Posted by Tony Meister on Mon, Jan 02, 2012
It’s a New Year, you’ve made resolutions, set goals, and I’m sure you’ve gleaned all you can to plan to make 2012 a great year. In 2011 NetSolutions learned a lot of lessons and many of those lessons surrounded people. Optimizing people, process, and technology has been a theme for us and our partners for years. The “people” part of the equation is the most important. This year I’m going to invest in people and that will start with me. So maybe what I share will help you as well.
I can’t take someone higher unless I’m soaring there as well. If I don’t love myself I can’t properly love others. This year I’m investing in areas within me that will reap a greater reward for others using 3 Words – LIVE, GROW, & PRODUCE.
This year I’m taking on an idea from blogger Chris Brogan. Chris calls it “my 3 words,” and uses this as guidance for how he should “conduct his efforts in the year to come.”
What I like about this idea is that I often find myself revamping direction throughout the year if 1) I achieve my goals, or 2) if I realize that priorities have shifted and I need to refine my existing goals. To set goals around these three expressions sets a guideline for me to work in and set deadlines around my priorities. Some people don’t set concrete goals and with 3 words alone one may find a nice compass for achievement.
LIVE
We’re human beings not human doings. Being alive is prioritizing what gives life and having more life to give. When I die I’m not looking back at how much money I’ve made, how many contracts I’ve closed, or what car I drove. I find true fulfillment and joy in living positively and spreading that life to others. From this creativity, passion, and business will flow. Helping others goes beyond happiness but brings joy. Producer George Lucas gives some great advice at the end of this talk related to happiness versus joy. (scroll to 8:16 on the timeline). So what I do will come out of how I live. I will be freer this year from responsibilities that aren’t mine to take on. I will simplify by focusing on my spirituality, my wife, son, and family. I know my business will prosper as a result because I will be focused on what matters in life and that will drive greater efficiency in other areas including business.
GROW
This year I will grow in the areas that I love and know I’m good at. I learned in the corporate world that my employees didn’t thrive or grow when I didn’t guide them in what they already did best. I learned from Marcus Buckingham that we need to make the most of each person's particular combination of strengths, weaknesses, talents, interests and abilities. Grow in your strength and passion this year and set goals around that.
PRODUCE
My goal is to produce more this year. With a greater sense of purpose I will have more energy and that will result in greater productivity. If you don’t know the purpose of a thing you’ll abuse it. This past year my purpose has become clearer as I have learned more about myself and my strengths. I encourage you to identify your purpose based on your strengths and talents and then focus on that. I also want to mentor this year. Producing the essence of what has been produced in me, in others. In 2011 I ran 10 men through a 24 week course on “Authentic Manhood.” and learned quickly that men don’t truly understand their identity because they’ve never been taught what it means to be a man. Purpose, identity, and passion will produce results in your life as you understand who you are.
So let me know what your plans are for 2012 and your thoughts on the 3 words.
Posted by Theresa Peterson on Wed, Aug 24, 2011
It may not seem like that big of a deal to get a call from an engineer at your former employer asking for help. However, when they are calling based on a Google search and are literally two blocks away, it gets interesting.
NetSolutions received a call from Nathan Shirey who is a Supplier Quality Engineer at GE Healthcare doing volunteer work for MPS during GE’s 17th annual Community Service Day. Nathan did a Google search on the Internet for “computer networking” and NetSolutions was the top pick. There were 24 PCs needing to get networked and the gear wasn’t all there. “I remember working at GE and on many occasions having to be resourceful to find out ways to make things happen. This brought me back to those days" said NetSolutions’ President Tony Meister.
Little did Nathan know that Tony was a former GE employee who served with GE-IT Solutions (GE-ITS). GE-ITS was acquired by Platinum Equity in late 2004 and has now been absorbed into the I.T. solutions company called CompuCom. After the acquisition Tony worked as a Systems Integration Manager at Compucom before joining NetSolutions. CompuCom also worked with GEHC to donate 45 computers to MPS earlier this year.
NetSolutions had the networking gear that GEHC was looking for and a donation was made on the spot. In today's world of Google searches and Social Media networking, it is nice to see serendipitous provisions made via the Internet versus violent flash mobs. Chalk one up for the Internet being used for a day's good deed.
Do you have any stories of how the Internet has upgraded you or your business recently?
Posted by Tony Meister on Tue, Jul 12, 2011
You may think that setting up coverage for a wireless network is a snap, but it surely isn’t if you don’t have the right tools. Defining the proper access point location is critical. If you get the right placement you’re not only saving costs by optimizing space, but also ensuring solid coverage. There is a tool that we believe can help you from Aerohive Networks.
Last year Aerohive introduced a FREE, revised edition of the web-based planning utility that can be used to plan you’re your organization’s Wi-Fi deployments. The following features help to make it easy:
Auto Placement
After downloading the latest Online Wi-Fi Planner Application you’ll find a very natural user interface for auto placement. You simply upload a map (or define the perimeter) and then place APs in specific coverage scenarios identifying specified signal strength, transmit power, and AP type. It is very flexible allowing you to drag APs on the map to determine coverage impact. Selecting auto deploy will also move the user through the planning process much faster.
Ease of Reporting
They’ve made the reporting much better than in previous versions. The planner can create PDF reports providing AP locations, RF settings, AP inventory and heat maps. Then you simply distribute the reports right from the planner to the wireless engineer, CIO, or any other stakeholder providing an easy mechanism for communication.
Tell a Friend
As an addition to the reporting, a tool that is included with the Online Wi-Fi Planner aides with collaboration. The “Tell a Friend” option allows IT Managers to open up their deployment plan to confirm the layout is correct so feedback can be provided to make sure that it fits the requirements of the each department.
Although it must be noted that this is not a full blown RF spectrum analysis tool, it is able to identify all you need to know to plan most deployments if you’re not encountering extraneous circumstances or hindering the transmission environment. At NetSolutions we’ve encountered plenty of scenarios where there are freezers, material in the walls, or other inhibiting factors that have required further research and planning. However, we’ve used the Aerohive tool for a number of situations (business, academic, healthcare, etc.) and it has proven to be a great planning tool.
Contact us at NetSolutions (Toll Free 888-711-0077) if you have any questions about wireless in general and we can help you get started, or help you upgrade to the latest wireless technology.
Posted by Tony Meister on Mon, Jul 11, 2011
I just have to get out a few quick reasons why I'm liking Google+.
First, I realize that Google Buzz was the buzz over a year ago when Google bragged of "Millions of Buzz Users..." So I won't get to enamered since the platform has a way to go before crossing the tipping point of usage enmass compared to Facebook. I think Social Media (SM) users all over are getting tired of managing multiple platforms and Google+ seems to have a lot in one place. Right now the buzz is whether Google will dominate Facebook as exemplified by Google+ VS. Facebook banter all over the web.
Here is what I like about Google+:
Pictures
Having Google+ grab every photo as an automatic upload is awesome and I appreciate being able to simply snag one of these for any post at whim. I also like the ease of photo tagging which seems a bit less cumbersome than Facebook's.
Realtime Posts
I noticing that Quora style comments appear in real time. Although it is a bit frustrating to have things bump down on you when the stream is updated, I love the responsiveness of G+ compared to rivals.
Positive Feedback
The +1 feature is nice to offer kudos on those above average comments or posts. And although Facebook offers this with Likes, Twitter forces you to provide feedback with a reply, retweet, or mention.
Incoming
This allows anyone to view posts in the stream from those that are following you, without having to follow those you don't know or are uncomfortable associating with for whatever reason. A nice feature for Internet celebrities who want to interact with their fan base. I only have a few of these so far but I can see this apply to the big hitting celebs out there.
Circles
Circles are so easy to manage. You can have people in multiple circles and post based on circles. You can even create virtual computed circles by combing two categories.
By combining these two with "AND" you can intersect two circles and identify those who are both Facebook and Twitter friends for example.
The overall user experience seems to flow and I also like the ability to be able to Hangout which automatically switches the video to the person talking. Although I haven't tried this on my mobile phone yet it seems to be pretty slick.
There is a novelty factor with all new SM tools but I could see Google+ being used as the tool of choice and from what I can see I'm not alone.
What are you liking about Google+ so far?
Posted by Blake Nussbaumer on Mon, Jul 11, 2011
Our team at NetSolutions has had a chance to get in on the Google+ action both on mobile and within the web interface. Here is my brief review of Google+ which seems to have tremendous potential to be a tool for both you and your business (once business pages are released).
Circles
The first and most revolutionary feature in Google+ is circles. Circles allow you to create separate groups of people. It is similar to Facebook friend lists, but the interface is much easier to use. For example in order to add people to your business circle, you simply drag their name into the circle. There is a greater level of privacy to this system, because you can select which circles receive messages on your stream (Facebook's Wall).
Hangouts
The next interesting feature is Hangouts. You can start an unplanned hangout at any time where you can talk to up to 10 people at the same time with video. Having live video chat like this with better quality than Skype is huge for business meetings that don’t need more than 10 in a live conference call. It is as Google says the next best thing “until teleportation arrives...”
Also to note is that Google pictures and videos are instantly uploaded to a private file. This makes it all the more easier to simply grab a photo and upload it since it is already there for you in non-public storage.
Sparks
The penultimate feature is Sparks. Sparks is similar to StumbleUpon in that it finds sights you are interested in and keeps updating those interests so that you always will have something new to look at. I think there is a little more work to do with this but it has great potential.
Finally, Huddle allows groups of people to have mass chats where everyone is viewing each other’s texts.
Here are some Pros and Cons of Google+.
This is a very limited graph of all the Pros and Cons. To summarize, it leans towards being beneficial over having disparate social media tools that need to be managed ecklectly . Google+ is intuitive, has flexibility with privacy in Circles, and centralizes most social media management tasks. We'll see how acceptance plays out in the weeks and months ahead. Watch out Facebook!
Posted by Theresa Peterson on Wed, Mar 30, 2011
At NetSolutions, most of our Content Management System (CMS) web sites are Joomla sites. Although WordPress is gaining traction and we do use it as a blogging CMS, Joomla continues to grow and serve our customers well because of the growing eco system that provides add-ons including extensions.
One of the first Joomla sites we developed was in 2005 for Melinda Myers. Since then it has been upgraded and migrated a few times in Joomla. Joomla extensions like the easy to use NinjaXplorer have made this snap.
NinjaXplorer is a file system explorer that is seamless behind the scenes hence the prefix Ninja. When I think of Ninja, I think of sneaky and quiet. You could call it quiet because it works without any noise. By that I mean, there are no complications at all with this add-on because it works perfectly.
This extension is a great addition when building and maintaining web sites in Joomla. With NinjaXplorer you can upload, download, zip, unzip and edit a file while working within the Joomla site administrators panel. The significant convenience factor when adding or editing an article with images frees up to FTP.
NinjaXplorer will also show you the file permissions, and allow you to edit them. It is nice to be able to see that the files and folders are set with the correct permissions. And if the file permissions would need to be edited, you can do it right there.
NinjaXplorer is a needed extension when working with Joomla. It’s one of the first add-ons we install when starting a new site.
Let us know if what your thoughts are and if you know of any other CMS extensions like NinjaXplorer. And if you're new to CMS and need help getting started give us a call.
Posted by Martin Wessel on Mon, Jan 24, 2011
So far we've looked at web sites that try to generate traffic and leads by creating a mood, and sites that try to generate traffic and sales by highlighting products. This time around we're going to look at web site design that uses action to convey a message.
Because these sites feature people, it's easier for a visitor to put themselves in the place of the people on the site.
Information Site: United States Tennis Association
An example of an organization using a people approach would be the United States Tennis Association. The USTA is an organization that promotes tennis as exercise, a social activity, and a sport at all age and ability levels. Because of this their site is packed with pictures of people playing tennis and advice on how to play better. Even the drop down menus include pictures of people playing tennis. And while there is an emphasis on very athletic, semi-pro, and even professional players in the images, there are plenty of kids and amateur players featured. The consistent image, however, is of actual players active in the sport. This ties in well with the personal message of getting involved in tennis.
Information Site: United States Navy
The US Navy site reinforces it's slogan "A Global Force for Good" by showing members of that force in a number of different roles. The "Careers and Jobs" section especially shows members of the Navy at work.
Some of the images do look posed, but many images are more natural and show a broad range of activities.
More importantly for a social type site are the prominent links to many Facebook communities the Navy has created. These communities also include pictures of members and links to other communities.
What this means for your site
Everybody wants to feel like they belong, that they're part of a group. You can leverage this desire by showing your customers using your product. For example, a cigar store would show people smoking their product, or a car dealership would show people driving their cars. What you're trying to do is create a community, and then creating a drive to join that community. That works better for some sites than others, of course, but if you have a focused service or product you can almost certainly create an Active site for Cool People.
What do you think? Would a Cool Activity site work for you?
Posted by Theresa Peterson on Mon, Jan 24, 2011
As of late I've experienced more and more use of social media with friends, colleagues, and customers. Obviously working for a Web company gives me more of an opportunity to experience the craze that has taken place within the last 2-3 years. But unless you really step back and use these tools, you don't realize what is available at your finger tips. At NetSolutions we like to think of a social media presence as spokes that feed back to your Web site, or your hub.
Since I’ve been introduced to the Internet and started learning web development while optimizing sites for search engines, everything has changed. The number of people around the globe on the World Wide Web has exploded in the past couple years. This is simply because the technology is more accessible and the people born when the Internet was getting started are now adults; they have grown up with this.
When I started about 10 years ago, the focus was on a single website, It was about your website and getting clients to it. This was your presence on the Internet. While this is still step one for any business or organization, it is just that – the first step. To really get a presence on the web, to get known and do a good job with search engine marketing, it is social media that gets you there by being able to reach out in a personal way via the social tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
What is the definition of social media? Wikipedia defines it as “media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques”. I've heard it said that social media is V.I.T.A.L: Video, Images, Text, Audio and Links.
I've learned in my time that logic causes us to think, but emotions make us act. When you're able to compliment someone, show sincere interest, and simply make a touch on social media, you're creating an emotional reaction that goes far beyond a script on a web page.
Take some time to understand the tools (or spokes). Do what I do and have fun. Nobody knows everything about social media yet. However, if you take a step and set-up or enhance a profile on LinkedIn or Facebook in 2011, you'll find great rewards and connections that will do more for you than you thought. Here is a thought -- simply sign-up for LinkedIn Tips from a social media expert like Wayne Breitbarth.
If you're really curious, talk to us about how we can help your business with a social media strategy. It is time to reach out beyond your web site.
Let me know how social media has benefited you and how you've used your "spokes."
Posted by Martin Wessel on Fri, Jan 21, 2011
Twitter has emerged as not just a great way to communicate between friends and followers but as a way for companies to establish their brands online. But we've found that Twitter as an inbound marketing tool can be a difficult concept.
First, why would you want to use Twitter? That one's easy. As we've mentioned before, Twitter has over 100 million registered users and the Twitter search engine is being used around 600 million times a day. With an average of 300,000 new users a day, that's an enormous audience to tap into.
Better yet, this search audience isn't looking for products; they're looking for what other people are saying about the products. They are, in effect, creating your brand for you.
Creating a Plan
The beauty of Twitter (and other social media, but we'll get to that in another post) is that you can get directly involved in the conversation. Better yet, by this time Twitter is so well established that there is little downside to using it as a marketing tool as long as the campaign is handled correctly. So how do you craft a good Twitter marketing campaign? The most important factor is your plan:
- Keep your tweets focused on quality content and not just on your company
- You need a high signal/noise ratio
- Make the tweet feed a good resource
- Highlight specific parts of your site
- Keep communicating
- Mix it up a bit
So how does this translate to the real world? Let's say you make widgets. You don't do eCommerce because you're a specialty manufacturer and your widgets are generally customized for your customers. Frankly, you're in a bit of a niche. In other words, Twitter is perfect for you.
Stay Focused
Looking at our first rule, you would want to post tweets about your products, but better yet you'd want to tweet about information. I have no doubt that you answer questions on a daily basis, and the answers could be condensed into a quick tweet. Better yet, if you usually refer to a page on your site then include that link in your tweet.
Be a Resource
Don't just tweet about yourself, however. Your widgets are part of an overall industry which includes not just competitors but possibly government resources and certainly customers. Tweet about those resources and success stories. The goal is to make your tweet stream a resource for people interested in widgets overall and who may become customers.
Drive Traffic
While being a resource, remember that the overall goal is getting potential customers interested in your widgets. And the best way to do that is to direct them to your site. As I mentioned before, you can do that by answering questions with web pages or blog entries. Or you can specifically mention a particular page that has good information.
Keep Communicating
To be affective you need to keep a constant stream of information flowing. Tweeting once every two weeks is generally not going to get you a following. This is a commitment, and you'll want to tweet at least once a day and better yet several times a day. This can sound daunting, but keep in mind you can tweet as the result of off-line conversations. I expect you have enough business communications in the course of a day that you can use to generate a tweet or two. If you decide to make a very comprehensive plan there are even tools that will help you queue future tweets and send them for you.
Remember that Variety is the Spice of Life
One trap that can be very easy to fall into is to be a pure information flow. While you don't want to stray far from the overall message, it is entirely appropriate to inject interesting tidbits from other sources. For example, while your company may make widgets you are a new iPad user. There may be no connection between the two, but an occasional tweet about your iPad experience may spark an additional interest in your tweets.
The Overall Goal
What you're trying to do is create an awareness of your brand on the Web, and specifically withing Twitter. Make sure you follow other Twitter users in your industry and encourage others to follow you by having good content.
Let us know if you've used Twitter to market your brand, or if you've faced some problems getting going with Twitter!
Posted by Martin Wessel on Tue, Nov 30, 2010
Back in October I wrote a blog entry that compared Web Design to stores in a mall, and then I followed up by writing about Designing a Web Site Where The Cool People Shop. This is the third article in the series and we're going to talk about how to design a site that puts products and services front and center.
This is the most traditional form of site, especially for eCommerce sites. Information sites can use it as well, however, because it puts the companies services front and center.
Information Site: Xymox Technologies
While they are a manufacturer of custom membrane switches, Xymox Technology does not sell on line. They do however, market their products and provide technical information. Because they serve so many markets, they've put a handy reference right on their home page. Looking for a membrane switch suitable for Food Equipment? There's the link, right on the home page. Medical Equipment? They've got you covered as well.
But what about the rest of the site? After all, a quick survey of the site shows that they have hundreds of products as well as the ability to create custom products. Again, the site is designed with presentation and products in mind. Going to the Membrane Switches page shows two product lines: Stock and Custom. The Custom Membrane Switches page again presents a range of products and services in an easy to understand way, at least if you're familiar with membrane switches.
eCommerce Site: Amazon
It would be almost impossible to discuss eCommerce sites without looking at Amazon.com, the site that pretty much started it all. Again, products are front center, and they're even highlighting the best selling product in case that's what you're looking for. If not, then they have some other popular products that might interest you.
As with Xymox, Amazon follows a landing page design. Going to the Books category, for instance, once again shows a selection of sub-categories that help a visitor drill down to the product they're looking for with a nice image that encapsulates the category. As with the home page, Amazon shows a long list of bestsellers and other options for the visitor to consider. What makes this page interesting is that Amazon watches what products that visitor has looked at and the page refines itself to reflect those choices. It's a great way for Amazon to direct visitors to products they may be most interested in and most likely to buy.
What it means for your site
To some degree, the Cool Stuff website is the easiest to plan: What products or services do you want to highlight, and how do you want to put them on the page? Answer those two questions and you've gone a long ways to designing your site.
It is interesting to note that our two examples both use a white background with touches of color. This allows images of products and services to be front and center and they will capture a visitors eye. It's not impossible to have a dark design, but a quick survey of major eRetailers (Best Buy, Walmart, and Target) all show that a white or light background is the current design trend for product or service oriented sites.
Have you got a site that fits this style, or are you thinking of using a "Cool Stuff" type site? Let me know!