

2)  You can follow this link: http://facebook.com/pages/create.php

This is a picture of that page.

Choose either “Local”,  “Brand, Product or Organization”  or “Artist, Bank, or Public Figure”.  When you choose one you will have access to a drop-down menu.  Scroll the menu and choose the selection that best describes your Fan Page.  I have expanded the drop-down menu for the category “Local” so that you can see what choices are available.

Type the name you want for your Fan Page in the “Name of Page” box.

I recommend checking the next box so that you have time to work on your Fan Page before it goes public.

Read the small paragraph above the blue “Create Page” button.  If you need more information read the statements below the button.

If you are ready to set-up your Fan Page click on the blue button.

This next page is your new Fan Page.  I recommend bookmarking the page or saving it as a favorite.  It is not always easy to get back to the page at first.

You need to fan your Fan Page.  This is not automatic, you will go through the steps like anyone else.  Simply click on the “Become a Fan” button.

*I forgot to take notes while I did this step so please send me any corrections you notice*

Next you should add a profile picture.  Click on “Edit Picture” on the left side of the page.  Click on  “upload from computer”.  Find the picture you want to use and click on it.  When you are done click on “Go back to your page” to get back to the main page.

If you want to change your settings, change the admins of your page,  get your “Badge” or “FanBox” click on edit page.  There are too many options available on this page to go over them now

Congratulations!!! You have just created a Fan Page.

I am constantly looking for Tutorial suggestions.  If you have a topic to suggest please use the comment  to suggest it or go to my Fan Page and post your suggestion in the Tutorial discussion.

Personalized Facebook Landing Page Courtesy of The Curious Pug

I browse through the Etsy forums from time to time looking for a thread that might interest me.  This title certainly caught my eye: “I made a tutorial on how to make a welcome Tab for your Facebook Fan Page”.  I loved that concept so I checked out the links provided in the thread.

It seems to be a real simple thing to do.  All I really needed to do was design the graphics for my page, then follow a set of directions.  I can do that.  Well  if you read some of my blog entries you know that I like to outsmart myself.  I designed the graphics for my page and followed the directions.  (this is the part where I outsmart myself).

I could get the graphics loaded but the part about embedding a link in the page to take fans to my Etsy shop took them to the picture in my Picassa web album. I beat my head against the wall for about 4 hours. No matter what I did I couldn’t fix it.  I even went back and read the post (instead of just skimming the highlights).   I finally sent The Curious Pug an email.    In the reply she went so far as to type up the exact code so that all I had to do was replace the picture information.  This is where you learn that if you are following a computer code verbatum, it may be a good idea to do just that.

After an hour I had just about decided that my fans would appreciate visiting my web album instead of my store.  The only difference between what I used and What she used was that the Pug used Photobucket,, so I uploaded my Graphics to Photobucket and that fixed it.  I guess it has to do with the way Picassa links back to the picture.  But it works now.  Check it out.  http://www.facebook.com/Cheryls.Purple.Cow?ref=ts

Here is a link to the post in The Curious Pug’s Blog:

http://curiouspug.blogspot.com/2009/12/tutorial-1-how-to-add-welcome-tab-to.html

My next blog post will be an interview with The Curious Pug.   I will have information on upcoming tutorials on her blog.  Look for it within the next couple of days. 

The Wonders of Technology Revisited

Technology and its good and bad side are favorite topics of mine.  As a society we seem to be growing further and further away from our region of origin.  People used to live in the same community for most of their lives.  Now we move across the country on a whim. 

All too often you loose track of the people who lived next door to you when you were a child.    Every once in a while you think of them and wonder what ever happened to them.  And then you let that thought go because you have no idea how or where to begin to look. 

When I opened my store, I made the effort to look for a friend from days gone by.  And I found her and we keep in touch with each other now.  After all, Cheryls Purple Cow would not be Cheryls Purple Cow without the gift she gave me in junior high.  I would still make and sell my jewelry, but my store would be called by another name.

Nowadays we have myspace and Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family.  the wonders of technology.  If my husband wants pictures of his grandson all he has to do is log on to the computer and download pictures that his daughter posted on her Facebook page.    That is just way to convenient.  No waiting.  No lines.  Just log on and print away!!

Now I want to explain what happened to me today that put my mind on this subject.  I logged in to my Facebook page and checked my mail.  There was one particular email that caught my eye immediately.  It was from my first friend from Kingsville.  When my family moved into the house on Pasadena Drive in Kingsville, the little girl who lived in the house next door became my first friend there.  Now I am going to date myself, but her family moved away around 1970.  She came back to visit one time around 1975 I think. 

I haven’t heard from her since…until today.  She somehow found me on Facebook.  I love technology! 

Facebook Fan Page

I have a Facebook Fan page with the new user friendly url for my business, Cheryls Purple Cow.

http://www.facebook.com/Cheryls.Purple.Cow?ref=ts

I like the idea of the Fan Page. But it is one of those things that looks good on paper, but the usefulness is questionable. Maybe it is my approach or my expectations. Or maybe people just don’t get as involved with the things they join.

It just seems that people don’t leave as many comments as they should. They don’t participate in the discussions like I thought they would. (I love to leave my opinion) And it is not just my page but on pages that I have fanned. I don’t want you to get the idea that I am criticizing my fans. I fall short in the fan department too. I admit that I leave very few comments. I should pay more attention to the pages that I have fanned, slow down and look around. Make a comment or maybe even two. That would be a record for me, leaving 2 comments in 1 day.

I know how good it feels when someone comments positively about something that I have made. I should pass that good feeling along. Or when they actually read a blog entry. (Help me test this theory, please check one of the boxes at the bottom of this blog post if you read it. It doesn’t matter which one, I just want a count.) I have often wondered if people are like me, they read the post, even enjoy it, but they don’t take the time to comment. Or maybe they subscribe to alot of blogs or feeds and don’t have the time to read. That even happens to me sometimes. Although I am such an avid reader that I read most things, even the Certificates and posters in the doctors office.

I am going to try to start commenting more often. A little positive reinfocement goes a long way. I just wonder how long it will last. I think I will even keep track of the number of comments I leave daily for a couple of weeks.