Matrix Group International

Author: Joanna Pineda

  • Who’s Afraid of User-Generated Content?

    Who’s Afraid of User-Generated Content?

    Users on ComputersFrom homemade movies on YouTube, to movie and book reviews, comments on blogs, and entries in Wikipedia, user-generated content (UGC) has changed the Web forever. I can’t imagine the Amazon shopping experience without comments and ratings from other moms, the posts from the 500 or so people I follow on Twitter could keep me occupied and interested all day, and I thank God every day for the thousands of homemade Thomas the Tank Engine movies on YouTube that keep my five-year old enthralled on a rainy day.  Mashable reported that more than 82 million people in the US created content online in 2008.

    So how come most organizations shy away from incorporating UGC on their sites? (more…)

  • Post-Launch Tasks = Project Overhang

    Post-Launch Tasks = Project Overhang

    Man climbing rock overhangAfter each Web site launch, I ask the Project Manager in charge what’s left to do. Why?  Because inevitably, there are items that didn’t make the launch. I call this Project Overhang and it can be deadly to a firm’s profitability and productivity.

    Project Overhang is what we call tasks that are left over from a project. The project, site or application can be up, tested and launched, but there are tweaks we didn’t complete, post-launch fixes or small change orders.  Often, Project Overhang does not generate additional revenue and the items are so small that they can slip off our radar if we’re not careful.  Project Overhang is much less likely to happen on a client account because those projects are external, revenue-generating and discussed during post launch check-ins.  But Project Overhang on internal projects can linger for years!  I once had a to do item to update a new staff orientation guide that didn’t get done for two years! (more…)

  • What’s So Cool About Cooliris?

    What’s So Cool About Cooliris?

    I just discovered CoolIris, a browser plug-in that lets me surf images and videos in a cool, new way. Browser plugs-in are small pieces of software that extend the capabilities of your Web browser.  In this case, I downloaded the CoolIris plug-in for Firefox, installed it, restarted, and I was good to go.  So what’s so cool about this plug-in?

    Cooliris screen shotCooliris lets me scroll through images and videos on my computer and sites that support Cooliris.  For example, if I want to browse photos from my son’s birthday party, I point Cooliris to the proper directory and the photos will appear as a wall of photos in my browser.  I can scroll through the images by using my mouse to drag images, or I can use the Cooliris scroll tool.

    It turns out that many of my favorite sites now support Cooliris, like Flickr, Facebook, Hulu, images from Google,and Getty Images.  I can tell if a site support Cooliris if I hover an image and the double squares appear in the lower left corner of the image.  I can then click on the double squares to launch the photo album, collection of photos or RSS of images and videos in Cooliris.

    It’s super fun to browse friends’ albums in Facebook in Cooliris without having to press Next, Next, Next.  And I love being able to surf hundreds of images in Getty Images in one long wall of photos.

    Is Cooliris here to stay?  Who knows?  It’s free, it’s cool, it’s convenient and it’s fun to play.  Check it out and let me know what you think!

  • AOPL Web site Redesign and MatrixMaxx Implementation

    AOPL Web site Redesign and MatrixMaxx Implementation

    Matrix Group collaborated with Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL) for a Web site redesign and a MatrixMaxx Implementation.

    Our work included:

    • A fresh, and engaging Web site design, promoting AOPL as the expert in fuel transportation, and an environmentally aware organization.
    • Implementation of a Content Management System (CMS), allowing staff to make Web site updates with no programming background.
    • A color-coded, interactive map, where visitors can scroll over each state to see the location and the type of major pipelines in the US.
    • Web site integration with MatrixMaxx, Association Management System (AMS). A comprehensive web-based solution, allowing AOPL to seamlessly link their Web site to their membership databases.
    • Hosting and Maintenance

    Visit the Association of Oil Pipelines

  • Matrix Group Tenth Anniversary Microsite

    Matrix Group Tenth Anniversary Microsite

    Matrix Group staff created a Tenth Anniversary Microsite that incorporates fun designs and invites site visitors to actively contribute and participate by:

    • Including favorite Matrix stories from the last ten years in the Share Your Memory section
    • Scrolling through an interactive 10-Year Timeline, filled with important dates, facts and photos from Matrix Group’s very first purple wall, to our new office in Crystal City
    • Learning Fun Facts about Matrix, by scrolling through what Joanna refers to as our “tribute to information design.”  Did you know Matrix has collectively accumulated 381 toys and speaks over 10 different languages?
    • Participate in the Twitter visualization we created, which dynamically pulls tweets from the company, Matrix staff, people we’re following, and our favorite topics
    • The site also includes a “Where We’re Going” letter written by Joanna that reminds us where the company has been, and Joanna’s vision for Matrix for the future.
  • Why is Facebook so Addictive?

    Why is Facebook so Addictive?

    Asleep At The ComputerI called a friend last Sunday to say hello and her husband said she was deep in Facebook, and had been for several hours. Several hours! This is a woman who holds a challenging job, has an 18-month old, and even has hobbies on the side. Facebook for several hours? And I know she’s not alone.

    Facebook says that it has 250 million users, of which 120 million login once a day, and spend 5 billion minutes doing “stuff.”  Just what what are we all doing on Facebook and why is it so addictive? Here are my thoughts: (more…)

  • Does Your Corporate Underground Match Your Company’s Size and Needs?

    Does Your Corporate Underground Match Your Company’s Size and Needs?

    Tins Cans and Red Network CableI was working with a prospect recently and lamenting to my team that the organization felt like a bunch of stovepipes, with the VPs competing for resources and influence.  I said something along the lines of “Arrgh, this organization is too small to be so silo’d!”

    Then it hit me: the company had gone through a fairly large downsizing recently.  The corporate culture was one I was more likely to find in a much larger organization because the culture had not adjusted to the new realities of the smaller organization!  Ick. (more…)

  • How SCRUM Made Our Office Move Great

    How SCRUM Made Our Office Move Great

    Office moves are never fun. Our move was months in the planning, but we were still scrambling last Friday night, the day before the movers arrived.  The plan was to complete the physical move on Saturday, then have all staff come in on Sunday to set-up their own work areas, test the network and phones, and help unpack the common areas. There were a million tasks to be done? How was it all going to get done? Then we had a great idea: let’s use SCRUM, do a one-day sprint and complete as much of the move as possible. Here’s what we did, with amazing results.

    Office Move To Do List

    Here is our Office Move To Do List at the start of the day on Saturday. (more…)

  • Does Your Staff Know What Your Company Does?

    Does Your Staff Know What Your Company Does?

    A couple of weeks ago, I called Harris Teeter to order a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake for my soon-to-be 5 year old son. The conversation went something like this:

    Me:  Good morning, I want to order a birthday cake with the Thomas design.
    HT staff:  Sorry, we don’t have Thomas cakes.
    Me:  But you have a Thomas cake on display in your bakery section.
    HT staff:  Sorry, we don’t have Thomas cakes.  I think that display is old.
    Me:  I saw Thomas cakes in your catalog.
    HT staff:  I haven’t seen the catalog lately.
    Me:  Okay, I guess I’ll call Costco.

    Thomas the Tank EngineLucky for Harris Teeter, I am a big fan of the store and was not to be deterred.  I went to the store, found a manager, showed him the Thomas cake on display and asked if I could please order it.  Yep, he was happy to take my order, especially since Thomas cakes are expensive!  I told him that I had called the store a few days earlier and the person said HT didn’t make Thomas cakes.  The manager apologized and said that perhaps the person I spoke with was new or didn’t know about the special order cakes.

    Yikes!  How many sales has HT lost because of this bakery guy?  Could this happen in your company? I know this kind of “revenue leakage” has happened in my organization!
    (more…)

  • How Many Times Do I Need to Pay For This Song?

    How Many Times Do I Need to Pay For This Song?

    Rock BandI love Rock Band for the PS3. A friend lent his set a couple of weeks ago to me and my husband and we’ve been enjoying learning how to “play” drums and guitar, as well as do vocals. Rock Band comes with a collection of songs but you can buy scores of other songs (in different genres) on the Sony store.

    So last night, I paid $1.99 for the Police’s Synchronicity.  I love this song.  I loved the album when it came out.  I even saw the Police in concert for this tour.  So I was happy to shell out $2 to be able to sing one of my favorite Police songs.

    Then it hit me:  I’ve paid for Synchronicity four times: (more…)