Matrix Group International

Category: Blog

  • Why Your CEO Needs to Be Part of Your Next Web Project

    Why Your CEO Needs to Be Part of Your Next Web Project

    Whenever we start a project, especially if the project is related to branding or design, we ask for time with the CEO, Executive Director, President — the top staff person. It’s not always easy to get time with the CEO, and we often don’t get it.  However, we have found that our most successful projects have at least minimal CEO involvement, especially in the early stages, when we define goals, users and organizational identity.

    Here’s why I think your CEO needs to be part of your next Web project.

    The CEO can best articulate why your organization needs to exist. Earlier this year, we were kicking off a project with a professional society in the military space. The Executive Director was discussing the mission and goals of the organization when he said “our members protect the world’s waterways.” A few seconds later, a staff member said, “I’ve been working here for several years and I’ve been waiting for that explanation of why we exist and what our members do.” (more…)

  • Matrix Group’s Favorite Tech Gifts This Holiday Season

    Matrix Group’s Favorite Tech Gifts This Holiday Season

    Okay, so it’s December 5. I feel like I have tons of time before I celebrate Christmas with my family, but I know that I need to get on the ball with my holiday shopping.  So I asked my staff for their favorite gadget gifts; this is what I got back.  Some items are oldies but goodies, some are outrageous, all are loved by at least one Matrix Group staffer.

    • Japanese toilet – I’ve asked Santa for a Japanese toilet this year.  Japanese toilets have heated seats, front and back sprays (heated, too), blow dryers, and even music.  I cannot understand why they are not more popular here in the US!
    • XO laptop – The OLPC (one laptop per child) movement works like this:  $400 pays for one laptop for you and one for a child in a developing country.  The laptop has a nice screen, terrific software for kids, and it’s virtually kid-proof (love the sealed keyboard).
    • Nerf Vulcan Automatic Heavy Blaster – This is the biggest, baddest, Nerf gun ever.
    • Yoda Star Wars Force FX Lightsaber – Harout got one and it looks, sounds and feels like the real thing; love the lightsaber hum!
    • If you’re on the Dark side of the Force, you’ll love the Darth Maul double-sided lightsaber.

      • (more…)

  • Surviving in this Hellish Economy

    Surviving in this Hellish Economy

    Okay, it’s official. The economy is in a recession, but what are you doing about it? What is your company or organization doing to weather the storm or even thrive in it?

    I was recently interviewed by Jill Foster for the Network Solution blog on a variety of topics, including using social media for recruiting and what we’re doing here at Matrix Group to survive this hellish economy.

    When our fiscal year ends next June, I want to be able to say that we were counter-trend and that our company grew, despite the recession.  Here are my top strategies for surviving this economic bloodbath. (more…)

  • Why Citizen Journalist Sites are Worrying Mainstream Media

    Every morning, while drinking my green tea, I peruse The New York Times online. Like millions of people around the world, I have canceled my paper subscription to a local or national newspaper and instead rely on the Web to deliver the news.

    But here’s a news flash: an increasing of us are getting our news from citizen journalist sites, or sites that feature news, photos and videos from people like you and me. Armed with camera phones and video cameras, average folks are reporting on news in their neighborhood and covering news from their perspective.

    Here are some of the most popular citizen journalist sites and why I love them:

    • NowPublic is now one of my favorite news sites. Last weekend, NowPublic had lots of coverage about the earthquake in Indonesia. When I mentioned the earthquake to a client, she said, “what earthquake?”

      • (more…)

  • Who Are These People and Why Are They Following Me?

    Who Are These People and Why Are They Following Me?

    Unlike some of my friends and many staffers at Matrix Group, I’m relatively new to Twitter, the mini-blogging site that lets you broadcast your status, location and thoughts. I’ve been “twittering” for just a few months, but I’m addicted. I “tweet” all day long and read most of the tweets of the people I follow. On Twitter, btw, I’m jmpineda.

    For those of you who are new to all this, you can “follow” people on Twitter and people can follow you. When you follow someone, their tweets are posted to your Twitter home page all day long. In my case, I’m following a random collection of friends, Web thought leaders and organizations. My friend Joe tweets his location, the books he’s reading, the articles he’s reading. The National Wildlife Federation tweets about promotions, events and issues. (more…)

  • Can the Web Help Us Track the Spread of Diseases?

    Can the Web Help Us Track the Spread of Diseases?

    As if it weren’t enough that Google catalogs the Web, tracks traffic to our site, and helps us get from point A to point B, a new service from Google claims to be an early warning system for outbreaks of the flu.

    Google flu trends, a service from Google.org, the search giant’s philanthropic arm, analyzes search terms that are related to the flu and creates maps of the US that presumably show where there are outbreaks of the flu. So, if I type “flu symptoms” into my browser, Google will take my search terms and my IP address, and interpret that someone in VA has the flu. In typical Google fashion, typing in the words flu symptoms, aches and pains, chest congestion and other terms will register in Google flu trends because the analysis has shown that these search terms tend to go together and they are indeed related to the flu. (more…)

  • Says Anne: So Long and Thanks for the Case Studies

    Earlier this week, Anne Holland, founder of MarketingSherpa.com posted her last blog entry on the Sherpablog.  November 10 was her last day as a formal company employee and she used the occasion to recount how MarketingSherpa began.

    If you don’t know MarketingSherpa, you should.  MarketingSherpa is my favorite source for news, information, case studies, how-to guides — everything about online marketing.  MarketingSherpa e-mails are the few e-newsletters that I read in their entirety.  I pass the articles along to my staff and clients.  The knowledge in MarketingSherpa case studies is amazing, the writing is terrific, and the know-how is real.

    I remember meeting Anne at an iBreakfast, a pitchfest hosted by Alan Brody back in 1999.  Anne had an idea to pitch, a marketing plan, no money, but a lot of passion and knowledge about online marketing and research.  MarketingSherpa became one of Matrix Group’s first dot com clients.  At first, we helped her develop her technical platform and prototypes so that she could show investors more than a business plan. (more…)

  • Yes, Even Companies are Twittering!

    Yes, Even Companies are Twittering!

    I used to think that twittering was for individuals who wanted to broadcast their whereabouts and activities to friends and family. Most of my tweets have to do with where I am, what I’m reading, yada, yada.  But I’ve found a growing number of companies using Twitter to raise awareness, reach new audiences, raise money, and disseminate news.

    I can’t think of a more fitting match between Twitter and CNN’s breaking news.  My god, Twitter is nothing but a bunch of headlines!  Today, nearly 54,000 people follow CNN’s headline news on Twitter.

    The National Wildlife Federation does a great job of using Twitter to promote events, broadcast NWF news and mobilize people to do something (vote, send an e-card, donate, watch a video).  Over 1,600 people follow NWF on Twitter. (more…)

  • What the Shoe Saleman Has to Say About the Economy

    What the Shoe Saleman Has to Say About the Economy

    President-elect Obama has a lot on his plate.  Perhaps most importantly, he’s got to get the economy moving again.  I’m not convinced that getting people to spend money should be the top priority, but let me tell you about Mike, a shoe salesman I met at Nordstrom at Pentagon City last weekend.

    I was looking for navy shoes and Mike was my guy.  While I was trying on shoes, I asked him about business.  Mike said that in his 15 years in the shoe department at Nordstrom, this is the worst he’s seen.  I looked around, the store was packed.  The food court had been packed.  A couple of weeks ago, Tysons Galleria was packed.  How could business be down?

    Mike said, “look around, nobody’s carrying bags.”  And you know what?  He was right.  Very few people in the store were carrying shopping bags.  I was obsessed with people watching the rest of the afternoon and Mike’s words kept ringing true.  Few people were carrying bags.

    As Mike rang up my purchase, he said,  “don’t be a stranger.”

  • What the Shoe Salesman Has to Say About the Economy

    President-elect Obama has a lot on his plate.  Perhaps most importantly, he’s got to get the economy moving again.  I’m not convinced that getting people to spend money should be the top priority, but let me tell you about Mike, a shoe salesman I met at Nordstrom at Pentagon City last weekend.

    I was looking for navy shoes and Mike was my guy.  While I was trying on shoes, I asked him about business.  Mike said that in his 15 years in the shoe department at Nordstrom, this is the worst he’s seen.  I looked around, the store was packed.  The food court had been packed.  A couple of weeks ago, Tysons Galleria was packed.  How could business be down?

    Mike said, “look around, nobody’s carrying bags.”  And you know what?  He was right.  Very few people in the store were carrying shopping bags.  I was obsessed with people watching the rest of the afternoon and Mike’s words kept ringing true.  Few people were carrying bags.

    As Mike rang up my purchase, he said,  “don’t be a stranger.”