Amazing Belmopan Round-about Statue [Illustration]

Product Name: Belmopan Roundabout Statue Illustration
Product Description: This is an illustration of the statue found by the round-about in Belmopan City. It was done with Adobe Illustrator using a cubism touch. It can be customized to any preferred size or color. It is a limited edition and we can also frame it for you for an additional fee. It makes an excellent gift for those wonderful mothers or friends. Anybody that is seriously interested in purchasing this piece (either digitally or printed) can email us at ibelmopan@gmail.com.

Poster: Belize Social Media Consulting Contest

This is a poster we did for Belize Social Media Consulting for a contest they are promoting on Facebook and Twitter.

This is what they had to say, on Twitter, about the final product:

@BZSocialMedia : "@ibelmopan wow! wow! wow! #speechless absolutely love it! More than I expected! Thanks so much!"

Why Unblocking of VOIP Is Good News For Belize Small Business

The news broke on April 29th, 2013 that Belize Telemedia will no longer block Voice Over Internet Protocol – ( VOIP ). This is great news for Belizeans at home and abroad, no more costly phone bills!

The Prime Minister said “Of course this ability to now freely access VOIP will further harness the power of the internet, and allow Belizeans to enhance many facets of their lives, particularly in areas such as long distance learning with video-conferencing capabilities, computer to computer conversations with families and friends abroad, and even internet-based television.”

The reason I was excited about the news wasn't just that I could do video chat with family and friends but I was thrilled that small business owners and entrepreneurs can also now tap into an even greater arena!

Imagine a fashion designer from Belize wanting to gain exposure and want to show off her work real time? She can now schedule on line video chat meetings with potential clients; she can offer a “LIVE’ private viewing to a select group of people!

Now one of my favorite methods of video chat is Google + hangout, it is super easy to use. All you need is a gmail address and your contacts. Just the other day I did a Google Hangout with a contact I met on Google+ from South Carolina!

Here are a few ways you can use live video chat for:

• Host live, face-to-face conference calls with customers, suppliers, etc…; 
• Announce new products; 
• Demonstrate product features; 
• Create a video blog; 
• Answer customer questions; 
• Hold internal meetings with employees; 
• Create training videos; 
• Conduct interviews with loyal customers; 
• Offer consultations 
• Attend webinars 

“Start up costs to a business can be high, and if you’re a young entrepreneur lacking the financial backing of a Fortune 500 company, it’s time you turn to all the technology available, particularly the networking services offered through Google, to save money as you build your business.” Sarah Hill

So take a look at your business and see how you can use the unblocking of VOIP to your benefit.

If you want to know more about Google+ and Google Hangout send me an email at socialmediaconsultingbz@gmail.com.

About Guest Author: Andrea Rodriguez is the manager/owner of Belize Social Media Consulting. 

Shop: Belmopan High Quality Vector Map

Product Name: Belmopan City Map
Product Description: This is a high quality vector map of the city of Belmopan. It can be customized to any preferred size or color. It is a limited edition and it can also be purchased along with frame. It makes an excellent gift for those wonderful mothers or friends. It can go on cups, t-shirts, brochures, guides, wallpaper, etc. Anybody that is seriously interested in purchasing this piece (either digitally or printed) can email us at ibelmopan@gmail.com.

Image of the Day: Sensational Vector Art by Martin Sati

Today's images of the day are brought to by design firm Martin Sati. Below you can see some of their amazing work and the use of colors and shapes to illustrate some of the best pieces I have seen in a while. You can check out more of their work here. Truly inspiring if you ask me.

Belize New Identity Logo on "One Show Design" 2013 Awards

The Belize logo has been chosen as a finalist for the “One Show Design” 2013 awards, in the category of “Brand Identity – Logo Design.” The Belize Tourism Board and its Advertising and Online Agency, Olson, created the Belize logo as a part of a re-branding of Belize’s identity.

Read More >>

Responsive Web Design in Belize

The rising demand in mobile devices can only mean that the entire population is finally committing fully to mobile technology — the main reason being that nowadays you can do almost anything through mobile devices that you can do on a computer. Surfing the internet is the biggest one.

With that comes a strong demand for Responsive Web Designing. But what exactly is Responsive Web Designing you might be asking right now. I am not surprised if you don't know because this is a very new technology. My job here is to make you become aware of these new technologies and that is exactly what I am going to do here.

Responsive Web design is basically a website that can automatically read and adjust to the various screen sizes of any device that has internet browsing capabilities. What it means is that if a certain website has a responsive design it can properly open on all kinds of devices (desktops, laptops, mobile devices, etc...).

So if you are a web developer/designer in Belize, this is something you should start to implement in future projects. It is not in demand right now in Belize but being equipped with these skills will allow your designing firm to be in front of all the rest.

So far I haven't seen any responsive web designs for Belize. If you know of any please let me know. Or if there are any designing firms that are already doing it, share them with me, and I would be more than willing to feature their work here.

What do you think of the future of Responsive Web Designing in Belize?

Belize Fan Pages Taking A Gamble?

Ok I have to admit this is a bit of a pet peeve for me and I’ve hesitated writing this blog for this same reason.

It seems that there are seasons on Facebook where contests of all sorts keep springing up or a new page is hosting a promotion to create awareness. Most of them are really good and I even won an overnight stay from a contest I saw posted on a Facebook page.

However this is where it gets a bit sticky. It seems that very few people are aware that the contests or promotions are not in compliance with Facebook rules and they are in danger of getting their page shut down!

I myself was ignorant of the rules when I just started with Facebook, I mean how many people actually sit down and read the Terms and Conditions? Unless of course you’re into that sort of thing.

So I want to use this post to encourage those who are running contest, promotions, etc or thinking of doing one to take some time to familiarize yourself with the rules. You’ve already put a lot of work, time, energy into your page, probably built some really good connections, have a great fan base etc… are you willing to take a gamble and risk all that?

Two of the most common rule breakers are:

1. “You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.”

2. “You must not notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages.”

Take the time to go through the Facebook Page Terms it will help you to be able to create contests and promotions that won’t be considered illegal by Facebook.

Now I know that it says that “Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or a Page App.” Many small business owners on Facebook in Belize don’t have it in their budget to pay a third party app to run a contest, some might not even own an international credit card. So this poses a problem.

However I have seen some very creative contests that are posted on Facebook pages that didn’t use an app. My favorite is done by Amber Sunset Jungle Resort. Very Creative I think! They are using their blog to host the contest. Now having a blog is highly recommended but that’s another post.



The other page that is also in tourism industry is currently hosting a contest as well. They use a third party app and the contest has been going good so far.

The Inn at Robert’s Grove



Take a look at how they do it and start brainstorming about how you can come up with a successful contest that won’t risk your page getting shut down.

I chose these two pages because these are the ones that I currently know about. If you know of anymore please leave me a link.

If you are a small business owner in Belize or leading an organization and would like to know more about the guidelines or about hosting contests or promotions please leave me a message. I would love to hear from you all.

Now it’s your turn! What are your thoughts about the guidelines and contests/promotions on Facebook?

About Guest Author: Andrea Rodriguez is the manager/owner of Belize Social Media Consulting. Andrea is a working stay at home mom and is currently a social media manager for two clients in the tourism industry in Belize.

Digicell's website finally gets a makeover

So Digicell finally did a redesign on their official website and let me tell you this one has a soothing and impressive design — but I wonder if it was built with responsive web design capabilities. It doesn't matter because this new design totally kills the one they had before.

The new design is fairly easy to understand and the most important links are boldly visible on the front page.

One thing I didn't see on the makeover was a blog section.  I believe this is something they can work on in the future. Overall, I believe this design clearly speaks great things about Digicell, especially since they are the top mobile service provider in Belize.

I also like this map that displays all their cell sites found in Belize. Really cool! You can find the full map in this link.

Well done Digicell! I give it a straight 9 out of 10.

What do you think about the new design?

Illustration of all Game Controllers

This chart shows the evolution of game controllers in a very intricate and compelling manner with the use of some amazing illustrations.

You can see the full size chart here.