Maybe you have seen the latest Alpha version release of Windows 8 (that is the internal designation who knows what the real name will be). To say it is a major overhaul is a major understatement. Gone is the familiar bottom banner, as the look and feel moves from desktop to big phone screen. Adapting to a growing marketplace that is embracing smart phones, Microsoft has at least in the first phase, gone in the deep end. Removing all aspects of the desktop known since Windows 95. So what does that mean for you and me?
In the short-term, it means that the way you are use to doing things is about to change big time. The layout and functions of the OS are changing to adapt more to the touch interface - abandoning the keyboard and mouse functionality. The OS now has an onscreen keyboard much like the iPad. Great for touch screen applications, but may not far as well in the large number of companies still clinging to the XP operating system.
Microsoft has not been without bad missteps in the past. Because of those, Apple and Linux have grown in the desktop and laptop OS market significantly during the past decade. The release of Vista, long heralded as the next great thing, was silently put to bed with Windows 7. Much like Windows Me, Microsoft seems to have disavowed any knowledge of Vista.
From the beginning, Microsoft has been the leader in OS for the general population. With WIndows 95, you had the first time everything came together in a graphic interface. Windows 98 was a vast improvement, mostly in the background, providing the first really business-centric software OS. Really made collaboration possible, passing data from program to program and computer to computer was far easier. Windows 2000, largely ignored by the general public was the first server OS, with its functionality which became the foundation of XP, you could now really connect between programs within the program itself - simple, clean and to the point. XP was the pinnacle, even with some quirks, it really provided all the parts of what an OS should be. Improving it was suppose to be the point, but Vista went off onto uncharted areas. The biggest was an effort to force people into buying new software because it wouldn't run older. Included was now 4 versions, there are four with Windows 7 as well.
That effort really lead to a complete bypass by most companies of Vista. The ones that tried it hated it, many returning to XP at great cost - i should know i helped several who wouldn't listen to the warnings. So Vista has come and gone, now 7 works with XP, in XP mode - you can put a program into this mode to make it compatible with older software. For the most part, functionality has stayed the same - mostly cosmetic and background changes. But with 8, everything changes.
If you are an Ipad user, you have learned to lost the mouse. And the keyboard, while kind of an issue, learned to live with the limitation, only because i have a trusty system to return to for what I need. So the question is, is this the end of the desktop computer as we know it? Maybe.
Preparation isn't a bad idea. What the limitations will be for this type of new software is intriguing. More than once, people have refused to embrace such change. Regardless, we are seeing the disappearance of the computer into other products - smartphones, televisions, etc. So changes are coming. Are you prepared? Is your company? Not difficult, keep up with the news. Try new technology, because whether you like it or not, things are REALLY changing.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Internet Marketing Company and Other Strange Things
Everyone that makes websites these days claims that they are an internet marketing company. They tell you how to use Facebook, Twitter just as they use to tell you that Myspace was the end all of all good things. Yet, like Myspace, their ability to keep up with the times is withered by their inability to understand that marketing - outreach - whatever word you want to use has some basic foundations that never change.
Much like in the early days of the dot.coms, people ran to and fro with unique ideas that ranged all over the spectrum of the basic to the ultimate in bizarre. Without a foundation though, most of the ideas failed immediately. Those that managed to survive took in money from investors keen to make a quick buck all while missing that there was no money actually coming into the business. From that idea the internet marketing people arose.
Facebook. Great tool, but it is just that a tool. Part of a well-rounded toolbox includes more than just a hammer because you cannot hammer in a screw. For that you need another tool. Yet IMC (Internet Marketing Companies) will sing the praises of Facebook. How it does this magic and that magic, only proper marketing - that basic idea is about gaining awareness. Nothing more. And what you are communicating on Facebook is as important as communicating.
Is there anything as nuts as someone that only tells you about their specials? Only tells you how to make money quick? Facebook is social media - social. Social means society - meaning connection. Businesses try to use it to connect to some extent successfully. But the greatest success is personal. Relationship oriented. In other words, showing who you are. Good bad and indifferent are keys to growing in the social environment. Facebook allows that within a role of friends. Overuse, i.e., here is the special of the week, ends up making your message nothing more than background noise.
So to properly market yourself on Facebook, tell stories about the day. Sometimes, even go so far as to tell truthful ones about bad situations and how you dealt with them. Real stories allow real interest to be invested - that is someone's time. Once you have that, they will more likely listen to your message.
Twitter. Nice tool. If Facebook is the hammer in the toolbox, then twitter is the screwdriver. It is a smaller, more precise tool. Connected in with Facebook it can provide you with short burst of communication. But like Facebook, for business and organizations, it can begin to enter into the overwhelming phase.
To use it properly, communicate together with in and Facebook. Because of the limit on the message size, you are kept short. Good for a lot of people (notice how long this blog is now). But the weakness is that your message can be misconstrued. So be mindful of what you are saying. How you are saying in and within the confides of your other tweets. Remember, you are only communicating with language that is always open to interpretation. So read, and re-read your tweets before sending.
Blogs. Yes, people still blog, if you have read this far you are still engaging in them now. Remember, blogs should be informative. Kept updated. And reasonably short. Make your blog something that people would find interesting about the organization. Tell stories and invite people to contribute. Combine your efforts by Tweeting your blog, through Facebook to your friends and people you want to reach.
Seems simple doesn't it? And it is. But this is just part of the toolbox. Those smaller, more precise tools still are needed. Later we will examine what other tools should be in your marketing toolbox. And of course, we would love to hear from you. Netminister.net is our address, and we serve clients of all makes and models, small or large. Give us a chance today.
Much like in the early days of the dot.coms, people ran to and fro with unique ideas that ranged all over the spectrum of the basic to the ultimate in bizarre. Without a foundation though, most of the ideas failed immediately. Those that managed to survive took in money from investors keen to make a quick buck all while missing that there was no money actually coming into the business. From that idea the internet marketing people arose.
Facebook. Great tool, but it is just that a tool. Part of a well-rounded toolbox includes more than just a hammer because you cannot hammer in a screw. For that you need another tool. Yet IMC (Internet Marketing Companies) will sing the praises of Facebook. How it does this magic and that magic, only proper marketing - that basic idea is about gaining awareness. Nothing more. And what you are communicating on Facebook is as important as communicating.
Is there anything as nuts as someone that only tells you about their specials? Only tells you how to make money quick? Facebook is social media - social. Social means society - meaning connection. Businesses try to use it to connect to some extent successfully. But the greatest success is personal. Relationship oriented. In other words, showing who you are. Good bad and indifferent are keys to growing in the social environment. Facebook allows that within a role of friends. Overuse, i.e., here is the special of the week, ends up making your message nothing more than background noise.
So to properly market yourself on Facebook, tell stories about the day. Sometimes, even go so far as to tell truthful ones about bad situations and how you dealt with them. Real stories allow real interest to be invested - that is someone's time. Once you have that, they will more likely listen to your message.
Twitter. Nice tool. If Facebook is the hammer in the toolbox, then twitter is the screwdriver. It is a smaller, more precise tool. Connected in with Facebook it can provide you with short burst of communication. But like Facebook, for business and organizations, it can begin to enter into the overwhelming phase.
To use it properly, communicate together with in and Facebook. Because of the limit on the message size, you are kept short. Good for a lot of people (notice how long this blog is now). But the weakness is that your message can be misconstrued. So be mindful of what you are saying. How you are saying in and within the confides of your other tweets. Remember, you are only communicating with language that is always open to interpretation. So read, and re-read your tweets before sending.
Blogs. Yes, people still blog, if you have read this far you are still engaging in them now. Remember, blogs should be informative. Kept updated. And reasonably short. Make your blog something that people would find interesting about the organization. Tell stories and invite people to contribute. Combine your efforts by Tweeting your blog, through Facebook to your friends and people you want to reach.
Seems simple doesn't it? And it is. But this is just part of the toolbox. Those smaller, more precise tools still are needed. Later we will examine what other tools should be in your marketing toolbox. And of course, we would love to hear from you. Netminister.net is our address, and we serve clients of all makes and models, small or large. Give us a chance today.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Don't Support Those That Support You
There are a few rules that most companies would do well to remember. None more so than to support those that support you. Would you ever give a perfectly good Alabama Football ticket to a dye-heart Auburn fan? What would be the point? Chances are he would just throw it away or try to sell it, but it is a good bet that he would not take the time to enjoy the game the way someone that supports Alabama football would.
So why do we support organizations that are opposed to our success? Because most of the time, it is cheaper, easier and requires less time on our part to find out what someone supports. But, it should be qualification number one! If you want to continue doing business.
We support United Way, local churches and for many years organizations that supported new mothers and babies. So it would make sense that we would not want to do business with companies that opposed these values. That is a sign of character. Something that is missing from far too many organizations.
Why? Because character requires you to invest time, effort and resources into yourself. So, if someone doesn't consider him/her-self worth the time to build up his/her character, should you really be dealing with them? If they don't spend time with their family is that the image you want of the person you want to be? If they are only interested in money and power, is this the image you want?
If you are a family company, does the people you work with put in excessive hours? Do the people you work with have excuses for not supporting their families with their time? Or do they attend their children's activities only when they can self-promote?
Remember, the people that you deal with are the ones that will be there when you are down. At least some will be. Invest in people that will stick with you even in the bad times, because whether you are in one now or not, you are going to go through them. The longer you are in business, the more times this lesson will come true. And if you expect to stay in business, you need people to help especially when times are bad.
Take time to know the character of those you deal with. Find out what they support because whether you know it or not, you are supporting what they support. And remember, those that support what things you hold dear, use them whenever possible - it says a lot of your character.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Boy Are You Stupid
There is a new paradigm that is going to be used going forward with a new out of the box mentality that our corporate synergy will begin to employ with the challenges we have experienced through the effective opportunities that we face.
What?! Yep, there are people that talk just like that. What they said, I have no idea. It is the emperor's new clothes approach to business and you should be mindful of anyone that you do business with employing these terms. Having nothing of substance to say, they weave a web of incomprehensibility that no one can penetrate. And because we don't want to appear uncouth, we shake our heads and smile all the while realizing that we do not have a clue what they are talking about. Well, STOP IT!
At the first sign of a paradigm shift, ask that person to leave. They have nothing of consequence to say unless they are able and willing without the use of words that make no sense strung together (i.e., they have a real solution to a real problem) they aren't telling you anything.
If you have a challenge, how to address it? If you have a problem, logic dictates that you begin to work on a solution. While a challenge may be a cool way of saying something, it doesn't dictate anything.
Think of it like this: on television there is a show that requires contestants to enter a challenge. That challenge is meet with effort but there isn't a particular need to do anything other than overcome the challenge. So is overcoming something better than finding a solution? That problem, as ugly a word as it is, makes you think of something. Maybe not a positive something but it does begin the process of moving your mind. Challenges seem more like something you try and if you don't succeed, well that is okay. When you want to motivate people, you want their minds sharp, not in the weeds.
Which brings up another area, avoid those that play in the weeds. Remember playing sports or activities as a child. The kid that was playing off in the weeds never really was involved in anything the team did. That kid just enjoyed being off in the weeds. Most companies that do marketing, LOVE the weeds. If they love them that much, let them play all they want, with someone else's money!
You know your organization, your marketing and sales people (from website to print media) should have a grasp of how to augment your knowledge, how to take your ideas and make them real while making adjustments and explaining those adjustments as you move along. If they can't, don't waste your time talking to them anymore. They do not know what they are doing.
And for the love of all that is holy, don't trust someone that only knows how to do one thing. Marketing your organization isn't the same as putting cars together on an assembly line. Each part does have an influence on each other part. Without the ability to know how changes in one area would affect another, you are risking damaging your marketing approach - the message as well - without even knowing it. So avoid the "Internet marketing companies." Their intelligence is about building one part, and without the whole knowledge you cannot accomplish anything but wasting your money.
Just like you would not try to put a puzzle together without looking at all the part, you need the context of where to put something to know how to put it in. With the wrong company helping you, that can cause your puzzle to be nothing but a mess. Don't let that happen. Look for overall approaches to solutions and how each expenditure of resources will impact the overall marketing outreach plan. If they cannot tell you or they say you don't need an overall marketing outreach plan, walk away. Don't end up telling yourself in the end, "boy, are you stupid!"
What?! Yep, there are people that talk just like that. What they said, I have no idea. It is the emperor's new clothes approach to business and you should be mindful of anyone that you do business with employing these terms. Having nothing of substance to say, they weave a web of incomprehensibility that no one can penetrate. And because we don't want to appear uncouth, we shake our heads and smile all the while realizing that we do not have a clue what they are talking about. Well, STOP IT!
At the first sign of a paradigm shift, ask that person to leave. They have nothing of consequence to say unless they are able and willing without the use of words that make no sense strung together (i.e., they have a real solution to a real problem) they aren't telling you anything.
If you have a challenge, how to address it? If you have a problem, logic dictates that you begin to work on a solution. While a challenge may be a cool way of saying something, it doesn't dictate anything.
Think of it like this: on television there is a show that requires contestants to enter a challenge. That challenge is meet with effort but there isn't a particular need to do anything other than overcome the challenge. So is overcoming something better than finding a solution? That problem, as ugly a word as it is, makes you think of something. Maybe not a positive something but it does begin the process of moving your mind. Challenges seem more like something you try and if you don't succeed, well that is okay. When you want to motivate people, you want their minds sharp, not in the weeds.
Which brings up another area, avoid those that play in the weeds. Remember playing sports or activities as a child. The kid that was playing off in the weeds never really was involved in anything the team did. That kid just enjoyed being off in the weeds. Most companies that do marketing, LOVE the weeds. If they love them that much, let them play all they want, with someone else's money!
You know your organization, your marketing and sales people (from website to print media) should have a grasp of how to augment your knowledge, how to take your ideas and make them real while making adjustments and explaining those adjustments as you move along. If they can't, don't waste your time talking to them anymore. They do not know what they are doing.
And for the love of all that is holy, don't trust someone that only knows how to do one thing. Marketing your organization isn't the same as putting cars together on an assembly line. Each part does have an influence on each other part. Without the ability to know how changes in one area would affect another, you are risking damaging your marketing approach - the message as well - without even knowing it. So avoid the "Internet marketing companies." Their intelligence is about building one part, and without the whole knowledge you cannot accomplish anything but wasting your money.
Just like you would not try to put a puzzle together without looking at all the part, you need the context of where to put something to know how to put it in. With the wrong company helping you, that can cause your puzzle to be nothing but a mess. Don't let that happen. Look for overall approaches to solutions and how each expenditure of resources will impact the overall marketing outreach plan. If they cannot tell you or they say you don't need an overall marketing outreach plan, walk away. Don't end up telling yourself in the end, "boy, are you stupid!"
Monday, January 24, 2011
OH! So You Want It To Work Right The First Time?
Perhaps you have heard that the new iPhone 4 is about to come out for Verizon. If you are a big fan of the iPhone, which I will admit I am, you may have been waiting with bated breath. Well, you might want to wait a little longer.
With a new phone, new network or major upgrade to anything you may not want to be the first adaptors. Why? Because it might not work. Remember Microsoft Windows Me (Most people, including Microsoft don't); Windows Vista; iPhone 4.0 with the death grip antenna problem? All of these were somewhat good products that for one reason or another got out the door without an all too important battery of tests to find defects or they were shipped because of an arbitrary deadline set by someone down the line. A poorly performing product was therefore sent to market without being tested. Guess what, you as the early adaptor are going to pay the company to be that tester! Sounds great doesn't it?
Maybe not, especially if you are someone that needs your phone or computer to work regularly. Being the new kid on the block with the latest toy may be cool, but unless you are a tester or someone that really enjoys doing a lot of backups and restoring of data, changes are you aren't going to enjoy the new product hot off the shelves, regardless of the marketing campaign.
So back to the iPhone 4.0. It is suppose to have a higher front end cost ($50 more than the competitor ATT); the ability to act as a mobile hot spot (meaning you can connect more than one computer to it and use it's internet signal; and the death grip is suppose to be fixed. The big pro is that it isn't ATT's network. Which anyone who has slogged through the nightmare of speed issues can attest. However, there is a theory that as many as 6.3 million of the 9 million users may opt for Verizon and that with that departure, the ATT network may actually get the speeds they have been boasting about for years. Only time will tell on that one.
The jury is still out on a lot of the facts associated with the new phone, but because they are out is exactly why we recommend not buying it yet. You see let those that have the extra money go first. They will work out the kinks. No you won't be known as having the coolest, newest phone on the block, but at least it will work. Give it time, you will be glad you did.
With a new phone, new network or major upgrade to anything you may not want to be the first adaptors. Why? Because it might not work. Remember Microsoft Windows Me (Most people, including Microsoft don't); Windows Vista; iPhone 4.0 with the death grip antenna problem? All of these were somewhat good products that for one reason or another got out the door without an all too important battery of tests to find defects or they were shipped because of an arbitrary deadline set by someone down the line. A poorly performing product was therefore sent to market without being tested. Guess what, you as the early adaptor are going to pay the company to be that tester! Sounds great doesn't it?
Maybe not, especially if you are someone that needs your phone or computer to work regularly. Being the new kid on the block with the latest toy may be cool, but unless you are a tester or someone that really enjoys doing a lot of backups and restoring of data, changes are you aren't going to enjoy the new product hot off the shelves, regardless of the marketing campaign.
So back to the iPhone 4.0. It is suppose to have a higher front end cost ($50 more than the competitor ATT); the ability to act as a mobile hot spot (meaning you can connect more than one computer to it and use it's internet signal; and the death grip is suppose to be fixed. The big pro is that it isn't ATT's network. Which anyone who has slogged through the nightmare of speed issues can attest. However, there is a theory that as many as 6.3 million of the 9 million users may opt for Verizon and that with that departure, the ATT network may actually get the speeds they have been boasting about for years. Only time will tell on that one.
The jury is still out on a lot of the facts associated with the new phone, but because they are out is exactly why we recommend not buying it yet. You see let those that have the extra money go first. They will work out the kinks. No you won't be known as having the coolest, newest phone on the block, but at least it will work. Give it time, you will be glad you did.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Who Is The Doctor Here?
I have the unfortunate opportunity to go to a cardiologist regularly. While I am greatful for his help and knowledge, rarely does he provide positive news. It is always things that need to be done. And regardless of whether I like it or not, it is the way things will be.
How often we are with people that we work with. We tend to believe only those that provide positive or news that meets our expectations. That isn't the way we should be. Everything positive and negative works together, but surprisingly you are more likely to learn something from someone negative than positive. Once you filter our personal statements and find the core of what they perceive as the problem, you can begin to address solutions.
When you are given information or insight, examine it against your personal bias. A mature person is able to examine negative comments to determine if there is truth within them. That is how we learn to grow our organization. Without insight and wisdom (wisdom being the application of knowledge) our organizations will never get beyond what they are today.
Listen to the person giving you the honest truth, not just what you want to hear. You would not go to a cardiologist and tell him how to treat you. If he did, then he would not be much of a cardiologist would he? When Michael Jackson, or his close people around him, told a doctor how to treat Mr Jackson, that did not turn out well for him did it, either one in fact. So be open and willing to listen. Even if it is not what you want to hear, you are not the doctor, someone else has the ability and expertise to help you, let them. Learn to listen, you just might hear something!
How often we are with people that we work with. We tend to believe only those that provide positive or news that meets our expectations. That isn't the way we should be. Everything positive and negative works together, but surprisingly you are more likely to learn something from someone negative than positive. Once you filter our personal statements and find the core of what they perceive as the problem, you can begin to address solutions.
When you are given information or insight, examine it against your personal bias. A mature person is able to examine negative comments to determine if there is truth within them. That is how we learn to grow our organization. Without insight and wisdom (wisdom being the application of knowledge) our organizations will never get beyond what they are today.
Listen to the person giving you the honest truth, not just what you want to hear. You would not go to a cardiologist and tell him how to treat you. If he did, then he would not be much of a cardiologist would he? When Michael Jackson, or his close people around him, told a doctor how to treat Mr Jackson, that did not turn out well for him did it, either one in fact. So be open and willing to listen. Even if it is not what you want to hear, you are not the doctor, someone else has the ability and expertise to help you, let them. Learn to listen, you just might hear something!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Preparation
As I write this we in the south are preparing for a couple of days of winter weather. We react to messages of snow, ice and sleet by running to the store and buying copious amounts of bread and milk. I do not honestly know why we do that but it is how we cope with winter weather. But the truth of the matter is that we need more than milk and bread to make it in bad times; we need to be prepared beforehand, not rushing around at the last moment to put something, anything together.
That is how we should react when it comes to our organization. Running around in panic mode never serves us well. As a matter of fact, it only promotes a sense of panic which grows in many cases to almost epidemic status. People begin to realize that the only time things get done is when there is a panic. So, people create panics in order to accomplish things. We need to stop that by being prepared.
Granted you can never know everything that is going to happen in the coming year, but as we begin a new year, we need to be focused on getting our operations in order to make the most of the year to come. That means starting out with a plan, and given that you may be out of the office for a day or so, why not take the time to write up a plan if for no one else but yourself and what you want to accomplish this coming year. Make it have adequate goals - making a million dollars when you work at a $40k job is not realistic. But give yourself plenty of challenges. Try to come up with new ways, better ways to do the same things you have been doing routinely. Challenge the people around you. Even if they do not respond, continue to challenge yourself. IT makes you a better person.
Management and administration should be seeking to lay out new options to the same old tired ideas. Be open to new materials and directions. Never let the idea of we have always done it that way continue to impede your growth as an organization. What, you do not "grow"? If your organization is not in the mindset of growing then you are in trouble. Everything that is alive grows. In people, in operations in activities we grow because it is a sign of life. Plants grow, but they need a few things. What do you need to grow this coming year?
Make your list, be prepared. Even if you are made fun of make a change in the organization, be it work, church or social responsibilities, but your best into it and make a difference. People may laugh, but when the weather is bad, and you are the one with electricity, food and warmth when the neighbors are eating bread and drinking spoiled milk, they will realize who was the one they should have been trusting. Make a difference, plan for the best.
That is how we should react when it comes to our organization. Running around in panic mode never serves us well. As a matter of fact, it only promotes a sense of panic which grows in many cases to almost epidemic status. People begin to realize that the only time things get done is when there is a panic. So, people create panics in order to accomplish things. We need to stop that by being prepared.
Granted you can never know everything that is going to happen in the coming year, but as we begin a new year, we need to be focused on getting our operations in order to make the most of the year to come. That means starting out with a plan, and given that you may be out of the office for a day or so, why not take the time to write up a plan if for no one else but yourself and what you want to accomplish this coming year. Make it have adequate goals - making a million dollars when you work at a $40k job is not realistic. But give yourself plenty of challenges. Try to come up with new ways, better ways to do the same things you have been doing routinely. Challenge the people around you. Even if they do not respond, continue to challenge yourself. IT makes you a better person.
Management and administration should be seeking to lay out new options to the same old tired ideas. Be open to new materials and directions. Never let the idea of we have always done it that way continue to impede your growth as an organization. What, you do not "grow"? If your organization is not in the mindset of growing then you are in trouble. Everything that is alive grows. In people, in operations in activities we grow because it is a sign of life. Plants grow, but they need a few things. What do you need to grow this coming year?
Make your list, be prepared. Even if you are made fun of make a change in the organization, be it work, church or social responsibilities, but your best into it and make a difference. People may laugh, but when the weather is bad, and you are the one with electricity, food and warmth when the neighbors are eating bread and drinking spoiled milk, they will realize who was the one they should have been trusting. Make a difference, plan for the best.
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