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.

Engaging with customers not competitors?

I had a friend pose very interesting question yesterday: I have noticed my competitors following me and copying my social media activities (he was using Twitter, videos, blogs). What can I do to engage with my customers and prospects but not my competitors?

Here are my thoughts:

Interesting question, enough that it had me up last night thinking about it! Just last week we tried to follow one of our competitors on twitter and he blocked us! We actually felt kind of good about it since they are much larger than us so I presume he is seeing us as a threat:) So this is one option, don't let them follow you. Now of course they can still get to the information but it clearly says, "bug off dude..."

Another option is to use social media tools that are closed source. Basically a client/prospect portal/community. Depending on your customer's willingness to engage, you could create your own community rather than join the open community and hope to capture your customers there. If you can pull it off, the advantages are huge. You have control over the branded experience, you control all of the content (and I do not mean control as in force the user into what you want them to see.) I mean control who gets to see it, how they interact with it and the tools you give them to do so. Think of the technographics social ladder in the Groundswell. If your customers are creators, then add a bunch of contribution tools for them. If they are critics then create the content and give them the tools to react to it. The nice part about a 'private commiunity' is that you can simplify it by taking out the featuers that you do not need!! Ease of use = adoption.

Finally, it sounds to me like you already have your competitors beat! You are one step ahead of them, which is better than one step behind. Keep innovating and they will have a hard time catching up. 

JustAnswer.com - Ask A Question, Get An Expert Answer

Every now and then I come across an online service that gets me really excited. A month ago, it was Microsoft’s unveiling of their new SkyDrive service (providing free online data storage of up to 25 GB). Now, I’m writing about JustAnswer.com, an online service that connects inquiring laypeople with qualified “expert” respondents.

Here’s how it works:

1. You submit a question.
2. You select which “field” your question falls into from Taxes to Computers to even Pets!
3. You offer a deposit ranging from about $9 to $13. The higher your bid, the more attractive you’ve made your question. You only have to pay this amount if you are satisfied with the answer you receive.
4. Wait for an expert to reply.

Boasting over 20,000 experts, JustAnswer.com pretty much guarantees that they’ll be someone online 24/7 who can answer your question. The amount of your bid will likely determine how fast and thorough of an answer you receive.

While paying for answers isn’t for everyone, if you’re someone who needs an answer fast and just can’t seem to Google it for the life of you, JustAnswer.com may be exactly what you need.

If you’re interested, then go ahead of check out JustAnswer.com for yourself!

Trying To Find A Business (Or Just Any) Use For Twitter? [pt. 2]

Post by Guest Blogger Jason Lander of ShiftWise

In my post earlier this week I showed you how to set up a Twitter account. Now I’ll show you how it can benefit you as a hospital or staffing supplier in the healthcare staffing industry.

First, like all marketing efforts you have to think about your objective and strategy regarding how you will promote yourself or your company on Twitter. You need to also consider how you will provide some kind of value to the community.

Twitter is a social networking site that can certainly be used for business/marketing purposes. However, many people using Twitter aren’t on there for business reasons. Therefore, coming off as simply trying to promote your business without any strategy will ensure you’re treated like the guy at the party who won’t stop talking about himself.

Here are some goals/strategies you might want to consider:

• Build Brand Awareness
• Gain new customers
• Improve or expand upon your company image
• Monitor the activities of your competitors
• Measure customer satisfaction

Here are some suggested promotional ideas:

• Post linked items to articles on your website or other relevant sites
• Create surveys on how to better your business
• Share new job openings or opportunities
• Address customer complaints
• Offer discounts or rewards
• Show people how to use/benefit from your service
• Answer business related questions
• Promote company events
• Announce new product/service lines
  

Essentially, just because you heard about Twitter from your kids first doesn't mean that the fundamental rules of marketing don't apply. The most important thing to do is to listen to your followers and respond with content that is relevant, engaging and meets a need. If you do this correctly you will build relationships and gain followers. Ultimately this will result in the promotion of your business by not just you and your company, but also your followers! What better promotion is there?

The following video will show you how to get some business use (new leads, recruiting healthcare professionals, etc.) out of Twitter for your hosptial or staffing agency by making use of another application called TweetDeck. You can get similar functionality from other apps like Twhirl but I think Tweetdeck is the best.



Jason Lander is VP of Business Development for ShiftWise. For more of Jason's posts, you can visit his blog, the Staffing Robot.

4. Link the media

There are many ways to link together the web assets and leverage syndicated content. In this diagram we have connected the dots to communicate the content flow. We have also identified which assets can be updated using a mobile device. In some cases we specify the type of content being transfered. 

With this map in place, we have clear direction for technology implementation.

Trying to find a business (or just any) use for Twitter? [pt. 1]

Post by Guest Blogger Jason Lander of ShiftWise

I’m guessing you never thought you would use the word “tweet” when referring to any aspect of your business. But for many of us this word has become part of our everyday vocabulary.

For those of you that haven’t heard of Twitter (no it is not the cool new electronic toy your child wants for Christmas), it is a service that lets people communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages that are limited to 140 characters. You can post these messages directly on twitter or with a text message or mobile app through your cell phone.

Seems strange yes? I thought so at first too. It took me about 30 days to figure out Twitter but once I did it became an indispensable part of my life. It’s all about connecting to a community or group of friends and participating in order to ask questions, share information or advice, post news articles, self-promote, communicate your whereabouts or activities, or make new acquaintances.

Here is a good beginners guide to Twitter if you want to understand more.

I’ve been using Twitter for several months now but have been recently intrigued by the potential business opportunities for the healthcare staffing industry that exist with Twitter. Business opportunities with 140 character posts? Yes. Read on.

I created a Staffing Robot Twitter Page only a few short months ago and already I'm following 235 members and have 128 followers. Many of these people are participants in the healthcare staffing industry – hospitals, staffing suppliers, healthcare professionals, etc. By connecting with these people I’ve been able to get helpful industry information such as: learning about innovative hospitals, finding suppliers posting job openings for healthcare professionals and finding nurses frustrated with trying to find a job.

Sounding more interesting? I hope so.

So your next question might be how did I find all of these members on Twitter? The answer is I’m magic and not going to tell you. At least not until part 2 of this post so stay tuned. For now though, I will show you (in the video below) how to set up a Twitter account for your hospital, medical staffing agency or for yourself.

Jason Lander is VP of Business Development for ShiftWise. For more of Jason's posts, you can visit his blog, the Staffing Robot.

2. Understand the media & 3. Ideas on how to use it

1. CWD website: With the augmentation of the following tools, the website is a home for information on CWD. The primary updated sections are News, Portfolio and Evergreen resources (which I separated below)
   
2. CWD blog: This is a place to express our understanding of the industry, talk about what we learn from projects and share relevant technology with our customers. Common tags may be: Our Work, Evergreen, Industry news, Web Applications, Portland, Thought leadership, Developer Resources, and Random
   
3. CWD newsletter: We would like to grow 'opt in' subscriptions for the newsletter. This is a tool to deliver all content from CWD. The newsletter goes out once a quarter. 
   
4. CWD Evergreen support portal: This section of the CWD website is used by existing clients. We often add new tutorials, videos and links.
   
5. CWD clients: Most clients allow us to create a link from their website to ours. 
6. Twitter: The latest in social media buzz. It is a simple application which could be recreated if needed. The app  is very flexible with RSS. All tweets are public. Used almost more for business than personal. 
   
7. Facebook: Also highly popular as a social tool. Businesses use it for advertising more than communication. The benefit to this platform is the developer community and long list of modules. Most of the content is private. 
   
8. YouTube: I used the title YouTube, but this could be any video site really. Users can create channels and embed those videos onto a web page or facebook easily. YouTube has a built in Twitter and facebook link. 
   
9. Linkedin: Primarily a business tool used for networking. Typically profiles are person based and not company based. Some content is public. I am not sure about built in functions with other social sites, but I would presume that is coming. 
   
10. SAO (software association of oregon): A community social network, any user has the ability to post blogs, forums or add photos. 
    
11. Babson Alumni network: Same platform as SAO (ning.com)
12. OEN (oregon entrepreneurs network): Not on the ning platform but offers some similar features. Users can post blogs and discussions. Content is RSS enabled from the site. 
13. Google reader/Google calendar/ Google Profiles: G is the powerhouse. The Reader platform/iGoogle can be used to monitor a number of RSS feeds. Calendars can accept RSS feeds of ical format and then embedded onto a page. Permissions are a little tricky but not if it is 100% public. 
14. Del.ic.ous: Book marking tool that is RSS enabled delivering content. Bookmarks can be made easily with a web browser plug in and links on most news websites. 
15. Personal employee websites: Most companies, like ours, have over 505 of the staff with their own website. Flexibility is key, but things take longer to get implemented on these sites. Link creation is one of the better options if your employees are passionate about it. 

Other technologies to consider:

Feedburner for RSS tracking

1. Identify Media

Step one starts by writing down all of your media touch points. Once you get them all down on traditional page (this is an important step) digitize them:

1. CWD website
   
2. CWD blog
   
3. CWD newsletter
   
4. CWD Evergreen support portal
   
5. CWD clients
6. Twitter
   
7. Facebook
   
8. YouTube
   
9. Linkedin
   
10. SAO (software association of oregon)
    
11. Babson Alumni network
12. OEN (oregon entrepreneurs network)
13. Google reader/Google calendar/ Google Profiles
14. Del.ic.ous
15. Personal employee websites

Wow, that is a long list and we are much smaller than most of our clients!

Now on to the next step: Understand media. 

New (Social) Media Strategy

I am sure you have heard the saying, "The cobblers children have no shoes." Well the web development company has no social media strategy. We are always so busy doing it for clients. Well yesterday I went to a lecture on the New Media strategy for the Obama Campaign. It was amazing and inspiring. So I said YES WE CAN have a true strategy even while working our tails off for clients. To make this a learning process for all, I decided to blog about the process. 

Stay tuned for the following posts:

1. Identify media (see chicken scratch in the next post)
2. Understand the media/data
3. Develop ideas on how to use it
4. Link ideas to company strategy
5. Develop technology
6. Delivery content
7. Repeat step 6, over and over

Fritz's 7 minute steps to a new media strategy. 

Content is the Hard Part

Post by Guest Blogger Dawn Foster

Everyone seems to be jumping into blogging, Twitter, Facebook, online communities and other social media efforts. On the surface, this may seem like a technology issue, the real issue is around content. Most companies can start a blog or other social media engagements with few technology issues, but when it comes to creating compelling content that works within these new social communities, this is where companies and individuals tend to struggle.
Many corporate blogs, Twitter accounts, and other social media efforts are neglected, dull, and unimaginative while filled with press release content, marketing fluff, and outdated content. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Your content can be interesting and useful with a little focus and time devoted to it. Here are a few tips to help turn your boring corporate social media efforts into something successful.

Content Roadmap

Most companies should create and maintain some type of content roadmap. The content roadmap will usually map out the next 4 weeks of blog posts with an author identified for each post. This helps to ensure that the blog topics are strategically aligned with corporate goals, varied across topics and types of content, and frequent enough to keep the blog active. The person responsible for the blog can work with authors to help identify topics and then make sure that the author has access to everything needed to complete the post (data, technical assistance, etc.) I tend to focus on blog posts in the content roadmap, but you can also include other social media content in the roadmap to make sure that your Twitter account, Facebook page, online community, and more stay up to date and are not forgotten.

Spontaneous Posts

Now that you have a content roadmap, you should also diverge from it frequently to allow for serendipitous blogging and other posts on hot topics or new ideas that people are passionate enough about to want to talk about them immediately. Monitor popular blogs, news sources, and events in your industry and respond to what others are saying. Join the conversation without waiting for the topic to come up on the content roadmap.

Use the Language of the Medium

Social media is not the place to post marketing messages or use other corporate sounding language. Blogs, Twitter and other online communities are more conversational in nature with a focus on person to person interaction and two-way interactions where the company is part of the community. I have a set of social media and social networking best practices with more details on how to participate without embarrassing yourself or your company.

Thought Leadership

The best blogs and other posts have content that focuses on thought leadership. Talk about the things in your industry where your employees have expertise that can be shared with the world. Don’t just talk about your products; focus on your entire industry. Get people to discuss a variety of topics and new ideas. Don’t get stuck in a rut where all of your posts have essentially the same or similar content. You are not a thought leader if all of your posts are simply variations on a single idea. Chime in with your thoughts on a variety of topics across your industry.

Conversations

Always monitor and respond to comments. People get frustrated when they ask questions or provide feedback without any response or acknowledgment. Even worse are those companies that moderate every comment and delete anything that they do not agree with. Let people comment and disagree with your ideas. Some of the most interesting conversations happen in the comments of a blog post. You should also monitor what people are saying about you on other blogs, forums, Twitter, etc. and respond where appropriate.

Blogs are Fun

Have fun with your blog and other social media, and don’t be so serious all of the time. You can include interesting things that are happening within your company that aren’t necessarily work related (photos from a company ski trip). Admit it; you would rather read a post with great content and some humor mixed in, instead of something with great content that drones on and on like an old, boring college lecture. Make the content interesting and fun enough that people will look forward to reading your posts.

You can read more of Dawn Foster's blog posts or learn more about her consulting services by visiting Fast Wonder. http://fastwonderblog.com

Google Chrome v Internet Explorer: Pt. 5

This post will be the last in my five-part series on why Google Chrome beats Internet Explorer as an internet browser. If you've missed one or all of my previous posts in this series, feel free to catch up now:

1: Tabs
2: Amazing Address Bar
3: Screen Size
4: Reliability

The last feature of Google Chrome which I'll tout today is its speed. This may come as a shock to those of you who've never used anything but IE to browse the internet, check your email, etc, but chances are your browsing speed could be significantly improved just by switching internet browsers.

From the beginning, installation alone of IE7 can take upwards of 10 minutes depending on your connection and hardware. For me, Google Chrome has consistently installed itself in less than 3 minutes (and without requiring me to restart my computer!).

Loading new windows in Google Chrome is extremely snappy with its IE counterpart feeling sluggish and impeding. I'm guessing this has more to do with the difference of weight in each browser's chrome, but it could well be something a lot more technical. The same thing goes for loading new tabs--though to a lesser extent.

In addition to these big ones, there are many more subtle ways in which Google Chrome can speed up your online activities. Perhaps the most hyped has been its new JavaScript rendering engine, V8. According to Google, V8 enables its browser to interpret JavaScript code (an increasingly popular internet programming language) at extremely fast rates compared to the preexisting technologies currently employed by other leading internet browsers.

What does this mean for you? It means faster responsiveness when loading and interacting with JavaScript-based web applications like Gmail and Youtube.

See how Google Chrome can accelerate your online pace by trying it out for yourself. Enjoy.

Using a FREE Web App to Resize Your Images

Some of you may recall my last post on image resizing using Microsoft Paint. I thought it was an appropriate post both because a) you wouldn't imagine the number of requests we get from clients regarding instruction on how to resize their website images and b) Microsoft Paint comes preinstalled on all Windows-based machines. While the tutorial does accomplish the task of walking a user through the steps of resizing their images, it fails to accomodate Apple users and involves some approximating. Here's where Pixlr comes in.

Pixlr is an entirely web-based photo-editing application made freely available on the Pixlr website. With it, you can import photos from your hard drive, edit them in real time, and then save the new .jpg as if you had Adobe Photoshop or the likes installed on your local system.

Check out the video below, then bookmark the new tutorial on resizing images using Pixlr. If you're responsible for managing your company's online content, knowing how to accomplish this basic task will help you immensely!

Read the full tutorial on resizing images with Pixlr here.

Portland Gets a Bad Rap!

Cascade Web Development is a Portland, Oregon custom internet development company, and we are PROUD to say it! This week I was traveling to the East Coast to visit a few of our clients in Boston and New Hampshire. I walk into the office of Tyler Kipp, the head of Nordica online and he says "Hey Fritz, you have to see this. Guess what the #1 most depressing city in the U.S. is?" You guessed it, Portland, Oregon. He proceeds to give me hell because I always tell him how good life is on the West Coast and how miserable New Hampshire can be sometimes.

Well, I am writing this article to set the record straight, and show you how stupid the people are that write these things.

If you saw these two images (which they use in the article) what are the first things that come to mind?

The first one, might be something like this:
"Wow, you mean in Portland they actually designed the buildings to complement the exterior environment? Mt Hood looks like another tower in a modest skyline."

OR

"Wait, so I can leave my office and be 6,000 feet up on that mountain in 1 hour?"

The second one might be something like this:
"What is so depressing about a free jazz festival on a sunny day?"

Read the rest of this off-base article.

SkyDrive - 25 GB Free Online Storage

Microsoft recently unveiled the latest and greatest version of their online backup service, SkyDrive. The service allows users with Microsoft Live IDs access to 25 GB of free online storage. The idea seems to be two-fold: first, you could use your 25 GB for backing-up your files and documents to ensure that even if your house burns down, your data is safe. Or, you could use the service as a channel to securely share photos and other multimedia with friends.

Whether or not SkyDrive is going to succeed in the long run, 25 GB is a LOT of free space which will hopefully serve as a trendsetter in the expansion of free online storage services.

For more information or to sign up for 25 GB of free online storage, check out the Microsoft SkyDrive website.

Partnering with Frank to Build IFBikes.com

In the dynamic world of web development--or in the agency world for that matter--you always have to ask the questions, "Who is the client?" and "What do they want and need from this relationship?" On our recent launch for Independent Fabrication, the end customer was not really a CWD client. The client relationship belonged to Frank Creative, one of our creative partners. Frank Creative is a top-tier creative agency located in Portland, OR. The company has a long and successful history of creating brands that rock. You can read more about the company on the Frank Creative website.

In a lot of ways, working with a Partner in this business is like working with a Client.

• We need to educate both parties on our process, focusing on the relationship between solution requirements, timelines, and budget.
  
  
• We need to educate both parties on the strength's and limitations of our development platform, Evergreen.
  
  
• We need to work with both parties on setting clear expectations regarding how and when to use certain technologies to deliver the right mix of form and function.
  

There are also the challenges of designing for the web environment that includes browser and cross platform compatibility issues that aren't a consideration in the print realm.



But there are also some definite ways that the relationship with a Partner differs from working with a Client.

• Timelines are more complex since two parties are being held responsible for meeting deadlines rather than just one.
  
  
• Creative collaboration presents new challenges and opportunities, demanding a need for new types of workflow.
  
  
• Project management takes on a new form as one party (the agency partner) is essentially responsible for interfacing with the client and then translating their feedback into actionable language for the other party (Cascade Web Development in this case).

As a result of these differences in the team make-up and workflow, projects like the recent launch of Independent Fabrication serve to both strengthen our creative partner relationships as well as force us to tighten and refine our processes internally. Over time, these relationships have grown into very tight bonds that create predictable and reliable outcomes that end up benefitting the final solution and client. Combining our talents has lead to some major breakthroughs for Cascade Web Development and our partners. The IF website wasn't the first site we've partnered with a creative agency to build and it certainly won't be the last.

We hope you enjoy the new IF experience and you can look forward to more launches to come from us and our creative partners into the future.

Google Chrome v Internet Explorer: Pt. 4

Ever been surfing the web in Internet Explorer with multiple tabs or windows open when suddenly you’re face-to-face with the following error message? :

As if this interruption to your carefree browsing session weren’t enough, now every tab/window you were working in crashes before your eyes. Crafting a super long email? Better hope your email client backed it up for you. In the middle of an online purchase? Too bad, start over. The list goes on. Having a website malfunction is one thing, but why should that one website negatively impact your entire browser? It shouldn’t, and that’s why Google has employed the “sandbox” approach in Chrome.

In Internet Explorer, whether you’ve got 1 website open, or 11, they are all ultimately tied to the same central process. That means that if something goes wrong on one webpage, it can automatically affect all your other webpages. With sandboxes, Chrome gives each webpage its own process. That way, when something goes wrong, all you’ll have to deal with is the following error message.



Close that one tab and continue surfing. Because only that one process was affected, you won’t have to worry about losing any of your other sessions. Aren’t sandboxes great?

P.S. Try as I might, I was unable to make Google Chrome crash. I snapped the above photo based on the recommendations found on this page.

Download Google Chrome

See Related Posts > Pt. 1: Tabs, Pt. 2: Amazing Address Bar, Pt. 3: Screen Size

Google Chrome v Internet Explorer: Pt. 3

Screen size. It doesn't matter whether we're talking HDTVs or high-resolution computer monitors; everbody wants more screen size. Traversing the Internet is just one example where screen size matters. Whether we're working in a web-based app like GMail or Evergreen, the more we can see, the more we can do. So why then should we be complacent when a browser takes up unneeded space with its interface? Shouldn't a browser stick to what it was created to do--feed us the Internet as quickly and with as little obstructions as possible?

In an ironic twist on its name, Google Chrome sets out to do just that. By reducing the new browser's "chrome"--the graphical interface of the browser--Google has improved on an area where Microsoft Internet Explorer has historically lagged. Click on the image below to view 3 slides highlighting the impact of each browser's chrome on the screen.



If you're into numbers, here are the pixel dimensions of the viewable space within the chrome of each browser configuration on my machine.

	Width	Height	Area (px)
Internet Explorer 7	1440	875	1,260,000
Google Chrome w/ Bookmarks	1444	927	1,338,588
Google Chrome w/o Bookmarks	1444	955	1,379,020

Comparing the two extremes--IE7 default with Google Chrome sin Bookmarks menu*--reveals nearly a 10% difference! While this difference may vary depending on your screen size and resolution, it is certainly a reality and something hopefully you'll think about more the next time you're on the web.

Come back next week for reason #2 to switch to Google Chrome: Reliability.

* I'm including the version of Google Chrome without the Bookmark menu due to how close this configuration is to being a default. All it takes is the following keystroke to hide the Bookmark menu (Ctrl + B).  

Download Google Chrome

See Related Posts > Pt. 1: Tabs, Pt. 2: Amazing Address Bar

Google Chrome v Internet Explorer: Pt. 2

Another great feature of Google Chrome is the address bar. While internet browsers such as Firefox (and yes) even Internet Explorer have incorporated search functionality into their address bars, neither one has done so in such a streamlined way as Google Chrome. 

The GC address bar basically receives two kinds of entries: 1) traditional URLs and 2) search terms. Suppose I wanted to purchase a brand new HDTV from the electronics giant BestBuy. I could hotkey to the address bar (Ctrl + L) and simply start typing the term “bestbuy”. In real time, a list beneath the address bar would begin populating with suggestions according to the following parameters. 

1. your previously inputted search terms
   
2. the highest ranked URL in Google’s index which most closely matches your input
   
3. previous results of related Google searches
   
4. 2 related search term suggestions
   
5. webpages from your browsing history containing the term you’ve typed
   

So for our “bestbuy” example, the following clickable list would appear:

What GC’s address bar ultimately means for you is a more personalized and comprehensive approach to internet browsing. Try it for yourself and see how it stacks up against the competition!

More about the Google Chrome Address Bar

Download Google Chrome

Ever Attended a Webinar?

Michael here, with just a year of web industry experience under my belt, I recently attended my first Webinar. The presenter was CrossTech Partners and the topic was Business Strategies for Content Management, Part 1: Evaluating Web Content Management Solutions. As I mentioned, I had never attended a Webinar before and wasn't entirely sure what to expect. For those of you in the same boat, perhaps a brief summary of my experience may help you decide whether you'd be interested in attending your first as well.

After I had registered to attend, I received a few helpful reminder emails in the days immediately preceding the event. For some, this may have the same effect as SPAM, but on this occasion it helped me stay on track.

Once I had entered "the room", I was presented with two scenes. Off the left were the CrossTech presenters (TJ and Mark) and off the right was a large view of the slideshow they'd be taking us through. Once the Webinar began, the attendees were able to follow the slides and the presenters simultaneously exactly how you would in a traditional seminar.

On the day of the event, I received an email with a link to the Webinar. All I had to do was click it and my browser handled the rest. No software was needed to install, and the Adobe automated setup process took just seconds to complete--web-based applications performing at their finest.

The Webinar lasted about an hour and 10 minutes--a bit long for me, but included valuable information and was presented in a professional manner. Attendees had the ability to submit questions to the presenters through a chat box which were answered in real time during and immediately after the formal Webinar.

Some positive elements of my Webinar experience included: 

• the reception of informative and valuable information delivered through the internet to my computer 
• seamless boot of the web-based presentation software
• a format which encouraged productivity by permitting its attendees to multitask.
  

The one area where I felt the presenters came up short in was the lack of motion throughout all elements of their presentation. Both presenters sat behind a table, hands folded, remaining relatively motionless while the slideshow shambled along at a fairly slow clip. The most exciting part of the presentation was when they switched to a screencast of their propietary software (a way of accentuating the allure of their product perhaps?). By adding more activity to the screen, I believe the presenters could have held the attention of their audience much better.

All in all, I'm glad I took a chance on one of these "Webinars." It was an interesting way of receiving information pertinent to our industry and at the very least provided me with a sense of what to expect in the future.

Resizing Images in Microsoft Paint

Resizing images is a fairly standard task for web content managers. Reason being: most images come in a native resolution far too large for efficient display on the web. For that reason, I finally sat down to write a tutorial on how the Windows-based user can utilize the preinstalled Microsoft Paint to handle their image resizing needs.

Check out the full tutorial in the Evergreen Resources section of our website.

Google Chrome v Internet Explorer: Pt. 1

Internet Explorer (IE): if you're one of the millions of people out there owning a PC, chances are you've used IE at some point to browse the web, check your email, or stream viral video. For most of you, IE is all you've ever used. Perhaps you didn't know that you had options or maybe you just don't like change. Or maybe, Internet Explorer never gave you a reason to doubt (why fix what's not broken right?). Well, this article, and the posts that follow, all seek to inform you that a) you do have options when it comes to internet browsers and b) Google Chrome is one of them.

By now, you've probably heard of Chrome, the new internet browser by Google, Inc. But if internet statistics on browser market share can be trusted, chances are you haven't installed it yet. This will be the first in a series of posts describing the Top 5 reasons you should ditch Internet Explorer in favor of Google Chrome.

We'll start from the bottom and work our way up with #5, Tabs.

Sure, Internet Explorer has tabs (at least starting with Version 7) but they're slow to load and restricted to the window they were born from. In Chrome, tabs load snappy and you can freely manipulate their placement either within the same window, or entirely new windows, allowing you to reorganize your tasks on-the-fly and work (or play) the way YOU want to. Watch the video below to see what I mean, then check back next week for my #4 reason, the Amazing Address Bar.

Download Google Chrome

Durable Bags, from a Memorable Brand

Naked bicyclists, vintage Portsmouth, and tons of beer cans. What do these three things have in common? They are all themes of our most recent launch of the BaileyWorks e-commerce website!

BaileyWorks is a privately-owned handmade bag manufacturing company headquartered in New Hampshire. With a flair for the unique, the company has made a name for itself by promoting its rich culture and strong products.

After 15 years of successful business development offline, the company recently decided to focus on achieving similar success online. For BaileyWorks, that meant an entirely new website from the ground up.

To provide BaileyWorks with a scalable solution that would evolve to meet the changing demands of a growing business, we (Cascade Web Development, Inc.) built the foundations of their website on the Evergreen platform and customized its content management system to handle a number of specific business processes. From managing their product inventory and its dynamically-distributed display to overseeing shipping options and tracking orders, BaileyWorks now has the tools at its disposal to handle nearly all stages of the business cycle.

Blog  |  Videos  |  Community Videos

In addition to equipping the company with a custom-tailored solution to managing their e-commerce system, we also focused our efforts on leveraging the power of social media to enable BaileyWorks to play an active role in their online community. These efforts included the development of (screenshots) an embedded blog, the production of two online videos streaming through popular YouTube.com and Viddler.com, as well as the creation of a video-upload feature on their site for customers to share their own stories. BaileyWorks is now in a position to be as much a part of their community as they please without feeling constrained by technology.

In its first month alone the company experienced an increase in traffic of 3 times the historical average with over 3 times the number of bags sold compared to the previous month!

Cascade Web Development's support for BaileyWorks daily business process did not stop at the website. E-mail, document sharing, calendar, collaboration video and more is now possible with the set-up of Google Corporate. Cascade Web Development has been very excited about this new Google Apps service and BaileyWorks jumped right on board when we explained the benefits of the e-mail interface, collaboration features and custom API's.

Visit the Official Cascade Web Development Website
Visit the BaileyWorks E-Commerce Website