Meet Ralph Wood, Custodial Services

Every month, Socket employees nominate and vote on a co-worker who best exemplifies our Core Values and BeliefsRalph Wood, Socket's You-Make-the-Difference Winner for February 2012.
 
This month, we picked Ralph Wood.
 
Ralph's been cleaning up our messes for nearly two years now. And as a company made up of mostly guys, let's just say we're not the neatest bunch.
 
He shows up at 5:30 AM every weekday to keep the place looking great. And he gives us all a smile and a "Good morning" every time we see him.
 
Last summer, we had an office fundraiser to raise money for a school supply drive hosted by Ralph's church. It was one way we tried to show Ralph how much we appreciate his hard work, and so is this award.
  
"Ralph is the unsung hero that truly makes the difference. Every morning, we come in to a clean floor, spotless bathrooms, empty trash containers and a very clean, nice place to work. We have Ralph to thank."
  
Congratulations, Ralph!
 
Read about other You-Make-the-Difference-Award winners. 
 

Busy Spring Kicks Off This Weekend

We are gearing up for a busy spring here at Socket! It all kicks off this weekend. You can find us at events across mid-Missouri handing out balloons and answering your tech questions. Hope to see you there!
 
Jefferson City HBA Home Show
Firley YMCA
Friday, February 17 3-8pm; Saturday, February 18 9am-6pm; Sunday, February 19 10am-3pm
  
Special Olympics of Missouri Polar Plunge
Stephen's Lake Park in Columbia, MO
Saturday, February 18; festivities begin around 1pm
 
Mid-Missouri Home and Lifestyle Expo
Hearnes Center in Columbia, MO
Friday, February 24 2-8pm; Saturday, February 25 10am-8pm; Sunday, February 26 10am-4pm
 
Callaway County Business Showcase
Fulton Senior Center
Saturday, February 25 10am-6pm
 
Columbia Business Showcase
Holiday Inn Executive Center
Tuesday, March 13 9-11:30am and 1-3:30pm

More Than $6,000 Donated to Local Non-Profits

We hosted representatives from local mid-Missouri non-profit agencies on Thursday, February 2, to pass out some checks through Socket's Honest to Goodness Charity Donation Program.
 
This fourth round of donations totaled $6,171.85 in donations for 73 charitable organizations, bringing the total for the past two years to more than $18,000.
 
Through the program, customers of Socket's Home Phone + Internet bundles in Columbia and Jefferson City can designate a local charity to receive 5% of their bill for their first year of service. Donations are distributed twice per year.
 
We're so excited to see what these non-profit organizations can do for our community with these funds. Thanks to our customers for joining with us to give back to the community through this program!
 
To learn more about the Honest to Goodness Program, including a list of top-earning charities for this round of donations, please visit www.socket.net/homephone/charities.
 
Local non-profit representatives receive donations from Socket.
Attendees at the event included (from left): Stephanie Rosskopf with Socket, Alexis Hildebrand with Socket, Colin LaVaute with the Central Missouri Humane Society, Fran Washington with the Assistance League of Mid-MO, Chad McMinn with the Rainbow House, Georgalu Swoboda with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central MO, Nancy Smith with Boys & Girls Club of Columbia, Marissa Todd with the Alzheimer's Association-Mid MO Chapter, Gretchen Roberts with Children's Miracle Network, Barb King with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mid-MO, Ron Schmidt with Voluntary Action Center, David Holtgraewe with the Heart of Missouri United Way, Marcia Walker with Meals on Wheels and Tia Stratman with Socket.

Yes, You Can Use Keyboard Shortcuts!

We all have those super techie friends who seem to have an aversion to their mouse.
 
They sit there and peck away at the keyboard faster than Speedy Gonzales, while you watch in awe thinking, "How in the world are they doing that so FAST?!?!"
 
Some people hesitate to learn keyboard shortcuts. They think it's easier to just use the mouse, or they worry they'll never remember so many key combinations.
 
But trust us. Keyboard shortcuts can be your best friend, even if you only learn one or two commands that you use frequently. For example, our multitaskers would be lost without ALT + TAB and our designers sure do appreciate CTRL + Z.
 
Here's our basic lifesaver list of keyboard shortcuts if you're using Windows and Microsoft Office. Just hold down the keys in the order mentioned. (And just so we're clear, the plus sign tells you which keys to combine--you don't actually need to press the + key.)
 
CTRL + C   Copy the selected text or object(s)
CTRL + X   Cut the selected text or object(s)
CTRL + V   Paste the selection
CTRL + B   Make the selected text bold
CTRL + I    Make the selected text italicized
CTRL + U   Underline the selected text
CTRL + Z    Undo the last action
ALT + F4    Close a window
ALT + TAB  Switch to another open program or window (hold ALT and keep pressing TAB to select)
SHIFT + DELETE   Permanently delete an item (without moving it to the recycle bin first)
 
When you've mastered all those, check out a longer list of shortcuts for Windows. Or learn some common shortcuts for a Mac.
 
You'll be impressing your friends with your keyboard tricks in no time (and wondering how you ever lived without them).
 

Did you catch the Socket Postgame Show?

Mizzou defeats Baylor on Jan 21

Mizzou players Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon and Ricardo Ratliffe can be seen celebrating the big win (photo courtesy of The Kansas City Star).
   

The Missouri Tigers men's basketball team has had a phenomenal season so far, and they continued their success on the road last weekend in a battle against Baylor.
  
The win secured them the no. 2 ranking in both national polls.
  

Don't forget to tune into the Socket Postgame Show with Mike Kelly after every football and basketball game. You'll find it on KTGR ESPN 100.5 FM & 1580 AM in mid-Missouri or your local Tiger radio station.
 
Listen to the audio montage below from Tiger Radio Network and get your adrenaline rushing again with highlights from Saturday's game.
 
Go Tigers!
 

 

Meet us in Moberly

Moberly, we are coming to see you at the 2012 Moberly Lifestyle Fair!
 
There’ll be lots of vendors on hand with demos, food, products to buy and more. Admission is just two cans of food or a donation to the Christos Center.
 
We’ll be on hand to answer your technology questions and hand the kiddos a free purple balloon (they’re always a big hit). We can also tell you all about our high-speed Internet and dial-up and the great specials we’re offering during January.
 
Or just enter our raffle for a yummy tower of meat and cheese from Burgers’ Smokehouse.
(Some vendors give away food; we just make you look at pictures of it and drool.)
 
So stop by anytime Friday from 4:00-8:00 p.m or Saturday from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at the Moberly Area Community College Activity Center at 101 College Ave.
 
Hope to see you there!
 
 

Special Internet Deals for January

We offered some pretty great holiday specials last month. Many of you took advantage of 30-43% savings by prepaying for a year of Internet.
 
But some of you said, "Please, pretty please can I get the offer in January!?!?"
 
And we get it. Holiday shopping. You might not have had extra cash on hand when the year drew to an end.
 
So your wish is granted. These special offers have been extended through January:
 
High-Speed DSL Internet - 30% OFF
Up to 1.5 Mbps - $250/year (regularly $359.40)
Up to 3 Mbps - $290/year (regularly $419.40)
Up to 6 Mbps - $335/year (regularly $479.40)
 
Plus, we'll even waive the lease on a wireless router - so you can connect multiple computers and devices or surf wirelessly throughout your home.
 
Premium Dial-Up Internet - 43% OFF
$150/year (equivalent to $12.50/mo)
 
These offers aren't available in all areas, though. So give us a call at 1-800-762-5383 or check to see what Internet services are available to you at www.socket.net/prequalify.
 

Clean up your new computer

Last week, we mentioned that our techs were helping a lot of folks connect their new gadgets to the Internet.
 
But maybe you were one of the really lucky ones that got a brand new computer over the holidays. If so, you might be dealing with trial software (also known as demoware).
 
These third-party software applications help subsidize costs for manufacturers, resulting in a lower price for your computer. Common trial-version programs on new PCs include Microsoft Office, McAfee Antivirus and Norton Internet Security.
 
Some of these programs can be helpful, but others are rarely or never used. They consume memory and slow down your machine. And sometimes, anti-virus programs can conflict with one another and cause all sorts of problems.
 
One good way to clean up unwanted software on your new machine is to use a tool called PC Decrapifier (www.pcdecrapifier.com). While the name may sound a bit crude, many experts find it to be effective and simple to use. You can select exactly which programs to keep and which to remove, then delete PC Decrapifier from your computer so it is good as new. 
 
You can also manually uninstall programs through the Control Panel. Just be careful, though - some unfamiliar programs can actually be vital to your computer and deleting them will cause problems. Research programs and what they do before removing them from your machine.
 
Once you clean up your new computer, you'll likely find it will run much more smoothly.
 
Your desktop will be all nice and clean, too. And who doesn't like that?
 

Socketeer-of-the-Year 2011

Seven years ago a prestigious award was created called Socketeer-of-the-Year.

2011 You-Make-the-Difference-Award winners
2011 You-Make-the-Difference Award winners included (L-R):
James Hicks, Jeff Gray, Jason Vander Veen, Dave Sill, Allie Schomaker, Ryan Luff, Nate Howland, Kevin Gandara, Corey Wyatt and (not pictured) John Weant.
 
 

  
It's a cool honor we created to recognize one of our monthly You-Make-the-Difference-Award winners.
 
This year, at our annual company Christmas party, Socket owners George, John and Carson revealed their choice for the 2011 winner--Allie Schomaker.
 
So 7 must be Allie’s lucky number.  Not only did she win this award in its seventh year but she was able to see her favorite artist, Kenny Chesney, in the seventh month of the year.
 
Allie Schomaker, 2011 Socketeer of the Year(Allie's a pretty big Kenny fan.)
 
Allie was born and raised right here in Missouri. She is originally from Marceline and moved to Columbia in 2004. We were lucky enough to have her join Socket’s marketing department in 2006 and she's been doing all sorts of things ever since.
 
Projects related to marketing, advertising, public relations, communications...even this blog (when we don't hijack it to talk about how great she is).
 
In her spare time, Allie likes to spend time with her husband, Richard, and their two-year-old daughter, Aubrey. She also likes running, reading and traveling.
 
"I love working at Socket because I'm constantly challenged and there is always something new to learn and do," Allie says. "I'm glad I'm making a positive contribution here."
 
So congratulations to Allie. She's the Good Stuff (you Kenny fans know what we mean).
 

450+ smiles...just in time for the holidays

Remember how awesome it was to get new toys for the holidays when you were a kid?Socket donation to Toys for Tots
 
The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program makes that joy and excitement possible for even more families, delivering toys to needy children throughout the holiday season.
 
It's a great program. So instead of sending our clients yet another tin of holiday popcorn, we   bought toys for needy children in their names.
 
In all, more than 450 toys were donated to the program, including puzzles, board games, dolls, cars and more.
 
Program volunteers worked with local social welfare agencies, church groups and other community agencies to ensure that the shiny, new toys were delivered to local Missouri children in time for Christmas.
 
To view more pictures or to find out more about the donation, visit www.WheresMyPopcorn.com.
 
 

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Socket is proud to be the largest local Internet provider and competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) in Missouri.

Socket is a privately held company that provides business and residential customers a choice for telecommunications services. We combine the highest quality customer service with in-depth technical knowledge.
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