Best Practices for LinkedIn

By Brook Mitchell

Facebook… Check! That’s where I keep up with friends, talk trash when my team wins and get my fix of cute fury animal pics with ridiculous captions.

Twitter… Check! That’s where I get my news, follow celebrities and see what’s trending.

LinkedIn… Well.. I have a page but I never check it.

If this is you, then you are not alone. There are over 200 million members on LinkedIn from all over the world. Of those members, a large portion have no clue what to do on LinkedIn or why they should be, other than that someone told them they should be. The truth of the matter is that LinkedIn can be an invaluable resource if used properly. However, much like exercising, you only get as much out of it as you put into it. She here’s how to work LinkedIn and why…

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AdBlock Plus for Android, Unblocked (Sorta)

By Joshua Flail

As we mentioned last week, Google recently started removing ad-blocking apps from its mobile marketplace, Google Play, claiming that they violate part of its Developer Distribution Agreement. Which is a fancy way of saying that these apps block ads which would otherwise generate revenue for the company.

One of the blocked apps that was yanked from the Play store was the very popular Adblock Plus for Android, and that PO’d a lot of its users and supporters. The Electronic Frontier Foundation went as far as to say that the move shows how “Google is willing to censor software and abandon its support for open platforms as soon as there’s an ad-related business reason for doing so”.

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Favorite Websites: March 2013 Edition

By Joshua Flail

The internet is a great resource for useful tools to help with everything from email management to making a grocery list. Ripplers are discovering and testing sites and software on a constant basis in an effort to keep up with the latest and greatest innovations and IT solutions. So, we’re sharing a few of our favorite websites each month. Here’s our picks for March:

1. Sound Matrix
Okay. The Sound Matrix isn’t a useful tool or a time-saving application… quite the opposite actually. You could easily spend minutes-to-hours on end playing with this unique music generator. But it’s a lot of fun and might just inspire you to become a bedroom musician in your spare time. Click on those gray boxes to start the experience. You can press the spacebar at anytime to clear your composition.

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Video on How Ripple Handles Mistakes

By Joshua Flail

When we started working with Studio Lotus, Kim Bergonzi at the Forsyth location asked if we could make it possible for her to connect to her work server from home. Sure! That’s a pretty common request. So, after getting their network all setup, Ripplers set out to get Kim going with VPN access to the Studio Lotus server. And we did… to the Emory location’s server. Hmm, that’s no good.

It’s not what Kim wanted, and she left us some feedback telling us that we really dropped the ball on this one. Well, what she didn’t expect was how Ripplers sprang into action to not only make things right, but also reassure Kim about her decision to work with us. We did. Check out this video on how Ripplers respond when a mistake it made.

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Why You Should Use a Password Manager

By Homer Bartlett

We’ve talked before about the benefits of using a password manager for keeping track of your passwords. Perhaps the most important reason, that we didn’t get into much before, is how much easier it makes it to use unique and obscure passwords for everything. If you don’t need to worry about memorability you are more likely to use something unique and less likely to use something that is fairly easy to crack.

Why is that important? Using the same password for multiple sites really puts you at risk, particularly if you use it for your email. Make sure you use a unique password for every online service, and then if one of them gets hacked (like this or this), you won’t have to worry about hackers getting into any of your other online accounts. continue reading

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AdBlock Plus for Android Gets Blocked

By Joshua Flail

We were sent us this via our contact form today:

Hi there,

I just wanted to quickly let you know that Google has removed the popular Adblock Plus app from Google Play. Apparently, Google is now openly prioritizing revenues over the freedom of choice for the users. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Till at till@adblockplus.org.

Best, Igor

So, yeah. Yikes. But the move isn’t all that surprising given that Google makes its money off of the ads the run on the side of your screen. AdBlock Plus isn’t the only ad-blocking app that Google Play has banned, but it’s certainly the one that’s going to piss off a lot of people.

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The Best Partnerships

By Mike Landman

ATV founder David Cummings writes that the Best Business Relationships are the Easiest Ones.

I’ve found that the best business relationships and deals are the easiest ones. Easy, in this case, means that they feel effortless. Both sides are working toward similar goals, have good chemistry, and trust each other. Whenever a relationship or deal feels forced, that’s often a sign that it should be further evaluated.

This is something we’ve learned over the years at Ripple as well. Finding companies that have shared values and complementary cultures leads to productive, long-lasting, meaningful relationships. Like finding great employees, friends, or a mate, it’s much wiser to vet them early, than to wait until it’s too late.

If it is too late, it’s harder. But still better to fire them than to let them compromise your values.

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Ripple is The Official IT Provider of the Atlanta Tech Village

By Mike Landman

When David Cummings set out to create the #1 hub for startups in the Southeast with Atlanta Tech Village, we knew this was an idea so Ripply, we had to be involved.

We set out to see how we could help. After a few months of strategizing, pivoting, and working together, everyone involved knew this was going to be a great fit. One that would benefit all parties, but most importantly Atlanta startups. We share the vision to make Atlanta one of the top 10 startup cities in the country, and as the IT provider of Atlanta Tech Village, we know we can help do our part. What is the partnership exactly?

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Favorite Websites: February 2013 Edition

By Joshua Flail

The internet is a great resource for free, useful tools to help with everything from email marketing to managing your finances. Ripplers are discovering and testing new sites and software on a near-constant basis in an effort to keep up with the latest and greatest innovations. We thought it would be helpful to share a few of our favorite websites with you. Here’s our picks for February:

1. StokeBox – Any parent will tell you, “kids grow up so fast.” But don’t just take their word for it, just ask to see the little one’s recently outgrown wardrobe. You’ll likely be surprised by how many shirts, pants, and jackets end up in a pile bound for Goodwill within a few short months. Well, for those parents tired of giving away what they just paid good money for, there’s Stokebox, a peer-to-peer marketplace where like-minded members trade forward their best, gently used and outgrown stuff. It’s a kind of worldwide hand-me-down community that’s free to join. Once you’re signed up, you can curate and exchange gift boxes of your best stuff for access to boxes of great things you need from a trusted circle of other members. You can search tags and view descriptive photos to find valuable stuff at super cheap prices. The boxes cost a flat $10, $15 or $20, depending on the size, and the fee includes both shipping costs and the StokeBox service fee. Neat, huh? continue reading

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Ripple WiFi at Freeside Atlanta

By Joshua Flail

Another Ripple Free WiFi hotspot is available for use at Freeside Atlanta. Not familiar with the Freeside building? It’s 6,000 sq/ft space that features a classroom, 3D printers, an electronics lab, co-working areas, a media lab, a workshop, and and two auto bays. The community is composed of just about every type of creative: hackers, designers, artists, developers, and entrepreneurs. Members and non-members alike can make use of the space for various projects, art initiatives, and general education.

Freeside Atlanta hosts a ton of classes and projects to help people network and make their ideas a reality. And now they’ve got Ripple WiFi to support the entire operation. Check out the space the next time you’re on or near Metropolitan Parkway in Atlanta, and tell ‘em Ripple sent ya.

Oh, and if you run a nonprofit organization like Freeside, or a business where the creative community gathers (ahem, Octane), and are interested in finding out more about our Free WiFi service, just click the button below and fill out the contact form on the next page.

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