Full moon in mountains
Shooting star in Sierra Nevada
Night sky with stars in Sierra Nevada
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Bigfoot Logo for Sierra Blue

SIERRA BLUE AGENCY

A full-service digital creative agency based somewhere in Northern California.

Bigfoot Logo for Sierra Blue

A full-service creative agency rooted somewhere in Northern, CA.

Vlog for January 2021, Video Conf., Google Grants, and Social Media Personalization

Vlog for January 2021, Video Conf., Google Grants, and Social Media Personalization

3 Quick Reads to Help Accelerate Your Business

2020 didn’t change how business is done, it simply accelerated it. Here are the “3 Biggies,” to watch for in 2021.

  • Rapid expansion of the use of video conferencing.
  • Running a nonprofit? Why aren’t you getting your $120,000 in-kind donation from Google? What it is, how I can help.
  • Social Media, accelerating your goals with personalization – it’s a thing.

This year marks my 25th year working as a webmaster and digital media specialist. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about digital media.

Zoom vs Google Meet

Zoom or Google Meet? I use both but there are some differences. Zoom does things Google Meet can’t, and Google Meet does things Zoom can’t. Zoom’s popularity begins with it’s ease-of-use. Google Meet is popular because it doesn’t require […]
Read more…

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Google Grants

Google Grants is easy and fast. I’ve helped dozens of nonprofits apply and manage the $120,000 annual in-kind donation as well as setup and learn how to use Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite). Both offerings come with every approved application. That process […]
Read more…

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Social Media for Business in 2021
Personalized Media There are many social media platforms, and even more tools within each one for business. This article focuses on one powerful tool that can be used on just about any major social media channel. A study by University of Texas showed […]
Read more…

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Next week, I begin teaching online courses on Zoom, Google Meet, Youtube Live, and Facebook Live.

A Few Topics I Specialize In

  • Video Conferencing for Professionals
    • Integrating Zoom and Google Meet with native applications such as Google Calendar and Gmail.
    • How to host large meetings effectively and reduce poor audio and video quality.
    • Polling, surveys, messaging, and file sharing.
  • WordPress Web Design
    • Getting started from hosting and dashboard, to user setup, and creating pages and posts.
    • Plugins, the good, the bad, and the ugly truth about them.
    • Advanced features.
  • Photoshop
    • Introduction – installing CC, creating a canvass, using text, fonts, colors, and resizing/cropping images.
    • Intermediate – Optmizing Photoshop for you computer.
    • Vector stuff (line drawing with anchors).
    • Color management with hues, curves, levels, and layers.
    • Advanced – masking, advanced layers, effects, using Adobe Cloud for storage.
  • Social Media
    • Facebook basics to advanced page management.
    • Advertising vs Organic.
    • Retargeting and remarketing.
    • Video and Live Streaming.
  • Google Grants
    • Everything you need to get started in 30 minutes.
    • How to use the $120,000 in-kind donation.
    • What is Google Workspace
    • Getting started with Google Workspace.

 

Zoom vs Google Meet

Zoom vs Google Meet

Zoom or Google Meet?

I use both but there are some differences. Zoom does things Google Meet can’t, and Google Meet does things Zoom can’t. Zoom’s popularity begins with it’s ease-of-use. Google Meet is popular because it doesn’t require a download on most popular browsers and for its native integration with Gmail and Google Calendar. But, Zoom now also integrates well with Google Calendar. Below, I outline the key features of both.

I spend an average of 20+ hours a week in video conferencing. I teach clients how to get things done with screen sharing. Other times, I’m attending board meetings. Other times, I’m attending seminars to keep my skills updated.

Free/Basic Versions

 Google Meet Logo

 

  • No download required.
  • Requires a Google Account (Gmail).
  • Free version includes 60 minutes per mtg.
  • 24 hour 1-to1 meetings.
  • Up to 100 members per meeting.
  • Live captioning in many languages (CC).
  • Stream to social.
  • Pre-meeting preview (check your image).
  • Pin, mute, and/or remove users.
  • Screen sharing.
  • Messaging/share files.
  • Integration with Google and Microsoft Office apps.

The full list of features with upgrade.

 

 

 

 Zoom Logo

 

  • Download required.
  • Requires Zoom account.
  • Free version includes 40 minutes per mtg.
  • Up to 100 members per meeting.
  • No live captioning (CC).
    No streaming to social.
  • Pre-meeting preview (check your image).
  • Pin, mute, and/or remove users.
  • Screen sharing.
  • Messaging/share files.
  • Integration with Google and Microsoft Office apps.

 Zoom’s full list of features with upgrade.