How To Track PDF Downloads in Google Analytics

Google Analytics is an excellent tool for tracking all types of site visitor interaction. But two common questions we receive from clients interested in tracking their site's activity include:

I) Why doesn't Google Analytics track PDF* downloads on my site?
II) How can I make Google Analytics track PDF* downloads on my site?

Read on to find the answers to both of these questions.

I) Why doesn't Google Analytics track PDF downloads on my site?

Google Analytics updates it's data every time a page on your site loads its tracking code. If a page on your site does not contain the Google Analytics tracking code, that page is essentially invisible to Google Analytics. Because the PDFs that you are linking to do not contain Google Analytics tracking code installed on them, they are invisible to Google Analytics. (This is the same reason why links hosted on your site and pointing to other websites are not tracked, since the landing page of the other websites do not contain your Google Analytics tracking code.)

II) How can I make Google Analytics track PDF downloads on my site?

Fortunately for us, Google Analytics has created a work-around for tracking activity to destinations (URLs or documents) that do not contain your tracking code. Essentially, it is a means of faking or "simulating" a page load at the link click level (rather than the page load level). In this way, you can tell Google Analytics to update its data whenever your tagged link is clicked, regardless of whether or not the destination contains tracking code or even loads in full. You can accomplish this by performing the following:

Once you've created a link to your PDF, you'll need to edit the Source Code (HTML). To do this using the Evergreen CMS, you'll need to click the [<>] button located within the second row of the WYSIWYG ribbon menu. Locate the line of code that denotes your hyperlink.

eg.
<a href="http://www.mydomain.com/assets/documents/my-document.pdf">Download Here</a>

You'll simply want to edit this link to match the following format:

eg.
<a href="http://www.mydomain.com/assets/documents/my-document.pdf" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/downloads/document-name'); ">Download Here</a>

Apart from the URL pointing to your PDF (in this example: http://www.mydomain.com/assets/documents/my-document.pdf) the only other part to this code which will change with each link you tag is the actual name you assign to the link (eg. /downloads/document-name). For example, you could name it /downloads/Calendar-2010.doc or simply Registration Dates. This part of the code is entirely up to you, just know that whatever you choose to name it will dictate how it shows up in your Google Analytics reports.

We hope this guide was helpful in not only giving you the tools to track your site's PDF downloads, but also in providing you with some of the logic behind it.

* The PDF filetype is used in this article simply because of its popularity among our clients, however this guide applies to ANY filetype that can be linked to on a website and downloaded by a visitor (eg. .doc, .xls, .zip, etc.)

3 Technical Tips for Web Design

Designing for the web can be tricky. Unlike print media, where your only design constraint is the size of the canvas you're working on, the web requires that whatever you design align with the constraints of the technology powering that environment. That means that if you are to achieve a design that is both scalable and compliant, pay attention to the following 3 technical tips.

#1) Employ Vertical Scalability

First, ask yourself this: "Will this website be subject to edits post-launch?" If your answer is Yes, you'll want to pay particular attention to vertical scalability.

Unlike print, where your final deliverable is often fixed in dimensions and/or size, the web demands flexibility in both. When designing a template for the web, be sure to include a vertical "coupler"--a horizontal chunk spanning the width of the design that is conducive to replication down the page. This coupler is how a design made for a website 768px high can scale to a webpage needing 1000px of height. If you're still unsure whether or not your design is vertically scalable, ask yourself these questions: "What will happen to my design if the client doubles the amount of content on the page? Will that break my template as I have designed it?" If your answer is Yes, then you have not designed a scalable website and you'll likely be hearing back from the client with complaints--and rightly so.

Design your website in such a way that content can be added or removed without compromising its structure or requiring continuous support from the designer.

#2) Appreciate HTML (Use Web-Friendly Fonts)

If you do NOT use web-friendly fonts in your design, you're setting the client up for disappointment and yourself up for failure . Here's why: unless you plan on having your entire website developed as a series of giant, static, images (NOT RECOMMENDED), HTML text will need to be used to recreate the copy you designed in your original mockup. The benefits of using HTML text are too numerous to count, but a few of the big ones include:

• Search Engine Friendliness - search engines, the middleman between your site and an online audience of millions, cannot read text that is presented as an image. Therefore, if you expect engines like Google, Yahoo! or Bing to index your Novelty T-Shirt site for relevant terms, you had better ensure that you have offered them text talking about "novelty t-shirts" in a format they can understand (HTML).
  
  
• Scalability - If the site you've designed is going to undergo change and updating post-launch, having copy represented in HTML will ensure the easiest and most efficient means of doing so. Whenever textual elements of your design are represented as images (instead of using HTML and web-friendly fonts) you have set the requirement that if the client needs to alter this text in any way, he/she must first contact you to do so. If this is how you want the client/designer relationship to be, then you are in a fine position. Otherwise, empower your clients by making them rely as little as possible on design aptitude when managing their site.

A comprehensive list of web-friendly fonts can be found here: http://www.ampsoft.net/webdesign-l/WindowsMacFonts.html. Use these whenever possible.

#3) Specify Copy Styles

When designing a website, it is important to exercise consistency. Visitors to your site want to consume information in as easy and efficient a means as possible, and that means introducing an intuitive set of rules for presenting your content and then adhering to them.

To keep things simple and straightforward, imagine you only have 5 ways of presenting copy throughout the site. Those 5 ways include:

1. Titles (Header 1)
2. Section Titles (Header 2)
3. Subsection Titles (Header 3)
4. Standard body copy (Paragraph)
5. Hyperlinks

An example of a site which has done an excellent job of creating a predictable user-experience in regards to copy styles is Wikipedia. Consider the following example of Henry VIII's Wikipedia entry.

At the top of the page, "Henry VIII of England" is presented in the largest of fonts (Header 1).



If you scan past the intro and Table of Contents, you'll notice the first Section Title ("Early years: 1491-1509) which is presented in a slightly smaller font (Header 2), but still larger than the Standard body copy (Paragraph). Scanning even further down, you'll notice the Subsection title of "Death of Arthur" which is presented in even smaller copy still, but this time it's been emboldened (Header 3).



Lastly, everywhere on the page hyperlinks are denoted in blue, with an underline added upon hover.

Granted, Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia and isn't the most exciting of examples, but the concept of utilizing consistency for an enjoyable user experience is a sound one and whether its plain-Jane information you're serving up like Wikipedia or the latest designer shoes, visitors will respond best to consistency and predictability.

Social Media: Outdoor Product Companies Building Online Communities

Outdoor product companies are flooding the web to take part in social media in hopes of building online communities to build their brand, engage their customers and create new levels of brand loyalty. Unless you have been out on the trail or high in the hills for the last several years, this is old news. With the help of Twitter, Facebook and/or blogs, you have seen this take hold and evolve over in recent years. Below are some striking examples of how this medium is turning into a game changer for companies selling products to get people from behind their computers and into the great outdoors... ironic as that sounds.

- IF Bikes did a major site overhaul last year in an effort to better serve its customers and position itself as a clear leader in the custom bike world. So far, they have been successful in this effort. Their blog site that has garnered significant attention, as well. Just under half the number of total visitors to the main site visit the blog each month to learn more about the build process, see new bike pics and hear about where IF is showing up to promote their brand the cycling community. Most impressive.

- Tecnica and Blizzard are two well known international ski brands. They combined forces to create TecBlizzBuzz.com this fall. The blog was launched in early October the number of visitors has increased 25% in month two. This is off to a strong start as they create this new platform to communicate with their customers and dealers.

- While Cascade Web Development is not an outdoor product company, we too have put more attention to our social media efforts. As a reward, our blog traffic has increased 40% in recent months. We are finding that more like minded people and organizations are following us on twitter and facebook. And the most exciting result of all is the increased number of inbound inquiries for web solutions. Hard to argue with the merit of those results.

The rate of evolution in the social media realm is often mind numbing, but with results like these, its hard to argue the value of these efforts. We're all learning valuable lessons with each new post and review of analytics. One truth is that customers like to participate in the conversation. Its now up to brands to create and lead that charge. Stay tuned as the experiment continues...

Here's why Portland inspires innovation

I am headed to PDX last night with my mother in law to pick up my nephew. We pull into short term parking and there is this little sign that says "follow the green light." First, there is a little digital board above your head as you drive under the all to close concrete beams. The sign has a green number for the number of open spots in that row. Yes seriously. Then you keep driving and there are these little green and red lights above each spot. Clearly, green light means the spot is open; Red means, well get the point already I presume.

Simple, not in your face and fun to interact with. We strive for the same thing when designing our applications, but I humbuly admit that we probably don't get it this simple and this easy very often.

Cutting Edge Cycling Manufacturer - Cutting Edge Web Presence

I recently visited Serotta Competition Cycles (if you don't know about Serotta, they make handmade, custom-fit bicycle frames using titanium, steel, and carbon fiber) at their Saratoga Springs, NY Headquarters to kick off the strategy phase our web development effort to provide a more dynamic web experience for current and potential customers and for dealers.

First Impressions - I've never met a more passionate team dedicated to providing its customers with the most technically advanced cycles for road and track through the use of cutting edge production technology, fitting methodologies, and materials.

The visit only added to our excitement about this project, which we are hoping to launch in the January/February timeframe.

Each member of the Serotta team that I met with has a vested interest in the project...

Amy Roxin (VP of Operations) - How can we use this technology to showcase our cycles, develop a community for customers and communicate better with dealers?

Paraic McGlynn (Director of Applied Cycling Science) - How can we convey our message that the very best of materials, technology, and fitting go into making a superior cycle?

Jared Porter (Production Manager) - How can we keep dealers informed of where the bike is in the manufacturing process?

The following pictures were taken during my Factory Tour:

Every frame build starts with a fitting using Serotta's Size Cycle



My Tour Guide Jared with customer bikes returned from accidents for repair



Frame during the build process



Frames being prepared for paint



Final polish



Customer frames ready for shipment

From Good to Great with Live Video

How does your agency stack up against Ogilvy, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and AKQA?

"Good" agencies move into the ranks of "Great" with ideas, smart risk and execution. Great clients help too, but that is a chicken and egg discussion.

I believe Live Video presents a unique platform for new ideas. Clearly I am not the only one (ADWEEK article "Marketers Get Real"). The best agencies and brands in the world are experimenting with live video. Diet Coke interviewed actor Ed Norton. Burger King broadcasted Tony Stewart taking a lie detector test professing his love for the burger. Nordica got 'face time' with 130 retailers, 3,500 miles appart in one hour. (A CWD project)

I think we are onto something here, the right mix of a great idea, risk and execution.

The idea: Create a live video platform that is dead simple to use, high in quality and scalable. Video itself is the ideal communication tool; if a picture tells a 1,000 words, a video explains a million. Surround the video with core brand messaging. Then incorporate a chat function that allows hundreds of viewers to communicate in a way that makes them feel connected.

The risk: Cost must be considered in today's world. We solved that, starting at $5,000 even smaller brands can dip their toe in the water. Time is also valuable. What does it take to produce a live video? Well not nothing, but if you KISS it the product will probably be better and it will take less time. Basic lighting and audio needs to be tested but all things can be overcome. Monetize it. If the goal is large audience communication, there is a risk that people will not show up or find value in it. I think that risk is just about gone, video is the hottest thing on the web right now.

The execution: It is all about having the right people or knowing the right people to be able to execute. At face value this stuff looks simple, but there are very real technological hurdles you need to get over. If you want to mitigate some of the risk find the right partner that has proven the execution.

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Where I am coming from:
Cascade Web Development is a Portland and Boston custom web development firm. We support advertising agencies across the US. We have developed a module for live video communication called Brand.Live on our platform Evergreen, a content and data management system.

Transparency + Efficiency Through Web Applications

A common challenge among companies is increasing information flow while decreasing the 'noise' that gets in the way of that flow. Typically, companies are tracking information needed for effective process management. That said, many times that information is not easily accessible by many interested parties. Part of this is by design, but ultimately knowledge is power.

This lack of access to information can result in huge volumes of phone calls, emails, faxes and unnecessary data entry. The goal of this blog is to share some ways we've seen companies use web applications to increase transparency and communication. Here are some examples of challenges we've overcome on behalf of our clients.

• A long time food/restaurant industry client has over 1,000 franchises around N. America. Each week, they receive sales information on volume/units used. This used to require a manual process of phone calls to each franchisee by a corporate staff member that filled out a paper form. That form was faxed to corporate headquarters where it was then manually entered into a computer program. CWD made the input form available online so each franchisee could fill out sales data each week a d submit it directly to the database that previously took multiple steps. This freed up the corporate staffers' need to be involved in the process. It also reduced the data integrity concerns of having data entered twice by corporate staff. This was a powerful upgrade, no question.

• A footwear and apparel client of CWD was experiencing challenges with communicating quality control issues between international retailers, distributors, corporate and manufacturing in China. There was a imperfect method of reporting these issues and lots of potential for reactions that did not fit the challenge. By taking this detailed process on line, the information flow and response to quality issues has become much more efficient for all parties involved.

• A custom bike builder client keeps close watch on where each bike is in the build process using an internal spreadsheet detailing progress. This information is critical to running a smooth and efficient business for them. Their customers (bike shop retailers) also want this information so they can report to their eager customers about bikes on order. We are working to make this (currently) internal information available through a secure dealer area on their site. By simply making existing data available to a broader group, the level of service offered by the bike builder will dramatically increase.

In all these cases, there were significant shifts in who/what does the work, while also increasing transparency.

• This can cause discomfort because sometimes we don't want certain players to have all the information on a situation. It can be embarrassing when things do not go as planned. (Though we can manage who sees what based upon user profile settings.)
• Also, some members of the team may fear that their value to the process is being replaced by technology. A shift like this definitely cuts both ways.

At the end of the day, efficiency and accountability are both increased. In today's fast paced work environment, these are all positive.

e-commerce software: Pro's and Con's

<Return to www.cascadewebdev.com>

When evaluating e-commerce software the options are endless. Paypal to Shop-a-tron; Amazon to Volusion, Custom to Evergreen? Recently we traveled down a few different paths and this is what we learned:

Volusion:

• Pro: Endless off the shelf solutions (live chat, inventory, affiliate programs, refer a friend, ect.)
• Con: VERY limiting on design. Even a custom template is miss-leading because it is far from the custom I know. 

Evergreen:

• Pro: Customized look and feel; configurable to any business process.
• Con: Middle range upfront cost and longer development timeline when compared to turnkey. 

Paypal/Google Checkout:

• Pro: VERY easy to implement and integrate; brand familiarity for users checking out.
• Con: Their brand must live along side your brand.

Shop-a-tron:

• Pro: Provides manufacturers with a clean way to manage their retailer channel and capture direct sales.
• Con: Time consuming to implement and pricing is based on % of sales. 

Check a few screen shots from the various applications:

<Return to www.cascadewebdev.com>

CWD client promo on 60Minutes

It would be great to say Cascade Web Development was on 60 Minutes, but we can't. The next best thing? One of our clients gets a little promo from the media giant. Last night on 60 Minutes, JT Holmes, a premier athlete with Nordica was interviewed for his INSANE human flying adventures. There is simply nothing that does this justice other than video.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Visitors loving the new Portland Office!

Gillian Kennedy and Ben McKinley

Online training Tools from Oakley

It is great when you come across like minded people putting together great work. OAKLEY of course is great company!

I heard from a friend that Oakley has launched a online training website called O Matter. Like all great sports product companies, Oakley has a technology story to tell, after all, a pair of shades is not just a pair of shades when it has an O on the side.

What I really like about this site is the pure business sense something like this makes. The site has a few core functions:

1. Train store employees and industry influencers on how the tell the Oakley technology story. 
2. Provide a complete O branded experience
3. This site uses technology to save time and money. In store training is VERY expensive and face time is harder and harder to come by.
   
4. It is customizable. Users can change their DASHBOARD page to align with their interest in sports categories. This is not an easy task, dashboards in general mean big $'s to implement. Way to go Oakley.
   

Of course you have to be invited to this site so I can not give the URL but here is a screen shot.

To learn more about online training tools for the sports industry, check out a project Cascade Web Development did for Nordica USA. 

The new office is coming along!

We are going to paint a few evergreen trees on the right side of the door today. Should add a little bit of depth. 

How to Use Bookmarks and Anchors On Your Webpage

Have you ever been on a website, clicked on a link, and instead of being taken to a new page, were zoomed down to another line or paragraph on the same page? This type of link is called a bookmark and should not be confused with Bookmarks in the sense that browsers have come to use the term to describe websites you "save" in a Favorites list. These bookmark links provide website owners with an easy way to present a lot of related content on one long page while still making specific sections of that content immediately accessible to site visitors. Today I'm going to walk users of the Evergreen Content Management System through how to implement bookmarks on their pages when it makes sense to do so.

1. Create a Table of Contents
Before you can link anything to anywhere, you'll need to create the link text. Be sure to place this TOC near the top of the page for immediate user accessibility. Formatting is entirely up to you. See below for an example of how I did it:



2. Add Content
Once you've created your TOC, you'll now need to add the content it will ultimately link to. Most of the time, you'll have an FAQ document lying around in a Word doc that you'll simply need to copy and paste into your Evergreen WYSIWYG. Don't forget to use the Paste from Word tool to avoid formatting headaches! ()

Once the content has been added, you're ready for the next step: Adding Anchors

3. Adding Anchors
So you've created your TOC and added in all of your content. Now you need a way to tell the browser how far down the page it should go when your TOC items have been clicked. Here's where anchors come in.

First, find the line of content that you plan on linking your first TOC item to. Click your cursor just to the left of the first word in that line so its actively blinking within the WYSIWYG.

Next, click the scary trident-looking icon () in the WYSIWYG ribbon menu. This will load a popup window where you will need to write the name of this new location. Note: you cannot use spaces when naming anchors, so be sure to separate words in your anchor name with hyphens or underscores.



Once you've decided on an appropriate name, click "Insert" to save it. Now repeat this process for the rest of your anchors. When finished, you can move onto the final step: Linking to Your Anchors

4. Linking to Your Anchors
Now, return to your TOC and highlight the first entry. Next, click the "Link" icon (). You may be already quite familiar with this tool as it is also used to create hyperlinks to other sites and other pages on your own site. Today, we'll expand its use to include bookmark links.

Click the bubble labeled "Bookmark", then select the appropriate anchor you created for this entry. Once selected, click "Insert", "Apply", and "Ok". You've just created your first bookmark from start to finish! Now repeat this process for the rest of your TOC entries. Once you're done, your TOC and associated page content should look and function (something) like this.

CWD Is Moving!

Painting the new office on wheels. Want to help? Come on down; free hosting for 6 months if you show up. Right behind OMSI on Water Ave!

Interbike 2010 - The bike world descends upon Vegas

Interbike 2010 is underway in Las Vegas this week. I headed down to support some of our clients and reach out to partners and prospects. It was as fun (for a bike enthusiast like myself) as it was productive.

As a first year attendee, I heard that things had been toned down compared to past years, but there was still much excitement at this well attended industry show. Many top athletes were there promoting their sponsors including George Hincapie, Christian Vandevelde, and Dave Zabriskie. Every segment of the industry was represented and many CWD clients were there to show off their wares for this coming year.

KEEN Footwear was attending their second Interbike as an exhibitor. KEEN's bike footwear and messenger bag offerings continue to expand with much excitement surrounding them. Kalkhoff launched there new site yesterday, just in time for the show. Their lineup of e-bikes was most impressive. Look to hear more from them as they establish themselves in the Portland area.

"I'm on a boat" - T-Pain

By Fritz Brumder

Well T-pain was not with me, but I did drive my boat to work yesterday. My first stop was the PDX fire dock. I walked 3 blocks to meet with Becky Engel from Grady Brittan.  Next stop was the OMSI dock, next to the sub. It is only a 4 block walk to the Cascade Web Development world HQ on SE 11th and Division. 

Who does this?

So how many people (men) do you think can convince their new bride to take a honeymoon in Chile skiing rather than the beaches of Tahiti. Probably only someone who works for Cascade Web Development aka Mark Boisvert. We live and breath the sport, work, life culture. Who would not want to work here?

Photo taken @ Valle el Arpa - 11,500 ft with Mt. Aconcagua in the background standing @ 22,841 ft

Extranet: Arming The Workforce With Remotely Accessible Tools

By Ben McKinley

At CWD, it can be a real challenge to focus and promote our efforts in any one industry or category. While we've seen exciting growth with outdoor product companies, law firms, and construction companies; we serve and welcome clients from industries far and wide.

One area we have seen clear segmentation is in the people with whom we work. When it comes to delivering innovative, cool sites that create a unique brand experience, we are usually working with marketing minds. Whether working with an agency partner or client, the focus is on creating a positive and powerful experience for customers and prospects. Although, unless there are clear conversions like ecommerce sales, a direct ROI can be challenging to measure. Therefore, during tough times like now, we are seeing smaller budgets and bigger expectations.

Another significant focus of our business is with Extranets (AKA Intranets) where the focus is less on design and more on usability, operational efficiencies and return on investment. In these cases, we find ourselves working with IT and Operations minds. A colleague suggested that if you're not reducing costs and/or easing pain for a company, new sales are a real challenge, these days. Given this logic, it comes as no surprise that client interest in Extranets has remained strong, even during the worst of times.

Our relationships with clients needing help automating their processes and allowing for more efficient remote collaboration seem to breed strong, long standing relationships. These clients are truly partnering with us to evolve their businesses over time. The users of these solutions generally include employees, dealers, reps, and suppliers.

Extranets (what is an Extranet?) require significant initial research and strategy work in order to understand our clients current approach to business. We then work to arrive at new, innovative ways to move those processes from local networks/desktops to the web. We also find ourselves integrating a number of separate online tools that are currently in use. Among all the benefits of this new solution, there will also be a significant cultural shift in the organization. We include this topic early on to ensure post-launch success.

The initial solution rarely touches all sides of the business, but rather focuses on improving one or several pain points experienced by the company. The Evergreen platform's flexibility allows for long term evolution. I would contend that an Extranet is never truly 'done' and that ongoing budgets should be established as needs shift and evolve over time.

If we do our job well, the client becomes more efficient by leveraging technology. This allows them to reallocate their staff resources, accelerate training and see real savings in their bottom line. When all of those priorities align, it becomes a no-brainer to continue investment in the Extranet.

CWD takes a unique approach to intranets that is flexible and scales well as needs evolve. There are a number of solutions out there to assist companies in automating their processes and backing up data, while keeping security a main focus. Please contact us to explore further.

How To Embed a YouTube Video on Your Site

Content is King. Ahh, the age-old adage about what matters on the web. But does content just have to be words? Of course not! Spice up your web pages with video to make a lasting impression on your site's visitors.

This tutorial will guide you through the steps you'll need to embed a YouTube video on your website using the Evergreen Content Management System.

1. Find the Video

You'll need to locate the video you'd like to feature on your website, whether it's one you've uploaded yourself to YouTube or one from a stranger. Don't worry about stepping on anyone's toes here, if users don't want their video to be featured on other's websites, they will have disabled this feature when they uploaded it to YouTube. To disallow others from embedding videos that you've uploaded, follow these simple steps from Google.

2. Find the Embed Code

Now you'll need to find the embed code that will allow you to host this video on your site. Unless the uploader has disabled this feature, you'll find it below the video description off to the top-right.



Highlight all the code in this field. If you miss some, your video will not work on your site. You can also customize your player using the options below it. Just make sure to copy the final version of the embed code once you're finished choosing your options.

3. Embed the Video

Now that you've copied the embed code to your clipboard, you'll want to paste it onto your webpage through the Evergreen Content Management System. For now, create a brand new page. This way you won't have to worry about where within the HTML you'll need to paste your embed code.

After you've assigned this page all of its required properties, return to the WYSIWYG and click the HTML button (). Drop your cursor somewhere in this box and click Ctrl+V to paste your embed code. It should look something like this:



Finally, click Apply > Ok and Save your new page. Open the page in your browser and voila! Your video should be right there waiting to be enjoyed by the masses!

Embedding your video on a page with preexisting content can be a little more tricky only because you'll need to establish a general sense of where the code will need to be pasted in relation to the rest of the HTML. Play around, and make good use of the Undo button. Before long you should be fairly comfortable with at least navigating through the HTML of your page.

Good luck and have fun putting the social web to work for you!

The Virtual Organization

Guest Blogger: John Stone

Flexible, dynamic, and mobile, organizations are no longer constrained by traditional barriers of place and time. Business leaders are looking at virtual organizational structures to address critical resource, personnel and logistical issues.  This session will examine the ways that technology is helping business leaders implement optimal models to gain competitive advantage.

Considering the Opportunity:

There are real opportunities to both retain great employees who need a more flexible working model that delivers work-life balance, lower costs and better remote working models. With changing demographics and an increasingly global workforce, virtualization is no longer an option, it is a critical need.  However, we have all seen it – organizations adopt virtual working models and hoteling models and see productivity fall. Often, management is unable to organize virtual teams effectively and workers can’t collaborate and coordinate with colleagues. The result can be a drop in productivity and a lack of product and customer innovation.

At the same time, changing demographics and an increasingly global workforce suggest that succeeding in deploying a virtual organization model is no longer an option. For key segments of the workforce, global virtual working is the norm and must be delivered with the right technology and business systems.  Companies can successfully adopt flexible working models to reduce the real-estate footprint, retain great employees, increase employee satisfaction and productivity while contributing to a more green economy.

The value of a virtual organization is particularly strong for knowledge workers and those workforce segments that are working with global distributed teams and are on the road with clients and customers.  R&D teams and developers can benefit from follow-the-sun strategies for continuous development and delivery. Obviously, it is far more challenging for production workers or call center staff to work in a virtual organization.  Today’s broadband networks, telephony and computing capabilities to offer a secure collaborative environment for virtual workers.  The results can be lower costs of occupancy, a happier workforce, and a green environment.

A wish list of the technology enablers for a virtual organization (please add to this list!):

Core Office

• I am not ready to give up traditional desktop office applications like MS Office PowerPoint and Word applications but I will also use emerging cloud models like Google Documents
• Advanced Calendaring and synchronization (MS Exchange for the enterprise,  Google Calendar is getting better, but it can still be difficult interacting outside our firewall)

Communications

• VOIP – I use Skype to communicate with a team in Portugal and Kiev… great!
• The perfect PDA – I use an iPhone, but enjoyed my blackberry before. Why can’t iPhone work well with Exchange calendaring? It is a fun media toy, but not yet a powerful tool for virtual working
• eMail – ‘nough said
• Electronic scheduling across networks – including people and resources of all types
• Synchronization of my calendar (e.g. Google Calendar Sync) and someday my contacts with LinkedIN? Plaxo?  (not really there yet)
• Presence and interoperable collaborative secure chat (Which chat service is everyone on? How do I connect?)

Collaboration

• Knowldege Management and Expertise Location – we have had this for a while, but collaborative systems and communities are improving and we can now begin to get access to valuable information – if tagged and stored in the right shared spaces!
•  Videoconferencing ( I use a free service, but everyone needs to dial a toll number – not too bad)
• Virtual Whiteboards and collaborative workspaces (Everything from Google Docs to the Groove Application MS Live)
•  Adobe Connect vs Webex  (these are getting better all the time, but can still be a bit awkward to use)

Broadband and Infrastructure

• I am always in search of speed and the coffee shops are still behind the times
• Secured Shared File Storage – We need trusted identity solutions that will help ensure authentication and protect our critical assets. What about those really big files?
• Auditing technology – how can we ensure remote workers are using their collaboration tools appropriately without being a big brother?
• Organizations need continuous operations and better service management using ITIL standards – this is particularly important for un-tethered workers engaging in critical business activities.

This article was written by John Stone from  www.revenuearchitects.com. Feel free to contact John or Cascade Web Development for more details. 

Twitter Basics

Social Media can be a mysterious and intimidating space for many of us. These thoughts are intended for the user that is new to, or contemplating, more activity with Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter 'tweets' and Facebook 'status updates' have the highest potential to fall flat, in my opinion. What do my virtual fellow-travelers and followers really care to hear? After watching Twouble with Twitters, I felt even less inclined to hop in the game and start sharing... This vid is hilarious, but points to the many pitfalls of twitter use (or abuse, depending on how you look at it).

I am relatively new to the twitter game. I have had an account for a couple months now. The first thing I did when I set up my account was to sit back and ask, now what? What does the twittersphere care about? Then, an SEO collegue broke it down for me... when it comes to the social network, consider this progression:

1) Listen

2) Participate

3) Lead

After seeing the light with this simple 3 step program, I searched around twitter for interesting people and organizations to 'follow'. I observed what they shared. What was valuable? What was annoying? I took lots of mental notes.

More and more, I have started throwing some tweets/updates out there (in fact with TweetDeck, I can make one comment and have it syndicate to twitter and facebook! More to come on useful tools surrounding the social media world in coming posts.). I then observe some more. What garnered responses? Were they desirable? Some things I learned...

• Its easy to recommend a good restaurant, painter, mechanic or brewpub. If you have a good experience, throw it out there.
• The flip side is true as well. If you are in need of a good resource or tip, ask your followers. As your list of followers grows, its amazing what responses will come back.
• Take a stand. Share your thoughts on current events. Let your people know position on issues.
• Pictures. They say a 1,000 words.

Some suggestions on what not to share...

• Don't tell people you are out of town. Its a great way to make yourself a victim of a home break-in. And if that sounds like useless paranoia, another reason not to promote your time away from home is that it reminds the rest of us that we are not on vacation.
• Avoid commenting on only yourself. Its a big world out there.

In time, you'll likely find a topic or general approach that seems to work well for you. Depending on whether your twitter account is personal or business/non-profit/subject-matter specific, the topic may be focused or broad.

The key is variety of content and steady contributions. Social networking is about participation... You must give and not just take.

CWD commentary on strategic partnerships

This post discusses a strategic alliance between an advertising agency and a software/web development company. The web development company is very technology focused. Their strategy is based on a high level of service, customization and quality development. The advertising agency’s focus is on brand strategy and design. Their strategy is based on high design differentiation and specialized service within an ‘agency’ of service providers. The following value chain diagram represents the responsibility of each partner in the industry. Gray = advertising agency; Blue = Web Development company.

Pluses

Minuses

- Both companies use each other as referral sources. Resulting in more predictable sales projections. - Access to capability that either company could not maintain on their own without larger volume. - Co marketing programs - Augmented product/service offering- Additional value in service delivery if partnership is evolved. Results in increased profit margin. - One company might extend special terms to help the other, for example extend A/R days. It gives you another partnership to allow you to stay afloat, but only works when the two have opposite needs.

- Risk of losing the customer to the other company. - Constraints that you would not have if you operated on your own. - The cost of servicing a customer goes up in some cases. - Unpredictable when the lines are blurry between the value delivery stages - Value Chain: In some cases the client values steps of the process different. Therefore, establishing $ value when you are breaking up each part of the delivery process can be tricky. -  Life Cycle: The development company is at the end of the project process so if the project is late, they are forced into tight production time lines with little control.

The challenges here are easily overcome with clear communication and quality relationships. The necessity of these relationships is undeniable in a dynamic world such as the web. A "website" can mean a million things from a brochure ware site to a complex application. 

Read our account of a recent project launch with an agency partner. 

Don't Get Trumped By A Baby!

CWD added a new baby to the family last month. So what is the best gift a web development company can give a baby? A BABY BLOG! It started as something fun and easy to post photos for family, but I quickly realized that the blog was a hot trend in the world of new moms and dads. A lot of the blogs I started seeing have some rather innovative features (for a new born):

• Mobile device updating using iphone, blackberry, ect.
• Embedded video
• Dynamic video
• Ability to subscribe/follow the blog
• RSS feed of new posts
• Some rather cool design for a baby

What does this mean for your company? Well the first question is do you even have a blog? If not, you should tuck your tail and close up shop because you just got out innovated by a new born. If you have a blog, how are you using it? How often do you update it? Baby blogs get updated 2-3 times per week! Do you have some of the features listed above?

Blogging for your company is a communication tool, just like it is for a new born baby. So get started today, time is wasting.

Some screen shots from baby blogs:

What is a CWD Module?

A CWD module is more or less a custom-developed plugin which installs directly into our Evergreen Content Management System. Its purpose is to simplify otherwise complex website processes. Here, let's start small with a relatively straightforward example.

Consider the case of the Cascade Web Development site and how News articles are added. Before the existence of a News Module, our process would involve the following:

• Write news article
• Manually move all traces of the previous news article to an archive page
• Insert new news article title and short description onto our home page
• Create a new page just for the new news article body to live
• Link the home page title and short description to the new news page we just created
• Do it all again next week

A News Module takes this lengthy process and virtually automates it for you. All you have to do is drop the content in a few simple fields and click Save. The rest is handled by the module.



The beauty of modules is that they can be applied to almost every conceivable web operation. Here are just a few examples:

• Managing an online ecommerce catalog of products
• Posting News and Events articles
• Dynamically editing Flash-driven graphic content
• And everything else ...

Still have questions about how modules can help you streamline your web management? Give us a call. We'll help you see the light!

Glen/Mar Construction Launches New Site

Hats off to another CWD client who just launched the latest version of their company website, www.glenmarconstruction.com ! Glen / Mar Construction is a SDVOSB General Construction firm providing Design/Build, Property Development, Extensive Renovations, and Construction Engineering capabilities.

The goal behind this project was to design and develop a website that was easy to navigate and presented information in a clear, straightforward manner. Check it out at GlenMarConstruction.com!

CWD partner launches new brand

CWD design and branding partner formerly known as SPDzine is now FICTION! As usual, they set and exceeded the bar for developing a concept, designing and implementing an amazing experience. Check out a few photos from their new space or visit their website (www.thinkfiction.com) which is run on the Evergreen Content Management platform. 

FICTION is a Portland Oregon agency that tells brand stories. They are located on the first floor of the Ford Building on SE 11th ave. 

Web Design/Development - How We Use Wireframes

A lot of the clients we work with have never seen a wireframe before or maybe they have, but its been in an entirely different context than how we use wireframes at Cascade Web Development.

For us, wireframes serve as the visual blueprint for the initial design. Our standard wireframe will be presented in grayscale, with minimal design work. The goal here is to establish the placement of key elements on the page rather than those elements’ final presentation.

Here is an example of the initial wireframe we designed for Michigan Primary Care Association. The layout was based on conversations had with the MPCA team prior to its drafting.



Two days later we hopped on the phone and went over their likes and dislikes, things they wanted tweaked, etc. We had a few of these types of back-and-forths in the ensuing week and half, ultimately resulting in the following final wireframe:



Once we had delivered a wireframe that all parties were excited about, we passed the wireframe and corresponding Creative Request document on to our creative design team. A week later, here’s what resulted:



Two rounds of revisions later, here’s the final design!



Page through the slideshow below to see how the MPCA design evolved from conception.