I was in a public setting the other day when I was reminded just how much I… and I realize this is going out on a limb given where I live… dislike Ohio State and their fans. (Please Note: This is meant to be satire, of course there is no actual dislike for OSU fans… OSU… well maybe.)
You see, “The” Ohio State University’s fans are – from an outsider’s perspective… obnoxious, arrogant, and a stranger to reality. Reality: you got off easy, quit whining. They look at the world through one perspective, and one perspective only. It is the attitude that makes “The” a point of emphasis when people refer to the school as The Ohio State University.
Prior to living in Ohio, I spent 13 years in Connecticut where… get this… women’s (and to a lesser degree men’s) college basketball was seen as be all, end all, most infallible, least questioned institution since Newt was asked his opinion on Reagonomics.
This is all strange for a native of Indiana, where you grow up in an environment where – gasp – there are two different sides of the coin. You either liked IU or Purdue… and every day you had to coexist with people who had different opinions than you did. You had to coexist, respect someone else’s opinion, and sometimes even (attempt to) have civil discourse.
I guess growing up in an environment where a “one size fits all” mentality when it comes to rooting interests is beneficial… and it has nothing to do with sports.
In business, in marketing… it is imperative that different voices be welcomed, fostered, and never… never see one solution or one person as “THE” anything. That’s why I always tell my employees that they must feel free to speak their mind. You never know where good ideas may come from – but I’m pretty sure new ideas will be stymied if anything is ever seen as “the” way.
Don’t be afraid to be challenged, it doesn’t mean the Buckeyes are any worse for it!
Happy Cyber Monday! For those of you who held off on the craziness that is Black Friday and are looking for gift ideas, we present our annual tech gift guide. As technology lovers, we’re big supporters of Cyber Monday as it is a day to drive online sales. So go online today and you might be surprised at some of the great deals you find and what you can get without camping out at Best Buy through Thanksgiving.
Greg Cordray
You can find some great deals on printers on Cyber Monday and leading up to the holidays. The HP LaserJet P2055dn CE459A Workgroup is reliable and versatile. Make sure to get the 2055dn as it gives you the option in the future to purchase the “High Yield” toner which gives you about 3 times the printing capacity at a 1/3 the cost. This printer has a nice size, 250-sheet paper tray and rarely, if ever jams. It is compatible for both the PC and Mac and is a great small business printer with an integrated Gigabit Ethernet networking port – or just be a hero with the family as this will easily meet all your home needs.
Doug (Jack) Adams
I was told that the Steve Jobs book and the 20th Anniversary Deluxe CD of U2’s Achtung Baby do not count as tech gadgets. Given that, I turned to my 14 year old for his number one wish list item. Like most boys (and man boys), Jack is a big fan of the Call of Duty Gam
es – and he has already logged many hours on the latest installment, Modern Warfare 3. While this game looks an awful lot like the previous installments to me – I have been told that this edition is a major upgrade! So for the gamer boy (or man boy) in your life, be sure to get them what I have been told is the perfect complement to enhance the playing experience – Turtle Beach’s Call of Duty: MW3 Ear Force Bravo Limited Edition Programmable Wireless Universal Gaming Headset.
Whew… that is a long name… and a bit of a steep price. But for the gamer in your life who plays online, this headset provides “ridiculous” sound quality to enhance your little warrior’s ability “hear everything’ to better shoot his friends (online). These wireless headphones come with a full supply of bonus MW3 content that let you enhance and personalize your game experience with fully customizable game audio and chat signals. The headphones can apparently let you hear enemy footsteps and every shell casing hit the floor. Nope… I don’t get it. When is the new Mario Brothers coming out?
Brian Fontanella
Another year, another TV on my wish list… I love my TV’s. This year, I am zeroing in on Sharp’s 80 inch TV – the AQUOS® LC-80LE632U 80″ Class – more than double the size of a 55 inch set. While the selection of TVs gets more and more complicated with the advent of 3D, Blu Ray, and High Definition audio – you can be sure to have a TV that fits your needs for years to come, minus the 3D glasses. With this TV as the centerpiece of your home theater experience, you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood with the largest LCD television available. As the pioneer of large screen LCD TVs, Sharp’s latest is a “smart TV,” delivering Netflix and other streaming video through its built in WiFi on its 1080p screen. The Sharp also appeals to the man boy side of me (yes, this is a shot at you Doug) as its Vyper Drive for gaming eliminates the ‘lag’ between game consoles and the TV display.
David Howard
I’m a big fan of a clothing line known as SCOTTEVEST. These clothes target the uber-geek, so it is of course entirely a coincidence that I like them.
I first heard about SCOTTEVEST from a blog called “No Baggage Challenge,” a fascinating set of posts and videos about a man who travels around the world for 6 weeks with no bags: as in no suitcases, backpacks or even a stick with a handkerchief. He did this by using SCOTTEVEST clothing and its numerous pockets. I have since purchased the SCOTTEVEST vest, jacket, Revolution jacket, a pair of pants, shorts, pullover, and zip up hoodie. Between them all I probably have 200 pockets! I recommend the SCOTTEVEST Tropical jacket for warm weather, and the Revolution Plus for colder weather. If you need something more casual for the weekend try the MicroFleece Pullover.
Your biggest problem will be remembering which of the 20+ pockets has your wallet!
Sean Yost
Like to entertain? The block rocker is an affordable way to have a sound system with you anywhere. If you’ve thought about investing in an outdoor audio system – try the block rocker for a fraction of the cost. And it is not useless for the half of the year we call winter. I had a party this summer and was playing music outside for about 15 hours. It does not need to be plugged in – as it comes with a rechargeable battery that outlasted the battery life of an IPad and two IPhones! The block rocker is a fully portable music system that puts out great sound quality at a volume that will carry through your backyard. If you need a system in your backyard, your basement, or your garage… all you need is one block rocker. The block rocker is fully compatible with any device (iPhone, iPod, MP3 player… Zune) and comes with a microphone so you can have an your own karaoke contest… although I’m not sure I’d advise that.
Brandon Conrad 
For a young guy, I’m a little old school. I love my blackberry and am happy to see the release of the Blackberry Bold 9900. While the browser on the Blackberry has traditionally been challenging, this new phone will run the BlackBerry 7 OS (launching in the summer), promising faster and better browsing through a new JIT (just in time) JavaScript compiler, includes support for HTML5 Video, voice-activated search and a content management feature known as BlackBerry Balance, which separates personal and work content. The Blackberry is a phone that excels at what a business needs it to do. Mail, Calendar, Email, SMS. It may not be the best screen for playing angry birds, but for me and my work needs – it’s my go to device.
Brice Milla
While noise cancelling headphones are great for travelling, they’re also a great solution to help you focus on the task with music in the background. With all the project work – and studying for Microsoft certifications – taking up my time, it is great to have a nice pair of headphones as opposed to ear buds available. This year I’ll be asking for the Beats Studio Hi-Def Headphones. These nose cancelling over-ear headphones feature a fantastic level of audio accuracy and clarity. Combining extra-large speaker drivers and a high-power digital amplifier, Beats provides what has been described as “an unprecedented combination of super deep bass, smooth undistorted highs, and crystal clear vocals never heard before from headphones.” Well I don’t know about all that – but I do know from what I’ve heard, they sound great to me!
Dan Ragan
So if the iPad2 is the Cadillac of the tablet world, the new Kindle Fire may be the Buick. Solid, reliable, has appeal… but still missing a lot of bells and whistles, the sizzle of the iPad. While not a great business tablet with a clunky email interface and no calendar app, the hot new e-reader is sure to be a popular gift this year as, at $199, it is a fraction of the price of the basic iPad 2. The smaller (7 inch) screen makes the Kindle Fire lighter and easier to transport than the iPad… but of course, a smaller screen also has downside.
Still, building on the popularity of the Kindle e-book readers and its aggressive price point, this may be seen as a great “intro” tablet or just a better, faster version of the book reader.
I did get a chance to play with one at BestBuy. Its integration with Amazon’s storefront is really slick. It is a hassle free way to read the latest books or magazines in color, plus you get added features the other Kindles’ didn’t have such as watching video, listening to music, checking email, browsing the web, saving books or music to Amazon’s cloud, even playing some games.
Its hardware is solid, it has a 1GHz processor dual-core processor, an IPS display (which is the same type of display the iPad uses), integrated Wi-Fi, USB, 8GB internal storage.
Is the Kindle Fire for me? I think I prefer the iPad – but I do have a few people on my list who this is perfect for!
Mike Riemenschneider
Looking into getting a Bluetooth headset, there are lots of great reviews for the Motorola ELITE SLIVER Bluetooth Headset. It is described as extremely slick and extremely comfortable – users claim they forget using it at all. It comes in a case to help keep me from losing it and features HD Audio Plus with true wideband audio and CrystalTalk dual-mic technology. The MotoSpeak app works great with this as you can dictate texts hands-free and even listen to my text messages. The ELITE SILVER provides 15 hours of talk time and lets you listen to music from your phone.
Justin James
It’s always great to have an external hard drive for backup and aditional storage. One that I have found that is really great is Seagate’s FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 4TB External USB 3.0/2.0 Hard Drive. The drive features a ton of storage – 4 Terabytes, probably more than you will ever need, and comes at a good price! Use the fast transfer speed options to store the equivalent of 1000 dvds or over 100 Blu-Ray movies on this drive. You could even store over 400,000 high quality photos or over a million songs.
In 2011, and soon to be 2012, it is all of our jobs to take a step back and ask – how do I reach my customers? Where do we find our audience? The days of trade magazines being the key to unlocking B2B opportunities has clearly passed. So… today, where can we find buyers?
eMarketer provides us some insights with some numbers that I thought low (only 3 out of 4 watching HD TV and less than 1 out of 3 going to a social networking site) and some numbers, as a marketer, I’m thrilled to see are higher than I expected. The implications of many of these could be key to how your business raptures sales in 2012, let’s take a look at just a few…
Smartphones and Tablets
Is your website smartphone and tablet ready? With 70 percent and 40 percent accessing content from a smartphone and tablet respectively, the time is now to make sure your website works for these devices. Your only chance to capture market share may depend on a visit to your site on an iPhone… how do you like your chances?
Online Video
Nearly half of executives are watching video on a website. While Google is making videos a key to driving traffic to a site, ranking sites with videos much higher than those without, an online video may not only be the best way to get someone to your site – but the best way to make sales. Videos can help make your message much more compelling. Capturing an audience for 1-5 minutes is like getting a five minute uninterrupted pitch. But don’t go it halfway with a video – just pointing and shooting will not create an effective sales tool – and can actually do more harm than good by making your operation look amateur. Invest in professional video shooting and editing – you’ll be quick to find a payback.
Blogs
We’ve espoused the benefits of blogs just from the pragmatic, content creation and search engine optimization benefits – but the number of blog readers is growing rapidly. In single digits in 2010, the number of executives reading blogs on a regular basis is now at 22%. Whether your target audience reads your blogs or not, they separate you from your competitors by demonstrating thought leadership and creating a trust relationship. By providing advice, insights, and (sometimes) opinions, your organization can develop deeper relationships faster.
So as you plan to reach your target audience in 2012, take a minute to ask – where is my audience… and when they are there, am I capitalizing on the opportunity to impress?
I had a client ask me if he could provide a mobile phone to his employee without any tax implications. I froze for a moment because it has been a long time since I have even thought about it. Having a mobile phone and using it from the time we wake up to the time we go to bed is standard in a lot of workplace environments. It is often standard-issue… here is your work space, your computer, and your smartphone… be available 24/7!
As the IRS is prone to do, they are constantly reviewing the taxability of potential fringe benefits. That being said, I told my client I would do my research, freshen up on the rules and get back to him.
So here is what I found…
Generally speaking, employer provided mobile phones are not a taxable benefit. Some new IRS rules for taxation of business and personal use of employer provided mobile phones are effective retroactive to January 1st, 2010. The service must be provided for “noncompensatory business reasons.” In other words, if you are providing a phone to someone to be available 24/7, with no additional compensation, this is not a taxable benefit.
Or, using the IRS’ (longer) definition, they define “noncompensatory business reasons” as those that have a substantial business-related reason including, but not limited to:
- The need to contact the employee at all times for work related emergencies
- A requirement that an employee be available to speak with clients/customers when the employee is away from the office; and
- The need to speak with clients/customers located in other time zones at times outside of the employee’s normal work day
If an employer requires an employee to maintain and use personal cell phones for business purposes and reimburses them at a reasonable rate to cover their base monthly cell phone charges, the reimbursements are also tax free. Tax free treatment does not apply to the reimbursement of unusual or excess expenses or for payments that are substitute for regular wages.
The IRS also points out some reasons that do not qualify as substantial business-related reasons. These include, but are not limited to:
- Promoting employee morale or good will
- Attracting prospective employees; or
- Giving additional compensation to an employee
Bottom line, the IRS understands that a lot of business is done over mobile phones, including during non-traditional work hours. Businesses all need to pay attention to the taxability and non-taxability rules of mobile phone benefits. It is my experience that more times than not, the “noncompensatory business reasons” can be met and therefore, keep cell phones provided for employees as a non-taxable benefit.
Organizations generate lots of data – data that needs to be protected in reliable media, secured from unauthorized use, and backed up. And of course all of this data, especially historical data such as sales history, contracts, emails, etc. is essential to make decisions pertinent to the future of the organization. More and more organizations turn to a Document Management System (DMS) to store them, providing data organization to ensure easy access and an easy-to find format that also assists with version control and tracks changes, as well as that were applied, while at the same time enforcing retention rules that dictate what must and must not be kept. This forms a repository to ensure data is both secure and can be located easily.
It’s this background that makes it especially interesting to learn that search giant Google was tripped up by a search engine on documents in their own possession. Click to see PC World’s detailed article on the incident.
But the short version is this – Google is being sued by Oracle for use of a programming technology called Java in their Android phone and tablet operating system. Most lawsuits have a discovery period, in which each litigant turns over all documents pertinent to the case, but can exclude any client-attorney privileged documents. For example, original blueprints of an alleged copycat product must be turned over, but a letter between an attorney for the litigant and the engineer which discusses the blueprints is protected and can be held back from disclosure.
In order to facilitate discovery assembly, legal analysts use tools similar to the Google search engine, which allows them to collect information from across the organization’s systems using keywords like “Java” while at the same time excluding documents with phrases like “attorney work product.” In this case Google was caught by a draft email stored on the server; one of 9 drafts before the final. This particular version stated that Google should license the Java technology from Oracle. But because it was an early draft, it did not include the key phrase “attorney work product,” and was released to Oracle’s attorneys. It may change the case completely.
This illustrates the key point – you need to know what you keep and what you should not keep, and how it is encoded. Document Management Systems can help with this, by setting up and enforcing retention or coding rules, they can automatically add a tag, or delete documents over a certain age.
This Google mess is a cautionary tale… will we learn from it? If you would like an opportunity to discuss how you can put the right systems and polices in place, feel free to drop me an email or place your feedback below.
eMarketer reports this week that the corporate website is second only to referrals in terms of lead generation for B2B firms. Yet more than 4 out of 5 (84%) said that their website was not performing to their expectations in terms of generating leads. And not just leads, but quality leads.
Well, what do we expect? As B2B organizations, we typically take our website for granted. We build it, make updates every once in a while… maybe when Bob quits or Jane joins the company we update it, or maybe even throw up a press release.
What do you WANT your website to be? If it is simply a brochure on the Internet, then you can leave it alone, wait for your sales reps to point people to the site… and cross your fingers that it supports your efforts.
OR you can look at a website as what it should be – a lead generation engine. This takes time and investment. The type of time that I am taking to write this blog for example. Writing blogs, creating content is the number one way to drive traffic to your site. And not just traffic – qualified leads. Individuals who are searching on the topic that you are writing about. 
In this case, Keystone Marketing Communications builds websites, and ensures their high performance and ROI over time by regularly “ghost” blogging for our clients – creating thought leadership and more importantly, incoming leads. A website should be delivering sales opportunities. If yours isn’t, you have work to do. And I get it – no one wants more work… but we want and NEED sales. You work at getting sales… right?
This requires offering compelling, free content in the form of blogs, white papers, and e-newsletters – and sometimes requiring registration for access.
If you’re interested in learning more about how your website can drive sales, please drop me an email and I’ll share more with you about how Keystone can turn a small investment into big business.
IBM has used the motto “Think” based on Thomas J. Watson’s (IBM founder), statement “Thought has been the father of every advance since time began.”
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the mid-90s, Apple used a different motto: “Think Different,” a challenge to view Apple as another choice, and almost opposite path.
I have not been on that path for most of its timeline. I have always been a “PC” user in the IBM/Microsoft camp with an indifference towards Apple. I first played with an Apple II in the late 1970s, and then a my my brother-in-law’s Macintosh in 1984, but never really spent any time with another Apple product until 2010 when I bought a MacBook Pro. Even from a distance over all of those years, I heartily acknowledge that Steve Jobs’ view of technology affected the systems I used in a very profound way. With that in mind, let me review a few of the innovations he provided from which a “PC guy” like myself benefited.
The Apple and Apple II: In the 1970s only corporations and super-geeks had access to computers, with virtually all computing power being owned by corporations, beyond the reach of the individual. The wooden Apple II provided a small, powerful device with a keyboard and monitor, on which the user could type and see an immediate response on the screen. Suddenly gone were lights, switches, paper tape or punch cards. In its place was a a small, accessible, responsive device that was approachable by the masses. Jobs later spoke of the Apple II saying “My dream for the Apple II was to sell the first real packed computer.”
The Graphical User Interface, or GUI: The Macintosh made an easy-to-use, mouse driven interface available to the world, ultimately driving Microsoft’s Windows product line to be much of what it is today used almost universally.
The iPhone: The touch based interface was a giant leap forward in how a small mobile device could be used, and drove the interface of Android and others. Perhaps even more defining, “apps” and the App Store launched a new way to think about how information is accessed, and how software is marketed and sold.
The iPad: My real reason to finally start using Apple products in 2010 was the introduction of the iPad. This product has created an entire industry, and spawned the term “Post PC era.” In many respects it reinvents what the Apple II first created in 1977.
iTunes Store: Jobs got an industry stuck in plastic CDs to allow a legitimate business to sell tunes by the song. Now we all enjoy electronic delivery of many products.
There is more. The iMac showed that PCs do not have to be beige boxes, the MacBook Air unleashed light and powerful laptops, and the Apple stores, one of the most profitable retail enterprises per square foot in the world, just to name a few.
My use of Apple products has only been in the last 20 months. But Jobs changed things all along for me. I may have been on an alternative path, but Steve’s vision affected it. My respect to Steve for all he did, and I type this on a Macbook Pro using Pages as an homage. And now reports have surfaced that he left plans for new products to cover the next 4 years; I am excited to see what that will bring!
Working in a tech support role, one of the most recurring issues I come across are malware attacks. Viruses, Trojans, Spyware, etc. are all types of malware designed to attack your PC and cause everyone a headache and downtime. At best, malware merely hurts your computer’s performance… at worst; it is a gateway for identity theft and data loss.
One recent piece of malware (the Aldi Bot) attacks computers in a myriad of ways, including:
- Creating a network of bots called a netbot which all work together to perform the hacker’s bidding.
- Carrying out DDoS (distributed denial-of-service attack) attacks. The Sony network was infamously brought down for weeks this past summer with a DDoS attack.
- Using the victim’s PC as a proxy, which allows the hacker to surf the web through your computer carrying out illegal activities under your identity.
- Stealing saved passwords in the victim’s web browser (including passwords for e-commerce and financial sites).
- Remote execution of files on the victim’s PC, to allow the hacker full control of your computer and launch attacks from your PC.
One common question I receive regarding malware is pretty straightforward… why would someone take the time to make such software to do these things? Although there are many answers to this – from the love of chaos to finding a way to profit, it is clear that malware is expanding… and here to stay.
Much of malware comes in the form of a “bot,” a small piece of software that automatically installs and attacks your machine. They are distributed a variety of ways, including via email, websites, or a download. The unwitting user opens the bot by clicking a link or visiting a site and it installs itself on your PC – most times without the user’s knowledge.
There are many ways you might receive ‘invitations’ to become infected, these include:
Email. If you receive an email from a friend or family member which seems uncharacteristic of them or is a chain email which contains an attachment or web-link inside; do not open the attachment or blindly click the link. A good general rule of thumb is to never click a web-link embedded in the body of an email.
Fake Anti-Virus Warnings. If you are surfing the web and a window pops up claiming your PC is infected with viruses and to click the pop up to correct, do not click the pop up. Clicking on the pop up warning will only install the malware on your computer.
Since malware is so easily distributed, the onslaught will only increase. The best steps to avoid becoming a victim is to make sure you have up-to-date antivirus software and use caution when you surf the Internet, open emails, and download files. Next time you receive a fishy email, think twice about clicking the link inside, chances are you did not win the lottery in South Africa anyway. Let us know if you need help with antivirus software in your environment.
I am seeing fewer and fewer companies relying on the good ole’ fashioned budget process in their businesses today. Most say they don’t have the time or that their financial data is not accurate or timely enough to manage a budget. Well… that’s not good. This actually illustrates a larger concern and could be a sign of weaknesses in accounting processes or a lack of financial knowledge by management.
Regardless of the reasons a business may have for NOT having a budget in place, management needs to step back from the day-to-day business to set up a budget and routine process immediately.
Companies need to evaluate budget-to-actual results on a regular basis (monthly is preferred). Reviewing these reports allow us to stay in control of our businesses by constantly measuring “what should be” versus “what is.” This process reveals problems before the company is blindsided by unforeseen transactions. Budgets also help companies improve their money management. When adhering to a regular budget process, management is “forced” to review financial results on a regular basis increasing the financial intelligence of management which leads to better, more sound financial decisions. Budget conversations force management into thinking and planning for the future – a healthy place for leadership to be.
Consider the following points when instituting and following a company budget:
- Most accounting programs today have budgeting tools built in. If that does not work for a business there are always traditional spreadsheets that can be effectively used (this could add work and potential human error).
- Budgeting periods can be set for what works best in your business…traditionally, budgets are prepared on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis (or a combination of these).
- When setting an Annual Budget, start planning 3 months before the current year end. For a Monthly Budget, plan 1 to 2 weeks ahead.
- Be realistic and authentic when setting the budget figures. Using historical and prior period data will help. Be prepared to have access to the details of account totals to identify one time transactions large enough to throw off a future budget figure.
Final thoughts… when we put a budget into existence, it is now out of our head and into a structure that will produce results. This structure leads management to be accountable and responsible for the numbers in the budget giving management control over the businesses financial success.
My favorite daily marketing e-newsletter… the eMarketer Daily recently (full disclosure, eMarketer as a client does not hurt their “favorite”status) published findings that reveal just how important it is to include social media plugins on your news and blog items.
A little more than half of websites are using a share button (see the bottom of this blog for an example), up only slightly from 2010.
So who cares, no one uses those Facebook, Twitter, Google+ buttons anyways… right? Wrong.
eMarketer reports that a study analyzing more than 4 million tweets, noting how often a site with a tweet button was mentioned on Twitter. On average, a website without a Twitter share button was mentioned four times, while a site with a tweet button was mentioned 27 times. Including a Twitter plugin button increased mentions on Twitter almost sevenfold.
So make sure you put the “share” button on your blog for increased traffic! Don’t have a blog? Drop me an email and let’s talk about how blogs are the most effective, affordable method for Search Engine Optimization available.
