The Battle of the High-Tech Devices
 Been debating whether to buy one of those sexy iPads? Or maybe a Kindle Fire, Nook or an Android tablet? Or maybe you should indulge in a sleeker, thinner and lighter laptop… Then again, if you go that route, should you buy a Mac or a PC? (Is your head spinning yet?)
A FlowerChat member posed this very question (er, questions) recently in the forums. While members offered some useful opinions, FlowerChat administrator and founder Ryan Freeman chimed in with some advice that really summed up all the advantages and disadvantages of the various devices. His advice was so valuable, in fact, that we decided to share it here in case you hadn’t been following the discussion.
Ryan wrote:
Tablets and laptops and PCs are each different things. Tablets are best used for consumption: reading, browsing the web, email, videos, social media ... but not for extensive work or activities that require a lot of input from you. I have a Motorola Xoom tablet and love it—great for watching movies on planes (unlike the iPad, the Xoom is true widescreen so you get the full benefit of the screen size), reading email, playing games, reading blogs, surfing the web, etc.
Laptops have PC-computing power in a portable format. They are much better for typing and managing input, etc., and for interfacing with other computers. New laptops have decent battery life (though not as good as tablets) and can be fairly lightweight. Even a small laptop has a larger screen than a tablet.
PCs have the most horsepower and most comfortable input (larger keyboard and a mouse), and let's not even talk about screen size (or multiple screens!) in comparison with tablets. Of course, they are not portable at all ...
Windows vs. Mac
It used to be a comparison of hardware and software, but a few years ago Mac gave up on using their own hardware and started using the same Intel hardware that Windows machines use.
While Macs are a trendy purchase, they still have single-digit market share vs. Windows (around 5% or so), and Windows does have a much larger software selection available. Windows PCs are also a much more cost-effective purchase.
Macs used to be viewed as more secure than Windows because of the scarcity of viruses that affect Macs, but as they have become more popular, Macs have drawn more attention from hackers. The false belief that Macs are impervious to viruses, along with a growing pool of naïve users, makes the Mac crowd a juicy target for virus designers, and Mac-specific viruses are starting to surface with greater frequency. Bottom line: Get anti-virus software for any computer you own, and keep everything up to date.
Going back to the original question, I would recommend against replacing a laptop with a tablet.
1) Tablets are great but don't fully replace the functionality of a laptop.
2) For the price of an iPad, you can get a much more capable Windows laptop.
If you’ve got an opinion, jump into the conversation on FlowerChat (or start a new one) and share your thoughts.
Are You Taking Your Facebook Fans for Granted?
 It’s easy to lose track of time when you are “Facebooking”—sifting through the comments regarding friends’ activities, seeing if the businesses you “like” are offering any special deals and reading through notes posted on your own wall—especially reading those notes from friends on your wall. After all, who doesn’t get a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing someone took the time to compose a special message for them?
But as a florist with a Facebook business page, how often do you deliver warm fuzzies to your fans? Do you take the time to acknowledge those individuals who “like” your page? Do you post messages welcoming them? Do you send them a private note saying thanks?
Apparently, you should. A recent study asked consumers about their expectations when they liked a page on Facebook. Turns out that they all wished the businesses would acknowledge their interest and respond in some way. Specifically, 35% said that, after “liking” a brand on Facebook, they expected to hear from the company.
Another aspect of the survey showed that 31% of marketers said customer retention was important, but only 4.6% said they could measure customer satisfaction extremely well. But isn’t that one of the most advantageous aspects of Facebook? It offers an easy way to interact with customers and gauge their happiness with your service or product.
Businesses spend inordinate amounts of time worrying about how to get more likes. Perhaps they need to spend a lot more time worrying about keeping the likes they already have.
What are your thoughts? Share them in the FlowerChat forum or on the FlowerChat Facebook page. (Which reminds me! It’s time for us to thank all the newest fans of our page! At last count, we had more than 50 new likes since the beginning of May! If you aren’t one of them, join in now! Click the link above or the Facebook logo in the right-hand column above.)
FlowerChat Tip of the Week: How to Attach a File to a Post
To attach a file to your post, you need to be using the main “New Post” or “'New Thread” page and not “Quick Reply.” To use the main “New Post” page, click the “Post Reply” button in the relevant thread.
On this page, below the message box, you will find a button labeled “Manage Attachments.” Clicking this button will open a new window for uploading attachments. You can upload an attachment either from your computer or from another URL by using the appropriate box on this page. Alternatively, you can click the “Attachment Icon” to open this page.
To upload a file from your computer, click the “Browse” button and locate the file. To upload a file from another URL, enter the full URL for the file in the second box on this page. Once you have completed one of the boxes, click “Upload.”
Once the upload is completed, the file name will appear below the input boxes in this window. You can then close the window to return to the new post screen.
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Popular Pro Discussions
Pro-level members get into the nitty gritty of florist life. Below are some of their trending conversations. (Want to participate in these in-depth topics? Sign up for a Pro account. See details above right to get a FREE membership for 30 days!)
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I have a hotel client who would like this "look" as pictured below. Are the flower bouquets simply balanced or is there a secret to the mechanics that I should know. Thanks in advance :) ...
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Now that I am out of all wire services. We have to make a decision to pay full dues or drop the membership? Anyone got any input on the value of SAF that I may not have considered? I read the magazine and emails. I use some of the webinar discounts, but $80 a month still seems kind of steep. are you in or out? ...
- Facebook news feeds
I don't really enjoy the FB page thing. I'm terrible at keeping up with it. Also, I've started to look from my friends news feeds to see the posts I was making and half the time they weren't even on there so it makes it very unmotivating to bother posting. Sometimes I want to show pics of my work that I would not want to have for sale on my website because they might be custom arrangements that I wouldn't normally have the flowers for. But I'm thinking of putting up a gallery on my website for ...
Thanks for reading!
Until next time, keep your business blooming!
Gina Kellogg
FlowerChat Community Manager
gina@flowerchat.com
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