User Name Availability Web Site

It is important to brand yourself or your company consistently across the major social network websites. That means getting the same username identity/URL as often as possible. It makes it easier for others to find you, but it also builds a cohesive marketing strategy that eventually does make it into the main search engines. It also keeps others from tapping into your success and hijacking your brand's efforts and identity.

Ever wanted to sign up for a social site, but the one username you want is taken after signing up for five pages? Annoying, huh? I came across this great new site, Namechk.com, that allows you to find out if your special username is already taken on dozens of different social sites. Cool, huh?

What can you use the application for?
NameChk is an interesting application which can be used to search for the availability of usernames on 106 sites in one go. This is a wonderful idea because searching and finding usernames that aren't taken is becoming extremely difficult. NameChk allows you to check 106 sites all at the same time which will help you to choose a good username which can be used on all of the sites. NameChk can be useful to promote your brand by registering the same name on every single site, or help you find usernames which are still available on most of the sites. It's an extremely quick service and it only takes around 8 seconds to return the result. If you did all of this manually it would take you hours!

What is the history and popularity of the application?
The application was founded in April 2009 and, although still very new, it is becoming increasingly popular. Namechk is a useful and very quick solution to find usernames which are available.

How does the application look and feel to use?
Namechk has a very simple design; there is a search box at the top and results down at the bottom. You simply put the username that you are interested in having in the search box and then click the button. It will then run a very quick search and return with the results. Then registering accounts at any one of the social networking sites is just a matter of clicking the name and filling out the registration form safe in the knowledge that your chosen username is already available.

How does the registration process work?
It's not possible to register for an account since it works just like a search engine. There are no accounts available on the site.

What does it cost to use the application?
NameChk is completely FREE to use, it seems to be supported by Google Adsense adverts, but these are small and don't get in the way. It's a very useful website and a real joy to use!

Who should use namechk.com?

NameChk is perfect for anyone that struggles to find good usernames on a number of the social networking sites. It is becoming more difficult every day, so this is a great idea. It is also good for companies who are trying to build their brand image; they can use this tool to find a name which is available on most of the platforms and then register it to promote their products.

Namechk Features

• Check usernames on 106 different social networking sites
• Register by clicking on the buttons
• Find usernames which are available on all platforms
• Build your brand image

Blogging ~ The Real Facts (Part One)

I am sure you have heard the term Social Networking. Even if you haven't heard that term, I'm sure you are familiar with Facebook, MySpace, or blogging. In this article, we are going to discuss blogs. We will discuss Facebook in a future ezine so don't miss it! Let me give you a little insight on why this topic is extremely important to our industry and, most importantly, YOU as a business owner. This past January, I joined a webinar which confirmed to me the fact that times are changing. It started with this shocking statement, "If you as a business owner are not on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter and don't have a blog then your business will be dead or dying in three to five years." I was astounded at that statement. (Oh, and he had already stated that he assumed everyone that had a business has a website.) I knew right then it was time to stop putting it off and I began to create my Facebook, Twitter and blogs. Of course, miracles don't happen overnight, but you DO HAVE TO START MOVING toward technology and you MUST to do it NOW! If you continue to wait, your competition will be moving forward while your business remains stagnate.

The REAL FACTS: The last three Dandelion Interiors clients were direct results of Google searches. In fact, we just had another caller today who said she found us on the Internet. We asked what specific search engine she used and she said Google. Then we asked her for her search words and she said "cornice boards, window treatment, and Nashville." Had we not had a website, we never would have received those calls! If you were visiting a company's website, interested in doing business, and ready to spend thousands of dollars, wouldn't you check out that company's blog? Of course you would! In a world of instant gratification, your potential clients now research a company before they ever pick up the phone. So why should you have a website and a blog? A website gives your customers a general company overview; however, a blog is key to developing a relationship with your client. As Jeffrey Gitomer says, "If they like you, and they believe you, and they have confidence in you, and they trust you - then they may buy from you."

As I began writing this article, I realized this topic requires a considerable amount of content so I decided to break this article into multiple parts. In part 2 we will share more technical information on creating a blog, this week we will discuss our recommendations for the "best choice" when starting your blog.

We receive tons of questions regarding which blog is the best: Wordpress or Blogger. Both of these companies offer free blogs and both have their pros and cons. We actually created two company blogs (Dandelion Interiors & Minutes Matter) on both blogging sites (Wordpress & Blogger). After comparing the two, we ended up selecting Blogger since it was a little more user friendly and much more customizable.

Here is why Blogger won us over:

• Design: Blogger has more customizable templates. Since our industry is all about "design" this is a very important factor.


• Colors: The subject line, hyperlinks, and font colors can be customized to match the branding of your company.


• Anti-spam: Includes an anti-spam feature when visitors post article comments.


• Dashboard: You are automatically logged into your Dashboard allowing you access to multiple blogs that you have created.


• Easy Edits: Edit tools (pencil & wrench) are viewable on blog for owner & authors to make it very easy to edit an article or add another link to your sidebar. (You will not see these tools when viewing our blogs, since you are not an author.) (See screenshot)


• Postings: Post dates can be edited as needed.

Blog Images: To sign up for Blogger, you will be prompted to create a Google account. Once this account is created, you will automatically be signed up for Picasa Web Albums. Picasa Web Albums stores all the images for your Blogger. Eventually, you will need more space to store your images; you can purchase 10GB for only $20 per year.

Posting: Once your blog is created, it is very easy to add articles. When you sign into your Dashboard, simply select "New Post" and you are ready to begin. Next week we will focus on how to keep content fresh and to entice readers to keep coming back.