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  • Is Your Business Ready to Make the Switch to Google Apps?

    Is Your Business Ready to Make the Switch to Google Apps?

    Google appsWe’ve been kicking around ideas for making the Matrix Group intranet better.  During a recent meeting, the Director of Software Engineering wondered if we should switch from our intranet calendar to the Google calendar. Whoa, I thought. Put my company calendar and personal schedule on Google? My mission-critical data that I would die without?  No way.

    But then I got to thinking. Gmail is a seriously good e-mail service.  Google Analytics is so ridiculously good that yes, I would pay for it; in fact, I would pay lots of money for it (don’t get any ideas, Google.)  And before Google bought Postini, it was already a best of breed, commercial anti-spam service.

    So I did a little more research on Google apps.  It turns out that the Google apps, terms and conditions I’m familiar with are for personal use.  But Google also markets its services to companies and schools.  Google offers the same services (Gmail, calendar, docs, Web site hosting, and Postini) to companies for a really low price ($50 per user, per year).  So why is the corporate version of Google Apps not free?  For the money, you get a 99.9% uptime reliability guarantee (for Premier Edition users), mobile device support, 25 GIG of storage, and the Google promise of security and compliance.  Phone support is supposedly also available, but I can’t find reference anywhere in the Terms of Service to back-up and retention of data. (more…)

  • I’m Following Martha Stewart on Twitter, But Is It Really Martha?

    I’m Following Martha Stewart on Twitter, But Is It Really Martha?

    Woman Holding a Platter of CupcakesI started following Martha Stewart on Twitter because I had heard that she tweets recipes.  How hard can a recipe be if it’s tweeted?  But then I got to wondering: am I following the real Martha Stewart? What if someone is impersonating Martha on Twitter?  I know this happens a lot because there are dozens of Sarah Palin and Barack Obama accounts.

    It turns out that Twitter now offers Verified Accounts. When an account is verified by Twitter, it means they’ve been “in contact with the person or entity the account is representing” and verified that it is indeed the official Twitter account for that person.  It does not mean, however, that Twitter has verified that the person is actually writing the tweets.  Not having a verified account does not mean that the account is not the official account, either.  (Hmmm… too many NOTs in that sentence.)

    So, back to Martha.  The Martha Stewart Twitter account I found has a little blue check mark in the top-right corner; this indicates that the account has been verified.  So even if Martha is not doing the actual tweeting, there’s a good chance the recipes are actually hers. (more…)

  • Netiquette for The Boss While on Twitter, Facebook, and Other Social Networks

    Netiquette for The Boss While on Twitter, Facebook, and Other Social Networks

    Book of EtiquetteI was on LinkedIn yesterday and the LinkedIn search engine helpfully recommended a couple of people for me to add to my network.  The list included a couple of people who currently work at Matrix Group.  While it’s every CEO’s dream to have a large network, I did not invite the staff to get linked up.  Why?  Because I think that for bosses, managers,and CEOs, there are unwritten rules of netiquette. Here are some of the rules I abide by when using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks.

    • Except for a few direct reports, I don’t invite staff to be my friend or get linked up. I imagine that some staff would view an invitation from me as wanting to know too much about them; at the very least, it could be awkward if they don’t want to get linked up and they have to turn down a request from their boss.
    • I do accept invitations from staff to be my friend or get linked up. If they’re staff, they’re part of my extended family.
    • I don’t accept an invitation to get connected unless I actually know the person. Even on LinkedIn.  Random strangers are NOT going to get access to my network just because they want to link to me.
    • I do ask staff to follow this blog because I’m communicating with their clients through the blog and it’s always good for staff to know what the boss is broadcasting. 🙂
    • I do ask staff to follow or fan the company’s pages on the social networking platforms.  I’m not asking for them to friend me, but I am asking them to support our social networking efforts. (more…)
  • 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…)