If you have already bought your bumper, Apple will be refunding your costs. There are several ways that is going to happen. If you bought your bumper from Apple online with a credit card, your refund is probably already being processed and will be applied to your credit card.  If you bought your bumper from Apple online with a gift card, a new gift card will be sent to you.

Bumpers that were bought from retail stores are a bit more problematic. You will need to take your receipt to the store for a full refund. Do not delay, as this offer expires September 30, 2010. If you bought a bumper from AT&T there is a form to fill out. Here is the link to find forms and a more in-depth explanation of the process. http://www.apple.com/iphone/case-program/

The launch of the iPhone 4 in white has been delayed to let the company get this fix completed, I suspect. My guess is that when the iPhone 4 in white is released, the bumper will be part of the package or some other fix will already be in place. So have a bit of patience, it will be coming. Hopefully, it will operate better than the original.

If you just want your money back for the iPhone 4, Apple will refund your money. Just take your undamaged iPhone 4 to your Apple retail or ship it to the Apple online store within 30 days of purchase and they will take care of the refund.

The first product of any new technology usually has a bug or two to work out. Some bugs are bigger than others. That is just part of the game if you are going to have the newest technology. That is not to say that Apple doesn’t have a responsibility to fix the problem. Hopefully, the bumper takes care of the problem and then we can all wait with breathless anticipation of the next new technological breakthrough.

So if you don’t yet have your free bumper or case, now is the time to make that happen. If you need to get a refund, get that done this week. If you are like me, you will put it off until the last possible day or forget about it. Click the link above and get the process started now.

I know I have several followers from down under, so I wanted to share a little about his company. If you are involved in the build, design, and support of website branding and presence in Australia, you might want to give Johnny’s company a call, and see what they can do for you. SEO Experts Austrlia is live.

For the longest time, the whole Internet was run like a big science experiment, because most of the people using it were sharing academic research across the Internet.  But it did not take long for smart internet marketers to figure out that you could also use links for sales.  Instead of just giving people a link to research, being used like a footnote in a term paper, they would send you to a landing page to buy something.  Soon afterwards, the trick also started being used to take you to a website just to get your email address, address, phone etc.

Links to your own website are still OK, and when used well, they can provide needed traffic to your website. Now though, the search engines also like quality information links.  So, when you are writing articles, add one or two links to your article that helps to substantiate your facts. My trick here is to use big, popular research sites. Don’t use just Wiki references.

Put quality links in your articles, as well as links to your website, and watch the SEO build. That’s my little tid bit today.

Raymond C. Province, M.A., ACMPE

Celtic Ozark Solutions

Barnes and Noble started the whole deal out by announcing that they were lowering the price of the Nook to $199, from $259.   They have also come out with a cheaper WiFi only version for $149. That’s not a bad deal, considering the amount of ebooks available from the bookstore giant. You could read the rest of your life.

Amazon has struck back though. They have lowered the cost of their base line Kindle to $189.  So, this places them in a clear price war with Barnes and Noble.

Sony is going to be the loser in this deal. Their low end model is $169, but lacks many of the wanted features of the other two. Sony had better get busy and cut a new deal.

The giant in the game, for now, is the iPad. It’s $500, but adds a lot more functionality to the game.  It does everything but kiss you goodnight.  Further, Apple is re porting that they have averaged 2.5 book sales for every iPad sold, since the launch a couple of months ago.  There’s some real cashflow.

So, look for more good deals over the summer. Also, keep an eye on Ebay. There are almost always good deals to be had there.

Happy hunting

Ray Province, M.A.

To start the name of the picture, add your website name then the pic name. For example, a pix could be celticozarksolutionstwitterlogo. I would name a picture of a Twitter logo on my site this way. Simple and effective.

Naming your pictures with keywords for your site is also good. Bots can pick this up. Again this is simple and effective.

Pay attention to naming your pictures, and it will help people find your site.

Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions

Location:Carnat,Columbia,United States

The reason most people fail on these sites, though, is that they never use them.  Weird, right?  They may set some up, add a couple of bits of data, or a link or comment, and they are done.  They just sit back and wait for the new contacts to come rolling in.  Wrong!

You really need to be commenting on, uploading and ranking different newsworthy articles. You can also create a member profile that directs traffic back to your company’s Web site. You need to ask people questions, respond to other people’s comments.  Social media branding is not about “set it and forget it.” So, If you are not going to put some time into these sites, don’t waste your time!  Hire someone to help you.  Better yet, let’s have a discussion about what my company can do to help you!

1. Reddit: Upload stories and articles on reddit to drive traffic to your site or blog. You will need to use this one often. Make the uploads relevant to your business. A great cupcake article won’t sell your power tools!
2. Digg: Digg has a huge following online because  it is really easy to use. Visitors can submit and browse articles in categories like technology, business, entertainment, sports and more. As a technology company, it is one my my favs.
3. Del.icio.us: Social bookmark your way to better business with sites here. This is always a good one to tag when you have added fresh content to your website.
4. StumbleUpon: You’ll really get some great mileage out of this site by adding the toolbar add on.  Then, you can mark great  info as you browse the web.  Don’t just use this one to mark your stuff.
5. Technorati: If you want to increase your blog’s readership, consider registering it with Technorati, a network of blogs and writers that lists top stories in categories like Business, Entertainment and Technology.
6. Ning: After hanging around the same social networks for a while, you may feel inspired to create your own, where you can bring together clients, vendors, customers and co-workers in a confidential, secure corner of the Web. Ning lets users design free social networks that they can share with anyone. You could very well build the next Facebook of your niche.
7. Squidoo: According to Squidoo, “everyone’s an expert on something. Share your knowledge!” This is the best site in the world for building pages about your business.
8. Furl: Make Furl “your personal Web file” by bookmarking great sites and sharing them with other users by recommending links, commenting on articles and utilizing other fantastic features.
9. Tubearoo: This video network works like other social-bookmarking sites, except that it focuses on uploaded videos. Businesses can create and upload tutorials, commentaries and interviews with industry insiders to promote their own services.
10. WikiHow: Create a how-to guide or tutorial on wikiHow to share your company’s services with the public for free. It makes you look like a mini encyclopedia.
11. YouTube: Video is getting watched more and more each day. You really need to be making videos and video blogs about your company. (called vlogs).
12. Ma.gnolia: Share your favorite sites with friends, colleagues and clients by organizing your bookmarks with Ma.gnolia. Clients will appreciate both your Internet-savviness and your ability to stay current and organized.

Professional-Networking Sites

Sign up with these online networking communities as a company or as an individual to take advantage of recruiting opportunities, cross-promotional events and more. These are the sites to really talk about business on. You’re not trying to be everybody’s friend.  Build some real business connections.

1. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a popular networking site for professionals to meet and network around business.
2. Ecademy: Ecademy has one of the best chat rooms around for connecting with business. And, it will be more productive than just Facebook.
3. Focus: Focus is a business destination where business professionals can help each other with their purchase and other business decisions by accessing research and peer expertise. Most importantly, Focus provides open, quality information for all businesses that is freely available, easily accessible, and community powered.
4. YorZ: This networking site doubles as a job site. Members can post openings for free to attract quality candidates. In return, you can also look for work, if you are still working while building your fortune!
5. Xing: An account with networking site Xing can “open doors to thousands of companies.” Use the professional contact manager to organize your new friends and colleagues, and take advantage of the Business Accelerator application to “find experts at the click of a button, market yourself in a professional context [and] open up new sales channels.”
6. Facebook: is rapidly becoming one of the biggest sites in the world. Just be careful not to push business too quickly here. Give people some free help to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Also, build a business Fan Page.  Leave your personal page for your friends and family.
7. Care2: Care2 isn’t just a networking community for professionals: It’s touted as “the global network for organizations and people who Care2 make a difference.” If your business is making efforts to go green, let others know by becoming a presence on this site.
8. Gather: This networking community is made up of members who think. Browse categories concerning books, health, money, news and more to ignite discussions on politics, business and entertainment. This will help your company tap into its target audience and find out what they want.
9. MEETin.org: Once you’ve acquired a group of contacts in your city by networking on MEETin.org, organize an event so that you can meet face-to-face.
10. Tribe: Cities like Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, New York and Chicago have unique online communities on tribe. Users can search for favorite restaurants, events, clubs and more.
11. Ziggs: Ziggs is “organizing and connecting people in a professional way.” Join groups and make contacts through your Ziggs account to increase your company’s presence online and further your own personal career.
12. Plaxo: Join Plaxo to organize your contacts and stay updated with feeds from Digg, Amazon.com, del.icio.us and more.
13. NetParty: If you want to attract young professionals in cities like Boston, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Orlando Fla., create an account with the networking site NetParty. You’ll be able to connect with qualified, up-and-coming professionals online, then meet them at a real-life happy-hour event where you can pass out business cards, pitch new job openings and more.
14. Networking For Professionals: Networking For Professionals is another online community that combines the Internet with special events in the real world. Post photos, videos, résumés and clips on your online profile while you meet new business contacts.

Niche Social-Media Sites

These are the sites you want to use to build a link to other professionals in your business.

1. Pixel Groovy: Web workers will love Pixel Groovy, an open-source site that lets members submit and rate tutorials for Web 2.0, email and online-marketing issues.
2. Mixx: Mixx prides itself on being “your link to the Web content that really matters.” Submit and rate stories, photos and news to drive traffic to your own site. You’ll also meet others with similar interests.
3. Tweako: Gadget-minded computer geeks can network with each other on Tweako, a site that promotes information sharing for the technologically savvy.
4. Small Business Brief: When members post entrepreneur-related articles, a photo and a link to their profile appear, gaining you valuable exposure and legitimacy online.
5. Sphinn: Sphinn is an online forum and networking site for the Internet marketing crowd. Upload articles and guides from your blog to create interest in your own company or connect with other professionals for form new contacts.
6. BuzzFlash.net: This one-stop news resource is great for businesses that want to contribute articles on a variety of subjects, from the environment to politics to health.
7. HubSpot: HubSpot is another news site aimed at connecting business professionals.
8. SEO TAGG: Stay on top of news from the Web marketing and SEO (search-engine optimization) industries by becoming an active member of this online community.

General Social-Media Sites

These are the great old standbys that have been helping people build an online presence for years.  Don’t leave them out of your portfolio.

1. Wikipedia: Besides creating your own business reference page on Wikipedia. You can also add expert articles on your subject matter.
2. Newsvine: Feature top employees by uploading their articles, studies or other news-related items to this site. A free account will also get you your own column and access to the Newsvine community. Kind of like a news press release.
3. 43 Things: This site bills itself as “the world’s most popular online goal setting community.” By publicizing your company’s goals and ambitions, you’ll gain a following of customers, investors and promoters who cheer you on as you achieve success. It is also a great site to help you build a folowing for your company. Hit this one around once a month.
4. Wetpaint: If you’re tired of blogs and generic Web sites, create your own wiki with Wetpaint to reach your audience and increase your company’s presence online. You can easily organize articles, contact information, photos and other information to promote your business.
5. Twitter: Is a social networking and microblogging service that allows you answer the question, “What are you doing?”  The secret to Twitter is adding personal stuff, as well as professional stuff.
6. Yahoo! Answers: Start fielding Yahoo! users’ questions with this social-media Q&A service. You can become an expert for the Yahoo gang.

Well, here are 40 sites that can help you ramp up your social presence.  Don’t forget, though ,that you will need to spend time each day on some of these sites.  My recommendation is that you do 30 min a day.  You’ll be happy with the results.

The new ap will still require you to have a Netflix account, but the ap itself will be free.  There is currently going to be no way to stream over the WiFi portion of the iPhone. The service will make exclusive use of the phone’s 3G network.

There is some technology that will be in place, however, that would let you move around networks, and still be able to pick your movie back up at the point you left. This is called “adaptive bit technology.”  The bottom line: you can take your movie with you anywhere.

The only downside is going to be that AT&T is doing away with the unlimited 3G data plan.  That hurts!  If you are currently on the plan, you can keep it. But new customers will have to choose between a 200MB and 2G plan. So, watch out if you go over that amount.  That will be easy, by the way, with the wide bandwidth required by Netflix movies.

We’ll talk to you later,

Ray Province

1. World Cup Countdown

We know you’ve been counting the days until the non-stop soccer action. This app counts down the excitement by the days, minutes, hours and seconds until it all begins on June 11th. The app also has an interactive photo slideshow with a series of cool pictures of South Africa. You can click on the photos to learn more about each scene. 

There are even interesting video and audio options, like a spectacular overview of the countryside and some local music and dance moves. It’s a great way to learn about the country hosting the games, especially if you are planning to attend in person. 

2. ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup

This app has just about everything you need to prepare for the tournament. With a full schedule, you’ll never miss your team in action. The app allows you to select your favorite team or teams so you can easily keep track of all the news surrounding them. It also has full biographies and stats for each player for all 32 teams, so you’ll know exactly who is playing the game. 

Super-fans will appreciate the app for its extensive history of the tournament, which dates back to 1930, and includes an overview, trivia and controversies for each year. Sign in with your myESPN account to post comments about your team or participate in the “Fantasy Bracket Predictor,” where you can attempt to forecast the outcome of each World Cup match. 

3. World Football Live!

This app gives you the latest news about all things football/soccer from BBC Sports, Yahoo! Euro Sports, and ESPN. News() is updated in real-time and you can bookmark your favorite articles or e-mail them to your friends. The app also lets users browse offline. Once you’ve updated the latest news, you can read all the downloaded articles without a WiFi or 3G connection. 

4. AP 2010 World Cup Coverage

The Associated Press has been covering the games since the very beginning and is committed to giving fans full coverage. Once the games start, the app will provide up-to-the-minute news from more than 100 journalists in South Africa who will be covering the action. It has a multi-language platform and users can choose to get their soccer fix in English, Spanish, French or Portuguese. 

With customizable skins for each team, you can show everyone (at least everyone you show your phone to anyway) who you are rooting for. There is an easy to follow schedule feature that shows which teams are playing and at what time. Also, a photo and video feature will be updated once the tournament starts. The app also has a “venue” feature and lists a bit of history and interesting facts about all 10 stadiums where the games will be played. 

5. World Cup Factoids and History

If you really want to know what you’re talking about when you say that Germany is going to kick some butt, this is the app for you. With lists of every winner, host nation, defending champion and number of appearances since 1930, you’ll be able to make some informed predictions as to who will take home this year’s big title. 

History buffs will swoon for the detailed chronicles of pre-tournament dates, starting with the world’s first international soccer match between Scotland and England in 1872. The app also connects you to news from BBC, ESPN and the official FIFA site. You can help spread World Cup fever (not that it really needs the help) by pressing the button that lets you tweet about the application. 

6. World Cup Trivia Challenge Lite

Once you’ve brushed up on your facts and history, you’ll be ready for this game. Set on a soccer field, the lite version of this app has 50 questions that will test your soccer hooligan mettle. It’s a fast-paced game. With 90 seconds on the timer, you must answer questions like “How many nations appeared for the first time in 2006?” 

Once you get three questions right, you score a “goal.” For every question you get wrong, your opponent (who isn’t actually answering any questions) scores a point. There are three stages to work through and it includes a penalty shoot-out for a tie game. You can even listen to the sounds of whistles, cheers and music from a real life game, or choose to turn them off. 

Once you’ve mastered all 50 questions, you can upgrade to the paid version for $1.99, where 600 more questions are ready to test your fandom.

The magic of Twitter is the way it can connect you with many people all over the world. It allows you to share personal or professional information in very short tweets.  Your information goes out to other Tweeters, and vice versa.

In a perfect world, the twitter follow ratio would be 1.0.  Everyone you follow follows you back. This is the perfect exchange rate.  In reality though, this seldom happens.

There are plenty of people who only want to share their ideas. Only want to have you read their tweets. They don’t know you, don’t care what’s on your mind, etc.  It’s like the Oprah saga. She has a million follower camgaign, and doesn’t know squat about how to tweet.  Get rid of those people. Unfollow them.

The savvy marketer will want to know what is on the minds of their followers.  This kind of information is invaluable. Why they would not want to tap into the market data makes know sense.  In that case, they just want to spam you with their stuff.  Unfollow them.  Even the big sites like CNN, The New York Times, etc. need to pay attention.  At the time of the writing of this article CNN was following 276 people, and had over 1.1 million followers.  The New York Times is following 190, and has over 2 million followers. 

So, I ask you: why is your opinion worth less?  Give them the boot!  Unfollow them!

Ray Province

Celtic Ozark Solutions

I don’t think the MSN works any better than Google, for all the hype about intelligent searches. The look is cleaner.  But it is slower in searching than the big giant.  So, why change?  Why not Yahoo, or Ask, or Digg, or any of a hundred other search engines?

In addition, the voice recognition technology I use on my current iPhone 3GS is set to do Google searches by command.  I have a paid copy of the ap, and don’t really care to buy a new one. The one I have works fine. Now granted, there may be no change in the functionality of the ap at all on the new iPhone, but I don’t know for sure.

In many respects, this whole deal sounds like a way to try to slap Google back!  With entrance into the Android market, this may be Apples way to try to fight back. Who knows?

I don’t need Bing.  If you agree, dear iPhone fans, I ask you to spread the word.

We’ll talk again soon,

Raymond C. Province