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Archive for 2010

Happy New Year!

Dear Tranquility Internet Subscriber,

Greetings and Happy New Year to you all!

Just a quick update. We will be closed for business on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, December 31 & January 1. We will be monitoring the network as well as our email so in the event a network emergency should occur, so please do call in and leave a message.

We have enjoyed working with you during the last year, and thank you for
your business in 2010. Good luck in the new year!

Best regards,

Leon

Leon Schumacher
President
Tranquility Internet Services, Inc.

Tranquility makes an appearance in the Columbia Daily Tribune

Tranquility was featured in the Saturday, October 23rd issue of the Columbia Daily Tribune.  We would like to thank the Tribune for giving us the opportunity to be featured in their publication and a big thanks goes out to all of our customers, past and present that have contributed to our success.

Routing the competition

Columbia Daily Tribune
Saturday, October 23, 2010

By Kris Hilgedick

Travis Schumacher, left, general manager of Tranquility Internet Services Inc., and Leon Schumacher, president, provide DSL high-speed Internet access for more than 1,500 customers  in Columbia.

Photo by Don Shrubshell | Buy this photo

A tinkerer by nature, Leon Schumacher’s interest in the Internet was piqued in 1996 when he had an epiphany on Thanksgiving weekend.

Cool Kids In The Corner

Hello again! Hope your week is going well. Instead of hanging out in the office and working this afternoon, we’ll be heading over to the Micro Business Fair. So come check us out!

We’ll be at Stoney Creek Inn from 3-6pm

So if you need a break from your task list this afternoon, want to check out some of the other businesses in the area, or just want to say hi, swing by the Conference Center at Stoney Creek Inn between 3 and 6pm. We’ll be at booth 40 (when you go in the doors hang a right and we’ll be in the corner).

Spread the Word

In addition to being the cool kids in the corner today, we are also supporting MayeCreate Design’s upcoming website planning session the first week of November. So if you know anyone who is thinking about starting a website or wanting to improve on what they already have, please invite them to check out our sister company, MayeCreate Design, or drop us a line with their contact information. Thanks and have a great rest of the week!

Windows 7: 5 tips you should know.

Have you recently purchased a new computer running Windows 7?  We’ve uncovered some quick tricks that are pretty handy for new Windows 7 users.

1. Burn ISO files right from explorer.

ISO files are images of complete CDs or DVDs compiled as one whole image file (*.iso). No need for any fancy burning software.  Just select the ISO you’d like to burn a copy of and then click the “burn disc image” button.

2.  View windows side by side.

Just select the window that you’d like to view side by side,  click the “windows” key and the left arrow.  Then select the other window that you’d like to see and click the “windows” key and then the right arrow.

3. Add videos link to your start menu.

Just right click on the start button and click properties.  Next click on the customize button and then select display as a link under videos.


4. Pin frequently used programs or files to the task bar or start menu.

Just click start, find the program you’d like to pin, right click on it and then select where you’d like to pin it (start menu or the task bar).

5.  Shake away the clutter.

If you have 18 different windows open and only want to see one select the window that you want to see with your mouse select the windows title bar hold the left mouse button down and shake the window.

You’ll notice that all of the other open windows have now been minimized! Oh and if you want all the windows open again just shake the same window again!

Is this email legit?

Have you ever received a message that looked legitimate but something was telling you, “Something just doesn’t seem right here?” Seems like everyone has.   Here are a few general tips  on how to decide if the message is legitimate or one that you should just delete.

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People you should know

One of our own Monica Pitts was recently featured in the Columbia Business Times publication as a person you should know. We’re so proud of her and want to share the article with all of you!

Mike Pitts

Project Planner, Kliethermes Homes and Remodeling Inc.

Monica Pitts

Co-owner and Chief Creative Director, MayeCreate Design

AGE: Mike: 31; Monica: 30

YEARS LIVED IN MID-MISSOURI: Mike: 12; Monica: 23

ORIGINAL HOMETOWN: Mike: Springfield, Mo.; Monica: Moved down the grain belt, starting in Kenmare, N.D., stopped by Ames, Iowa, and made it to Columbia in 1987.

EDUCATION: Mike: Springfield Central High Class of ’97; graduated in 2002 from MU with a B.A. from the business school, emphasis in real estate and finance. Monica: Rock Bridge High Class of ’98, graduated in 2003 from MU with a B.S. in agriculture.

JOB DESCRIPTION: Mike: I am a custom home and remodeling consultant and sales representative.  I help families plan their custom homes and improve existing homes through remodeling. Monica: I think of Mike and myself as creative consultants. Mike’s creative consulting just happens to be a bit more concrete. I guide small to medium-sized businesses through the process of designing websites and marketing materials. Some days I oversee the creative process, and on others I actually design.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Mike: I’m a member of the Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee, City of Columbia Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission, Metro Rotary and Ronald McDonald House Maintenance Committee. I also am a member of Core 20 and volunteer for a variety of service projects with local nonprofits. Last year we helped the Boys and Girls Club, the Food Bank, Family Counseling Center and the PET project, to name a few. Monica: Does it count that I pick up after my dogs when we’re on walks? I am a Chamber of Commerce and Columbia WIN member. MayeCreate donates design services to various nonprofit organizations. I tag along as Mike’s chaperone to his numerous community functions.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: Monica: I’ve always been an artsy fartsy, entrepreneurial sort. I guess those two things don’t usually go together. Out of college, I took an internship designing a website, then my dad offered me a job with the family business, Tranquility Internet Services, to develop our Web design department. I later look a job for a local marketing company then ventured off to start MayeCreate Design in 2005. I’m still trucking along as a small-business owner and create fun jewelry out of fabric, beads and clay to peddle at local craft shows. Mike: I spent several years as a residential loan officer in Columbia after graduating. The past four, I was co-owner of Ultra Mortgage Group. Around the time Monica and I got married, I had a desire to change jobs and had the opportunity to work for Kliethermes Homes and Remodeling. This past August was two years, and I’ve enjoyed every day.

A COLUMBIA BUSINESSPERSON I ADMIRE AND WHY: Mike: I think I have to list three: Richard King of The Blue Note; my boss, Dan Kliethermes; and my wife, Monica. Collectively they share passion for what they do and have created amazing businesses that have helped and inspired people in our community. Richard and Dan have been a great source of knowledge when I was a business owner. Obviously I’m a big fan of Monica; I don’t know where to start! Monica: I have to jump on the Richard King bandwagon and add Cathy Atkins of Savant Business Solutions to the list. These two business owners have helped guide me through the circus of being a small-business owner. When I worked for Richard though college, he taught me how to be a good employee. I’m not saying I loved it when he yelled at me for transferring him a bad phone call, but I learned so much from watching him run his business. Cathy asks me the hardest questions; her whole job is to ask people hard questions, and she makes people think about their business and how to make it better. She has high expectations for her students, and she has those same high expectations for herself.

Read the full article here

Our Friends at Learning Insights Need Your Votes!

We met the leaders of Learning Insights at the 2010 Jefferson City Micro Business Expo. They are a very fun group working for a worthy cause. Currently they’re in a contest sponsored by the Pepsi Refresh program seeking funding to obtain the following goals:

Read More

RIP Windows XP Service Pack 2

If you haven’t upgraded to Service Pack 3 your computer is at risk.

Read More

Blogging is like vitamins for your website.

Will blogging help search engines find my website?

YES!  Companies who blog get better search marketing results.   Last August HubSpot.com conducted a survey of 1,531 customers, all small to medium sized businesses.  795 businesses blogged 736 did not.  Those that blog have 55% more visitors to their sites, 97% more inbound links, links from other sites to theirs and 434% more indexed pages, pages recognized and cached by search engines.  Here’s why.

  1. Keyword Steroids – Blogging adds keyword rich content to your site.  Building posts, links and URLs using precious keywords. Plus, blogging usually involves words and terms grouped in a similar manner to audience searches because you’re addressing a topic for discussion not compiling marketing copy.
  2. Fresh Content – Updating your site consistently makes Googlebot and other search bots into your allies. Regularly posting quality on topic content increases the number of bot visits resulting in more indexed pages.
  3. Return Viewers – Blogging gives visitors a reason to return building a reputation for your website as an informational resource. Comments and trackback features in blog software encourage interaction.
  4. Link Building Boost – Useful articles are well read and encourage others to link to your blog on their site, using social media or though RSS, creating more inbound links to your site.
  5. Naturally Search Friendly – Most blogging software has search friendly site architecture.  Clear navigation, uncomplicated URL structure and correct linking practices make it easy for the search engines to crawl your site and index content.

This article is also published in Columbia Woman magazine!

Make colors change on your website.

Ahh a lovely cart of hexadecimal color codes for the web.

To make a spot of text change color use the six digit color code in place of the ff0033 in the code below (the # symbol must be placed in front of the text for color to change in all browsers):

Example: What ever you want to be colored

Code: <span style=”color:#ff0033;”> What ever you want to be colored</span>

Click on the image below to view a larger version of the chart.

nhue2

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