At the end of July, Keleigh did something she vowed, at the tender age of twelve, she would never do: She started a fan club.

We don’t hold it against her; how could she NOT start a fan club for the ever-smiling, courteous and thoughtful City Crew of Long Beach?

Keith has been a fan for years, but especially since they bring him the grass they cut from the ball field across the street from him.  Keith loves to make compost. Sue’s the most dedicated fan in the office and that’s not just because her husband is on the Crew, either.

Here’s what Keleigh wrote when she started the Long Beach Washington City Crew Fan Club on FaceBook:

Long Beach, Washington has the best darned City Crew anywhere! This is a group of very talented, hard-working people who notice what needs doing and do it before anyone asks. They’re always smiling and stepping up to the plate to improve our community. It’s often said that Long Beach is the beach of our childhoods. Could it be, in part, because this group brings back the kindly manners of the past?

Even so, we were all surprised when the group had nearly 70 fans in its first two days of existence.  It says a lot, we think.  So click on over and become a fan yourself.  Let’s show this gang of orange vest-wearing magicians how much we appreciate them!

And, while you’re there, pop in on Tangly Cottage Gardening, the duo responsible for all those gorgeous planters downtown and on the beach approaches.  They deserve some fan action themselves!

Woof ruff ruff woof, cookie, woof woof rwowf arf 10%.  Ruff rowlf arf woof.  wroolf!

– Perdita & Lilly

Last June the Pacific County EDC brought together local businesses and experts in security, finance and emergency communications to help strengthen our community in case of disaster. I was honored to be a speaker, sharing what I know about protecting your digital world from disaster.  The EDC is bringing back the ‘Ready, Respond, Recover’ Conference on October 14th to help even more businesses prepare for the unexpected.  This time, the conference will be in Long Beach.

While we’d all like to think a natural or man-made disaster won’t impact us, we’re all at risk. As a local business owner or manager, you need to protect your staff, facility and other assets. Join us on October 14, 2009 at the Chautauqua Lodge from 8:00am to 1:00pm for the ‘Ready, Respond, Recover’ Conference. You’ll learn disaster planning tips from local experts, and get personal coaching to create a plan for your business. Registration is only $25 if you register by September 18, and $35 thereafter.

To help encourage participation from even the smallest businesses in the community, the EDC is pleased to announce that ShoreBank Pacific has sponsored ten free business registrations-available on a first come, first serve basis. Call 360-642-9330 to secure your spot today!

I hope to see you on October 14th!

Here’s what I get to share with folks:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKdlCxSlPJo[/youtube]

Keleigh

We are often asked about Twitter; what it is, how it works and whether or not small business owners and non-profit organizations should engage.  The answer isn’t one-size-fits-all and, even if it were, to answer your question we first need to ask you, “Are you a tweeting personality or do you have one in your organization?”

So, here’s some overview information to help you find out.

Twitter is a social networking site where millions of people go to answer a simple question, “What are you doing?”

Twitter in Plain English is a 2.25 minute video that overviews what Twitter is and how it works:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o[/youtube]

Below is a nice, 9-minute overview of tips and tricks for using this tool:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZrbhIXxBXc[/youtube]

Links noted in the video:

• Twitter.com is, well, twitter.
• Tweetstats.com – how often do you tweet, and what about?
• Tweetlater.com – write it now; tweet it later
• Twitterbar for Firefox – tweet from any web address
• Twitter Karma – who are you following, and who is following you? Controlling friend and follower connections
• Tweetcall.com – using your phone to tweet; you talk, it types
• Twitter Backs – growing your Twitter presence
• Twitter Resources on Twitter Backgrounds Gallery – lots of tips and how-to resources, including phone applications
• Twitter Background Templates for Photoshop – allow you to tweak your Twitter theme
• Twitterbacks.com- another source for Photoshop templates
• Tweetdeck.com and tweet-r.com – desktop software for enhancing your Twitter experience; Mac or PC
• Tweety – another program, just for the Mac

If we’ve left you more confused than when you arrived, odds are that you’re not Tweeter material.  Share this post with others in your organization to see if they might be.  Or, give us a jingle and let’s walk through it together.

Social networking is powerful, but only if you use it regularly and correctly.  Dangle a toe in those waters.  Get your feet wet.  Jump in.  Start wherever you’re comfortable.  If you enjoy your time in the online community at all, let us show you how to maximize the time you spend for the benefit of your operation.

And, if you don’t enjoy living in the digital world, it’s okay.  Not every marketing trick fits every person or even every organization.  And thank goodness for that!   I hereby give you permission to let yourself off the hook.

Feel better?

If you still think you should be engaging in social networking but don’t want to do it yourself, we can help.   Email the web team at: webmaster@beachdog.com or give us a jingle at 360.642.4431.

First, let me be clear: I am not a lawyer.  I don’t even play one on TV.

What I’m writing about today is backed up by information written by legal professionals but I can take no responsibility for any legal problems that may arise from what you read here.  Don’t use this site as replacement for legal counsel.  If you have questions about a specific situation, you should contact a legal professional or the US Copyright Office.

We are regularly asked questions about copyright, particularly with regard to website content, photos, videos, articles, even site structure and positioning and branding strategies.  Business owners are understandably protective of their intellectual property and works they have worked to create or paid to have created.

Copyright is a law stating that you cannot copy a piece of work without the author’s permission. “Work” includes writing, a photograph, or a web page. In short, if you snapped the shutter on the camera, if you typed the words or penned them on a pad; if you created the work, it belongs to you.

The only time a work is NOT copyright-protected is when:

• the originator/author has placed the work in the Public Domain.  When this has been done, anyone can copy and/or distribute the work freely.  An example of this would be Open Source programming such as WordPress, the program we favor for building blog-based websites.
• the originator/author has been deceased for 70 years or longer; at that point the work becomes Public Domain
• you have paid for, or been given, a license to use the work. An example of this is when you purchase a program that makes greeting cards, you are licensed to freely use the clip-art and sayings to make those cards.
• ownership of the work has been sold or given to you, in writing.  For example, our office, unlike many creative firms, transfers full license of most works to our clients once the work has been paid in full.  Be aware that you do NOT own artwork you paid to have created unless you have a document transferring ownership or giving you license.  This is a common misconception that comes back to haunt many businesses and non-profit organizations.  It is standard for designers to be paid ongoing licensing royalties on the works they produce.  That’s why the firm that created the Nike or McDonalds logos, or the cover artwork for a nationally top-selling book, were paid a much higher rate of compensation than a mom-and-pop outfit would pay for similar work.

Copyright law means you must be extremely careful what you add to your website if you did not create it yourself. You could be invalidating copyright laws if you use someone else’s web design, graphics, photographs, sound files or writing. Even if you purchased a license by buying a CD of music or a clipart program, you may not be able to use that information on your website; read your licensing agreement to be sure before posting the information to your site.  If you aren’t sure, the best thing to do is check with the person or business where you got the work and get permission, in writing.

Now you know what not to do yourself, but how do you protect your own web site, photos and the like?  The truth is, you don’t have to do anything because any original work you produce is automatically copyrighted to you in the instant it is created.

However, owning the copyright doesn’t protect you from unauthorrized copying.  First, you may find it difficult to prove you are the originator of the work, or that you were the first to come up with it.  You can file for a federal copyright with the US Copyright Office, which makes your ownership much easier to defend in an instance of breach.  In addition, the penalty judgment if you win a case of breach of copyright is much higher for a registered work.

Disappointingly, you still need to pay all the legal costs involved in taking action against the offending person and it can cost more to prosecute an offense than the penalty judgment you may receive.  Filing fees start at $35 per work, which is well worth the time and cost if you have created something you feel is worth protecting.  At the very least, it puts you in the position of penalty judgment exceeding the cost of the legal process.

Whether you decide to federally copyright your work or not, you may publish your ownership using a copyright statement in the form:

Copyright (or ©) YEAR, Your Name.  All Rights Reserved.
(ex. © 2009, beachdog.com.  All Rights Reserved.)

Posting your copyright gives notice that you care if the work is taken from you and deters many from using it without permission.