As a lover of Woot and everything on sale, I was very excited about the local launch of San Antonio’s Groupon!  I have included everything I have discovered so far that I’m excited and why I chose Groupon.com as my newest Website of the Week!

Groupon is just a little over a year old (according to their About Me) by @AndrewMason (music major turned software developer turn who founded The Point.)   Basically there is a new deal each day and a certain number of Groupon groupies need to grab that deal  before anyone can actually purchase it.  If you don’t get enough people for the daily deal then you don’t have to pay.  The downside…you don’t get the deal!  It’s an interesting concept, on day one of San Antonio Groupon’s launch, Groupon required 20 buys and right now they’re at 269!

Daily Deal: Each daily deal includes a link to the retailer/restaurant, information, and also what the local critics are saying!  It also counts down the time left to purchase, what time the designated number was met, and how many people have purchased that day’s Groupon.  You can also comment on that days deal…which might tip the indecisive if you put in a good word.

Refer Friends: Refer friends through Facebook, Twitter, email, and your personalized link so that you get the $10 credit whenever your friends make their first purchase!

Alerts:  Groupon also makes it easy to subscribe to daily alerts!  Find them on Facebook, Twitter, and their RSS feed!  They also frequently make blog posts, tweets, and Facebook updates.  You can keep up with the main company of check out your local Groupon like I did!  Also check back to see what you foolishly missed on their Recent Deals page to see the (DUH) most recent…click here to see all…

San Antonio Groupon

• @GrouponSAT
• Facebook Fan
• RSS
• Discussion Board includes 4 tabs: All Topics, Deal Talk, San Antonio Talk, Groupon Global

Groupon Gifts: Looking for a Christmas present?  Give the gift of the daily deal (HUGE button found on the main page) OR Groupon Bucks.  The Bucks can be redeemed at ANY Groupon, whenever they find something they like.  Although you can only buy 1 Groupon for yourself a day, you can purchase an unlimited number for friends!

Business: Want to get your business on Groupon?  Find out how here.  Includes more information about the company, how it works, and the encouraging success stories that contributed to over a 1.8+ million subscribers current registered!  Check out what the press is saying about Groupon.

Suggestions: Looking for a particular business but don’t see it yet?!  Suggest it here!  Groupon has multiple opportunities for your voice to be heard!

For Hire: Looking for a job?  Groupons always hiring too… centered in Chicago there are opportunities in Sales, IT, programming, SEO…sounds like a pretty fun place to work!

Make sure you read the FAQ for more information, things that caught my eye:

• The last referral you clicked on before making a purchase gets the $10 friend referral credit!

With almost 48 local cities listed, Groupons is EVERYWHERE!

• Albuquerque
• Atlanta
• Austin
• Baltimore
• Boston
• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Cincinnati
• Cleveland
• Columbus
• Dallas
• Denver
• Detroit
• Fort Worth
• Fresno
• Houston
• Indianapolis
• Jacksonville
• Kansas City
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Louisville
• Memphis
• Miami
• Milwaukee
• Minneapolis / St Paul
• Nashville
• New York
• Oklahoma City
• Omaha
• Philadelphia
• Phoenix
• Pittsburgh
• Portland
• Raleigh
• Sacramento
• San Antonio
• San Diego
• San Francisco
• San Jose
• Seattle
• St Louis
• Tampa
• Virginia Beach
• Washington DC

With less than 25 days until Christmas, I wanted to post an advent calendar of deals and activities.  I wanted to post ways to save or kill time until the big day comes!  This post will include links to other sites offering daily freebies as the countdown continues, it also has activities for young and old to take advantage of!

In no particular order…Merry Christmas, Frohe Weihnachten, Mele Kalikimaka, and Joyeux Noel!

Website of the Week: http://www.gamesthatgive.net

Games that Give is a website I recently found through UNICEF USA’s Facebook updates…it takes advantage of the money made from advertising online while people play games online and gives 70% of the revenues back to the 14 organizations it currently supports!

Hover over images to read a quick summary of each organization, click on the image for more information:

The website launched in August 2008 and also has a corresponding Facebook app!  The more you play online (and the better you do), the more you make for the charity of your choice!

All you have to do is sign up for a new user account, select your favorite charity, and start playing one of the currently 12 games available!  I love the interface, simple, sharp, and the game selection is ideal.  You’re going to be playing blackjack, solitaire, and some of the other popular games on your computer anyways – play AND give back to the community!

If you want to know more details check out their blog or their extensive FAQ section.  Learn more details about how they got started, who their most recent corporate sponsors are, and other questions you might have!

Once registered with the site, easily send out notifications to your email contacts, also encouraging them to play!  Right now my chosen charity is UNICEF USA and it tells me how many immunizations my online game time has bought for kids in need!

Finally, another fun feature of the gaming site, there’s even a “Click if the Boss is Coming” button that automatically pops up an image of a word document!  (Love those buttons!)  Play incognito to support the cause!

Create an unforgettable Halloween for the entire family!  I have scoured the internet to consolidate the best fun activities that not only encourage a good, safe time but help the community, environment, and result in much more than just cavities.

My Halloween Series includes:

• Halloween WoW – Holiday special, this website of the week is a real treat!
• Halloween Countdown – What to do while you’re waiting!  Get Halloween to “go green” and find friend and family fun!
• Trick or Treating – Check out my ideas to breathe new life into an age old tradition!  Great ideas for individuals, families, neighbors, and friends!

I’ve always enjoyed Halloween – it’s a fun holiday regardless of your age.  This year though, instead of waiting for the true meaning of Christmas to roll around, use Halloween as an opportunity to show your kids that they shouldn’t just look forward to the sweet stuff at the end of the month but they can ALSO offer a lot of treats too!

Website of the Week (WoW): UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund)

A global organization that saves kids’ lives in over 150 countries by providing clean water, nutrition, medicines, education and aid in emergencies.  They’re also offering awesome ways to raise awareness and contributions!

UNICEF’s Media Savvy

• Follow @unicefusa’s tweets on Twitter.  (Not on Twitter yet?  Twitter 101 from basics to advanced users here!)
• Become a Fan on Facebook!
• Join their cause – By clicking on the “Join Cause” button, you can track how much money you’re raising, see how others are doing, and join the discussions online!

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

Encourage your child to help other kids, all over the world, survive and get the basic essentials they need to live better, fuller lives!  Bring around your orange box to collect money in while trick or treating.  Check out their PDF of FAQ here.

• Practice What you Preach – Does your child get a little gun shy?  Don’t wait until opening night to find out what lines your kid’s going to deliver?  UNICEF even has an online game to help kids practice what they’re going to say.

***Parents check out these resources to help understand and explain the importance of giving back, now and throughout the year!

• The Orange Box – Order online or pick up from any of their retail partners:
  • Pier 1 – Become a fan and follow @Pier_1_Imports.
  • Hallmark – @HallmarkPR and Hallmark’s Facebook app.
  • Baskin Robbins – @BaskinRobbins and become a fan.

Available anytime between now and Halloween.  Don’t feel like waiting? Download the materials to make your own collection canister here.

***P&G will double HGTV TV viewers’s tax-deductible donations made online between October 18^th and October 31^st!

Halloween Party Toolkit

Includes EVERYTHING you need to throw a fun, successful, and informative fundraising party!

• Invitations
• “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF” Door Sign
• Stickers, Window Cling, and Door Hanger
• Text-or-Treat Mobile Giving Cards – hand out during the party for your guests to contribute at their convience.
• UNICEF DVD – Download the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF DVD, to show your guests how their contributions will be used.

Whether you’re throwing a party for a lot of people or just your family, take advantage of this awesome offer!

Create Your Own Website

Your child, their school, your organization, or just you can create your very own online fundraising Mecca!  In a few easy steps, save the lives a children across the world by:

• Creating a monetary goal
• Personalizing your website – easy to update and use!  (Can even create personalized URLs.)
• Send out to friends and families…encourage everyone to participate!

UNICEF Download Center

Don’t have enough stuff yet?!  With enough activities to entertain you and your children for hours, take advantage of all the FREE resources available!  Download the fundraising kit, ultimate resource kit, or check out the entire sub-site dedicated for teachers!

TeachUNICEF

TeachUNICEF is a resource for U.S. educators.  TeachUNICEF education materials have been designed to help educators bring a global understanding of the needs of children and families around the world into the classroom.

• Monthly E-mails – find out about new opportunities and resources as they become available online and locally.
• Units and Lesson Plans – by grade or by topic, check out the Trick or Treat for UNICEF Teacher Kit and other issues children around the world are facing.
• Service Tips and Opportunities – opportunities for educators to engage students in service.
• Videos – from intro through in-depth looks at specific issues, free to show throughout classes.

Delivering the Goods

UNICEF makes it easy to turn in donations by phone, online, mail, or even your local Coinstar center!  Turn in all the coins you collect instantly and send off your receipt.

And you don’t have to have kids for a lot of my suggestions – grab a group of your friends, your co-workers, and celebrate the end of harvest time with the season of sharing!

Website of the Week (WoW): www.subwayfreshbuzz.com

Quick Bit: Who know that Subway offered so much? I accidentally came across their website and loved what I found! Not only can you play Scrabble online (I won a couple things instantly!) but there’s plenty of fun for your child as well! I definitely appreciated how much community involvement Subway provides, with their Little League and school support both inclusive and extensive! If you’re a teacher sign up for their Fit Kids (details below) and get your students in the habit of making healthy choices! Opportunities for kids and adults, this site has a lot to offer!

Subway’s and America’s Pastime

• Subway Triple Play – Your child aching to play and it’s too hot outside? Let them play baseball or softball from the comfort of their own home. Score homeruns, win prizes. Pick a name for your character, even deciding if their playing baseball or softball and if they’re a lefty or righty!
• Little League Baseball and Softball – Learn about support this league that was recognized recently on ESPN!
• Baseball Design Across America – Check out baseballs designed by celebrities, purchases go to supporting Little League Baseball and Softball!

Subway Schools

• Get Fit Kits – Teachers sign up for Random Acts of Fitness for Kids to help encourage kids to embrace being fit and learning healthy habits! Kits include a calendar, reward stickers, a classroom poster, parent/guardian letters (explaining the program), and a teacher’s guide to promoting the program and fitness!
• Subway School Rewards – Your school will earn a portion of every Subway purchase you make, if you use your Subway card! Search for your child’s school and link your card with it! FAQ here.

Subway’s Kids

• Subway Kids – a portal to tons of different online games and activities. Watch healthy shows, get the Fit Tip of the Day widget for download, and personalize the screen viewer.
  
• Games – Refresh my Memory, Pants Dance Game,
  
• Help you Neighborhood – learn how playing hoops can help raise money for the American Heart Association!
  

Subway’s Fresh Buzz

• Subways Fresh Buzz – play online games, signup for exciting offers and checkout local Subway events!
  
• Family Alaskan Adventure – Tell Subway about your family’s greatest adventure to enter for a chance to win a family vacation to Alaska!
  
• $5 Livenation Tickets – Buy a $5 footlong and get a $5 Livenation concert ticket!
  
• My Subway Card – pick out one or personalize, add money online, purchases made with card go towards support school! Check out details here.
  

Subway Scrabble

• Play Scrabble – Register to play or claim instant winners! For another month and a half, visit the site each day and Subway will GIVE you a free letter for the playing board! Each letter also comes with a free Spin for instant prizes!
• FREE Letter – Top right corner boasts a onetime button to click…tell people what you’re playing and get a FREE letter!
• FREE Random Letter of the Day – use “DFMF-BBPB-QZMF” each day to be rewarded with a random letter to play with!

Use the following game codes once:

*Only game code that can be used more then once!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Subway/15154150615

Twitter: www.twitter.com/SubwayFreshbuzz

E-mail Group:
Sign up for their newsletter to get the buzz!

NOTE:  Educator Appreciation Week

Twice a year, teaching and retired educators and instructors will get 30% off including everything (even the Seattle’s Best Coffee!) for professional OR personal use.

9/29/2009 thru 10/7/2009 – Tell a teacher and make a difference in their classroom!  During this time, 10/10 at 6pm at Borders locations will be a Where the Wild Things Are rumpus!  Come for activities, crafts, and other giveaways, this Friday!

Website of the Week (WoW): BORDERS Teaching Zone

Quick Bit: I was very impressed with Borders Book Store’s thoughtful, one stop shop for back to school teachers (preschool through high school, librarians, and homeschool educators.) Check out their list of why to join
with information about fundraising for your school, getting required reading lists out there, to events your students can enjoy throughout the year.

They also offer different media teaching resources online with suggested books, online videos from other educators. I’ll do a longer post high lighting other awesome offers from Borders online…I really wanted to spread the word on opportunities that educators may not have known about. Please let your child’s teacher know about this incredible savings opportunity.

$$$-Saver(s):

• 25% off Classroom Discount Card – save 25% off list prices of books and CDs, 10% off
  DVDs, sign up, in-store with proof of teacher card, not just once but EVERY purchase!
• Educator Appreciation Week
  – twice a year, teaching and retired educators and instructors will get 30% off including everything (even the Seattle’s Best Coffee!) for professional OR personal use.
• FREE E-cards
  – send one to a fellow co-worker or a teacher that’s made a difference in your life! Parents, sit down with your children and send one to your child’s teacher…start the school year off right! No gift could be more meaningful or encouraging!
• 20% off Toy Coupon
  – look at age appropriate gift and classroom toys, use their coupon!
• Used Textbooks
  – search through Borders Used Books catalog to save up to 90%!

Time-Saver(s):

• Favorite Books for Educators
  – don’t waste your time searching for the next book to read, check out what Borders recommends.
• Early Childhood/Education
  – Check out what they recommend for your classroom and then suggest your own on their discussion board.
• Middle/High School Education
  – suggestions for middle school through high school. Includes test prep books, social issues, and popular reads!
• Special Education
  – check out their suggestions for parents, teachers, and also read some memoirs.
• Teachers
  – more categories involving curriculum development, classroom management, gifts for teachers, and top picks!
• Homeschooling Information
  – Homeschooling curriculums and philosophies.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Borders-Teaching-Zone/119980846515

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bordersmedia

E-mail Group: Signup now to receive awesome email alerts!

Website of the Week (WoW): www.vistaprint.com

Quick Bit: If I was on an island with restricted Wi-Fi and could only visit 10 websites, Vistaprint would ALWAYS make my list (even though I wouldn’t be able to receive mail, I could have it delivered to my loved ones back home.) I probably randomly found this website two years ago and have loved it since.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/vistaprint

Twitter: www.twitter.com/vistaprint
Supported M-F 9am-5:30pm EDT by the company’s PR team…above and beyond to me!

E-mail Group:
Exclusive Offers to sign up for!

This print marketing website offers a plethora of products and services at INCREDIBLE, unbeatable prices. I have never paid listed price for anything on the site. If you sign up for their mailing list you will get emailed competitive rates every couple of days. I don’t normally like to get emailed that frequently but it’s well worth it and I even included Vistaprint in my Top 8 Mailing Lists to Join post (if I could only pick 1 of the 8, I even said I’d only pick Vistaprint…) Normally the only thing we have to pay for shipping/processing (you’re allowed to order approximately 10 FREE products at a time, details here) saving you hundreds of dollars.

Rule #1: Do NOT pay for anything on this site unless it’s shipping, photo/logo uploads (AND you’re in a time crunch and can’t wait for an offer with FREE photo uploads…)

• Join their mailing list and create a separate email folder for: Vistaprint@e.vistaprint.com
  
• When you’re ready to print, go through a couple of the most recent offers to find the best one. Offers normally last for a couple days to a month.
• Don’t take the first offer! Hold out for the one you want…sometimes they’ll only have a couple products for FREE but a lot of times EVERYTHING will be free. (Note: It will be difficult to narrow everything down to 10 items in your shopping cart.)
• Best offers include free photo/logo uploads (which also counts towards uploading templates to the site…details below.)

Rule #2: Sign up for their mailing list now: http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/insider_offer_signup.aspx

All in all, the quality is great, the service is great, the creation/checkout/re-order process is great. It’s simple and intuitive. I <3 Vistaprint!

$$$-Saver(s):

• Templates – normally uploading your designs would be costlier to the business. Vistaprint takes the hit, and with good coupons uploads for free. Practically every product can be started from scratch, with multiple file types available! Review their usage and tips before starting. *I have never had an issue upload a template and it will also check for print quality/clarity!
• Refer-a-Friend
  – have a friend that would be interested in this? Get $10 for every friend you refer! I haven’t done this yet (learned about it while writing this post!)
• Partner Offers – before adding a product to your shopping cart, Vistaprint quickly asks if you would also like to take advantage of offers from their associates. One that I like is Google Ads, normally $25, get it free! It’s very easy to say no if you so choose and the checkout process is pretty painless.
  
• Every email is a money saving opportunity. Every email. And they even let you forward the email to friends so they don’t have to wait! (Emails after purchases are less beneficial, hold out for the major holidays or random giving away the farm emails.) Search you inbox for “free uploads” too…most important. (Even half-priced uploads is a good deal.)
  

Time-Saver(s):

• You don’t have to wait for the best offers to start creating. Know you’re going to need business cards for a convention in 2 weeks? Holding out for the Premium Business Cards to go on sale? Make your card in the mean time. Then when you get the offer just check out.
• Want to repeat an order? Vistaprint keeps track of your entire order history. Modify existing purchases, duplicate, quick and easy!
• Do the gift giving and wrapping ahead of time. Instead of Christmas shopping for 25 family members we made a magnet, a personalized card, and a personalized family calendar in October! Wait no longer, have some on standby for any gift giving opportunity.
• During checkout, take advantage of their “other products you might be interested in” suggestions. Using the information you input to the original product, they’ll also auto-generate other products you might be interested in. While I don’t always say yes, when I was doing the print advertising campaign for my blog, I used it a lot!

19 VERY flexible Vistaprint products

Not convinced? Thinking outside the box, how can you say no?! Everything listed below are projects I’ve actually used Vistaprint products for. (Confirming they came out perfectly.) Let me know what you ended up doing so I can add to the list!

1. Business Cards – these are just two things I’ve made with business cards template. Besides making business cards to scatter the world with (250 FREE!) I’ve also made gift labels for whenever my daughter has a birthday party to go to (can order with mini envelopes that can also be personalized – she has the blue below and also pirates.) I also made gift labels for the holidays, choosing this template out of some 300 options (modern, classic, etc designs…fun to browse through.)
   

   
   

   
   

2. Calendars
   – (magnets/print) During my significant other’s family reunion (mother has 8 sisters and 1 brother, breathes new meaning into the word reunion) I took many pictures (since when does everyone get together like that…) I was able to upload some of the family pics to Vistaprint (for FREE with my free upload coupon) and order a set of 10 calendar magnets (1 set, 10 magnets, FREE!) At Christmas I gave the gift (with my personalized labels) and was a bit hit with his family. Took me two seconds but I definitely appreciate how much it meant to them!
   

   Another time I made a personalized wall calendar for my mom with all the important dates for our family. I was able to put a corresponding picture for not only each month but also the special holidays (symbols for the first day of school.) The calendars have many different templates and settings but you can also start from scratch and include little captions for each picture.

3. Car Door Magnets
   – while I’m going to order one for my website, I have already used the car magnets…not for my car but at work. We have a metal cabinet next to the desk where we do our IT support on-call shift. Like anywhere else we get asked the same questions. To mitigate these questions, I included everything they should’ve done or thought about or known about before walking up. That way we efficiently help each other out.
   
4. 
   Hats
   –
   this was a cute one…my daughter is very much a tomboy and loves anything carpentry. (Make sure you read my post about taking your kids to Home Depot/Lowes to make your FREE wood working activity…) She loved being able to pick out the image and the wording:
   

   

5. Lawn Signs
   – throwing a bridal shower? Having a baby? Instead of paying a lot of money for a one time sign, plan ahead and just order it for when the baby arrives. Then you’re not caught up in the heat of the moment when you’re willing to spend more money then normal.
   

If you work on your neighborhood’s HOA or social committees (like I have) use Vistaprint to get signs for annual events. Then you really get your cost of shipping worth by reusing signs for Neighborhood Night Out, garage sales, and swim meets.

I’m not a gardener but I could also see making a cute sign at the entrance of your garden or your child’s playground. Again, limitless.

1. Magnets
   – free Christmas gifts! In a set of 25 small magnets (1 set FREE!!!) I took a CUTE Christmassy picture of Jaden* decorating our tree. Then, all by herself, she wrote a short holiday poem, we slapped that puppy on a magnet and we had 25 personalized gifts for all the family:
   

   
   

   *Child wishes to remain anonymous for privacy reasons.
   

1. Mouse Pads
   – I haven’t made mine yet but what better way to get the word out at work then have a mouse pad with your website’s logo and URL…what a conversation starter! Don’t have a website, no biggie, include a favorite phrase, a picture of a pet/family member…
   
2. Note Pads
   – I am a little scattered and LOVE to-do lists. However I can never find one that has exactly the fields I would need to fill out. It’s pink (I like pink), I can circle the to-do type (errand, work, email, call, etc.), and easily fill in the date. I can take notes if I want to and then create a follow up check list. I have made a couple different to-do lists that I finally actually use because they’re so handy!
   

   

3. Pens
   – I can personalize it with my blogs URL for anyone that wants to borrow it or I can let my daughter entertain herself by picking the colors, pictures, and wording and then go to school with the coolest pen ever!
   
4. Postcards – I used these when I wanted to communicate helpful information at work (stick a calendar on there even!) Announce a grand opening, make save the date cards, and invite people to the Christmas holiday party!
   
5. Return Address Labels – Personalized sticker labels for your kids, let them pick it out and stick them on school supplies, snacks, clothes, etc. I also made my daughter address labels (again all this for FREE!) that I shipped to family members so they could write her back. They loved the gesture and she got closer and enjoyed checking the mail. You can make fridge expiration labels; just include pertinent information, where this was, when I got it, when I should throw it away. Instead of squinting you’ll be able to quickly see what you need to get rid of.
   
6. Sticky Notes – Just like the to-do lists, I can’t always find post its that had what I wanted! Geekette Bits waits for no one! And I used their template (cause it was cute!!) and added my own text.
   

   
   

7. Tote Bags – In an effort to be eco-friendly and generate conversations about my blog, I ordered a tote bag that I take to Half Price Books and other stores with my blogs logo, URL, Twitter, and Facebook pages. Very simple (although I know it sounds busy)…you could also do pictures of your kids, favorite Bible verse for Grandma, and encouraging word about recycling…
   

1. Window Decals – during the election my best friend had a birthday. My politically enthusiastic buddy also LOVES Obama. I browsed through Vistaprint’s many templates and found one I could add text to. Perfect! I sent it to my friend who hung it on her mirror! (Decals allow the option of hanging on the inside or outside of a window, depending on the situation.)
   

These are just 19 products out of many more, some listed below*:

All Vistaprint products/services: Banners, Business Cards, Calendars, Car Door Magnets, Checks, Creative Services, Email Market-
ing, Envelopes, Flyers, Hats, Invitations and Announcements, Keychains, Lawn Signs, Letterhead, Logo Design, Magnets, Mouse Pads, Note Cards,
Note Pads, Pens, Posters, Postcards, Postcard Marketing, Presentation Folders, Rack Cards, Return Address Labels, Stamps, Sticky Notes, T-Shirts,
Tote Bags, Websites and Window Decals.

*List and links taken from Vistaprint’s Facebook page.

Let me know what you came up with!

***See Career Opportunities:
http://careers.vistaprint.com/

Website of the Week (WoW): https://www.google.com/voice

Quick Bit: Imagine being able to pick your own number (mine ends in “BLOG”) that forwards to all of your personal, business, and cell phones. Depending on who calls determines which prerecorded voicemail they’ll hear. Unknown numbers will get a standard response, employees will get announcements for the day, family will get yet another.

Let’s say someone leaves you a voicemail and you’re in a meeting? Imagine that the service then transcribes the voicemail and sends it to you in a txt or email. The information is important for your husband’s travelling plans and without having to interrupt your meeting, you forward the email version to him. Too good to be true? Not for Google!

Although it’s invitation only right now, sign up to make this mobile fantasy a reality! (I have one account for my blog and one for my personal use and each took about a week to receive the activation link.)

Google Voice (an enhanced version of the original GrandStation site) offers a generous array of incredibly cool features! Although some are highlighted below, view the complete list here. Answer the call on your computer, switch midway to your cell phone.

The transcript service is not perfect but I’ve used it several times with very accurate messages. I like how you can setup multiple voicemails, groups, forwards, and email conversations immediately, I also like how it keeps track of the different call logs. I think it’s incredibly functional, especially for small businesses that would like to route calls in the best way possible. Even allowing particular numbers to reach a specific “message of the day” would be beneficial to many groups.

Google Supports the Troops: http://www.google.com/militaryinvite (loved ones overseas can now communicate for free to US numbers – call from computer to cells phones and send text messages.)

$$$-Saver(s):

• Conference in multiple callers
• Free calls to US & Canada phone numbers
• Send/Receive/Store texts
• FREE mobile apps – call for free from cell phone instead of using minutes

*One thing I would’ve liked for it to allow was registering for SMS texts from websites…5 digit numbers you text to subscribe to receive coupons from does NOT work right now. I’ve commented on their blog and customer support forums, you should too!

Time-Saver(s):

• Listen to voicemails as they’re being left, pick up midway through voicemail!
• Automatically transcribes voicemails – read past voicemails, forward to a business partner in email
• Listen to voicemail online or via normal phone
• Personalize voicemails – greeting based on caller groups
• Forward to multiple phones
• Record entire conversations or start halfway through

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ (view search results nothing official looking…)

Twitter: www.twitter.com/GoogleVoice

Blog:
http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/

Website of the Week (WoW): www.pingg.com

After exploring 5-6 different online invitation sites, my favorite is Pingg, an online invitation site with exactly the kind of functionality, versatility, and intuitiveness that I’m looking for.

To be fair, I also signed up and tried the following:

• Evite
• MyPunchBowl
• PurpleTrail
• AnyVite

…but the site that impressed me the most was Pingg.

Quick Bit: From a geeky standpoint, ping is a networking term/tool used to test if a server (“host”) is reachable. If you try to log onto a website but get a blank page, you can send out a request for a response (i.e. ping) from that website to make sure it is up (letting you see if something is wrong on your end or their end.) Since this is an online invitation with a “host” who’s sending out requests for responses, I thought this was very clever and wanted to let you know where the name probably came from.

This website boasts an incredibly CLEAN, intuitive interface. Although I’m comfortable maneuvering around websites, not everyone is. I’m not going to advertise an awesome website the average internet users can’t figure out. For me, this website is a complete one stop shop.

Send any combination of the following:

• Online invitations – charity events, showers, special events, grand openings

  -and/or-

• E-cards – Save the date cards, announcements (Birth, promotion, grand openings…)

  -and/or-

• Printed versions – wedding invitations, birthday parties, dinner parties, holiday parties

Your Pingg Dashboard keeps track of current (and past) events, sorted by date (sort also by event name.) Copy details from a past event easily, so you never have to start from scratch. Select from free or premium images to attach to invite – stunning photography, incredible choices in both sections. I’ve used this site for several parties I’ve thrown with 50+ attendees and did not lose track of one response.

Time-Saver(s):

• Entertainment Tips
  – loaded with hints for every affair, in addition to invitations, Pingg has an entire section dedicated to a diverse range of party help tips!
• List Manager
  – saves past invitees by group in address book, no need to retype the same thing twice, EVER! Drag and drop contacts from one list to another, add tags (i.e. “VIP”, “SA Friends”, etc.)

  Another feature I liked was being able to paste in a spreadsheet of my guest list instead of having to update list manually, person by person!

• Dashboard – for each event, you’ll have an event dashboard which helps you manage guest responses. See which emails failed to be delivered, keep track of who said “yes”, “no”, “maybe”, or hasn’t responded yet (and only send updates to those who haven’t/have responded). You can also see who’s “viewed” the invitation but not responded.

  Easily export your entire guest list to spreadsheet format for additional sorting functionality.

  ***Party Tip: Print out the list ahead of time and easily write down who gave what for the guest of honor if presents are involved (so right next to the gift giver, you’ll already have all the contact information!)

• Facebook/Twitter – easily post invites as Tweets in Twitter or Messages/Wall Posts in Facebook. Send reminders/links to invite website to remind guest about event.
• Money Collections – instead of collecting cash at the party or coordinating ahead of time, Pingg allows easy online donations through PayPal so guests can contribute to a group gift, party expenses, or even charitable events. You can display goal amounts for charities or keep that information private.

  ***Right now they’re also working on selling tickets through your website for events!

• Reminders – instead of having to remember to remind you guests, upon creation of the invite, schedule a couple reminders to RSVP (or come in costume, whatever!) I recently sent out an invite 3 weeks before a “Stock the Bar” engagement party, scheduled reminders for subsequent Fridays, including the day of the event.
• Thank You Cards – you just threw the event of your life, you’ve cleaned up the house, do you really want to write thank yous? Write them, personally, to each guest, thanking them for attending…and Pingg will send it out AFTER the event! No more looking for addresses, remembering who attended, Pingg will send individual responses!
• Personalized Party Website – personalize your event website that is automatically created when you create an event OR save the date e-card. Guest can RSVP, leave comments, see who else is attending. You can add pictures, Flickr albums, gift registries, other links, Google maps to the party, etc! You can even edit the website’s URL so it’s easily included in online or print invitations.

Details about all features here.

$$$-Saver(s):

• COMPLETELY FREE for online invitations, ecards, websites, guest management, and more! Only pay for printed postcards or cards/envelopes, premium images (free images are fine!), and non-ad websites (regardless, ads are unobtrusive.)
• Let Pingg Print/Mail/Stamp – Use promotional code “PRINT20″ at checkout and Pingg will take off 20% (you don’t have to but if you are printing anyways…)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pingg.wellsent

Twitter: www.twitter.com/pingg

E-mail Group:
https://www.pingg.com/login/register – Register for an account to receive promotional newsletters and to start sending invitations today! Newsletters aren’t too frequent, sent monthly, with additional emails sent around major holidays. Well worth it.

Partially in tribute to my WOW loving co-workers (you hear the funniest things when you stop to listen to World of Warcraft conversations…), I have chosen the same abbreviation for my ‘Website of the Week’ (WoW) blog post. This will highlight a website I feel especially impressed by. It might be a great money-saver, like this week’s, or it could be a wonderful web app. Something stands out enough AND I don’t think enough people know about its awesomeness. Some weeks I might post multiple, there are so many out there it’s hard to get through them all.

Website of the Week (WoW): www.entertainment.com

Quick Bit: “The premiere source for discounts and promotions”, I agree. I love that the HUGE coupon book, neatly organized with perforated pages, has a corresponding online membership with ADDITIONAL coupons!

About: Started in 1962 by a suburban Detroit couple created local coupon book, Entertainment has expanded exponentially as a wonderful discount resource AND fundraiser of choice by many schools and programs. Take the time to look through the entire books, some coupons only appear once and if you’re skimming you might miss a GREAT deal! Cut them out and paste then on the calendar when the outing is planned.

$$$-Saver(s):

• Normally $25 at the start of the year, buy yours now for $9.99!
• Buy 2010, get 2009 FREE! (Aug. 12^th)
• Coupon Book – based on major cities, find offers for:
  • Dining out – local eateries and chains included
  • Casual and family dining – relaxed family joints
  • Fast food and carryout – chains, bakeries, ice cream shops (hint hint during THIS summer!)
  • Entertainment and sports – included Dave and Buster’s, 2 for 1 movie tickets to several different movie theaters, 50% off pre-season Spurs tickets, 2 for 1 admission to several museums, mini golf and real golf courses, tubing, the circus, Disney on Ice, theaters, fitness gyms, and MORE!
  • Travel and hotel – travelling for a friend’s wedding, used their hotel voucher for an ADDITIONAL 20% off, also include discounts at www.hotwire.com (an already severely discounted travel site), 25% off Nickelodeon Family vacation packages, and GREAT savings on car rentals (although I would check Hotwire first if you’re renting a car), etc.
  • Retail and services – during Valentine’s Day they had free delivery for 2 dozen roses, $19.99, Netflix, video rentals, car washes, World Market, home security alarms, Walgreens, photographers, oil change, spas, dry cleaners, seriously, the list goes on and on and on!
• Membership Card – found inside the book, use at local participating restaurants and online travel agencies to get additional savings
• Website – register w/ member ID. Use the membership ID to register on their website. You’ll find additional printable and online coupons, receive weekly emails, and get other member only promotional offers. I love being able to easily search through their website. I normally check here and www.retailmentnot.com whenever I’m looking for deals. If I used up all the coupons at a favorite restaurant in the book, I just go online and print out additional coupons for the same place! Everything found in the coupon book PLUS more! Check out the different sections here. Another nice thing about the book – if you’re going on vacation just print out coupons for that city without buying that book… Nice little Back to school section on the website.

*Side note: When I first used ATT, they had an incentive to join (through their moving package I believe) that also included 10 vouchers for 10 coupons from this site. This is what they were talking about.

***Charity/Schools – learn more about their fundraising programs. Not limited to the coupon book, learn about selling cookie dough and other fundraising ideas for schools, non-profits, sports, and churches.

***Career Opportunities – in this economy you never know or might be looking, start here.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Entertainment-Coupon-Book (I wrote to make sure this is the official site, will update post if it’s not.)

Twitter: www.twitter.com/entbooksavings (not easy to find either!)

E-mail Group: Once you setup an account online, you can modify your account preferences to receive semi-frequent email alerts, based on your interests. (Definitely worth it!)