Software & Systems
News: Online Marketer Sydney 2011 – Day 2 Photos: eMetrics
First look at some photo highlights from Day 2 of the Sydney Online Marketer conference, Wednesday April 13th – the first day of the eMetrics stream.
Advice: Critical thinking 101: identifying the real problem
Identifying ‘problem areas’ in your own business is probably quite easy: just ask where your staff are having problems, or find out where your customers are either making complaints, or dropping off the face of the earth.
The bad news is that while identifying ‘work areas’ is pretty easy, coming up with sensible solutions is usually the hard part: both because we very rarely identify the true source of the problem, nor do we absolutely set out to fix it – more often, a quick patch and a smooth over does the trick. Not good.
With a series of critical thinking questions, first mooted by no less than Socrates himself, somewhere prior to 400BC – I can at least help you define your problems with a little more clarity, and begin to rule in and rule out some simple solutions.
Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:
Advice: Two $100 products that will save your digital life.
I’m not sure if it’s the weather, the power, or the fact that I’ve worn through the metal on my metal-body laptop from using it for 12 hours a day for the last 3 years – but I recently had a fairly major hard drive failure – my first big one for well over a decade.
Did I panic? Of course. What’s not to panic about when 16 years of emails suddenly vanish, not toe mention the client files you were working on just the evening before.
The solution is to double-up your backup. Here’s how.
Advice: Viva le revolution – the future is here (just thought you might like to know)
Not sure if you’re aware of a minor revolution in the world of technology in recent years, but if you’ve ever experienced one of those devices that begins with an ‘i’, then you already know what I’m talking about.
With the advent of the iPhone some 2 years ago, and now with the introduction of the iPhone’s big brother, the iPad, earlier this year, there’s been a significant shift in the way we mere mortals use the internet.
Not only do you see the uptake/market saturation of these button-less devices (iPhones proudly displayed on coffee shop tables), or the ease of use/intuitive controls (young children taking to them like a duck to water!), but there’s now solid proof of the ramifications of their increased usage: new reports show that 1 in 10 searches on Google is now on a mobile device. iPods, iPhones and iPads are both the market leader and the thought leader.
Let’s look into this new revolution a little bit further…
Advice: What Happens When You Die?
Don’t panic – I’m not talking medical nor theological here – I’m talking purely about you and your business. If you were looking for the medical or theological aspects, try Wikipedia.org, Google, or even progressbaroflife.com.
The phrase ‘what happens if you die’ is one that I’ve heard a lot in my business. To date, I think every major client has asked me that question at some point in our partnerships. While it’s kinda nice that your clients are enquiring about your long-term health and your ability to cross the road without getting hit by a bus, they actually have a point – what would happen to their business if I dropped off the planet – and what would happen to *my* business, and my family, if I wasn’t around?
Lots of things to talk about, namely: chain of command; systems and processes; and the concepts of proprietary vs open source. Still here? Good. No-one’s getting any younger!
Advice: Psst… what’s the password?
Passwords, PIN numbers and security access codes – they seem like the bane of 21st century living. It’s so easy to forget which combination goes with which web site or with which credit card. Remembering passwords is almost a skill in itself. But with more and more of our lives going online, the first and foremost line of defence against unwanted intruders is the strength of our passwords.
Advice: Two screens are better than one
What used to be the height of luxury for computer professionals has now become an affordable and very real productivity boost for small businesses: adding a second monitor to your computer.
Folio: Hendrey Consulting
Hendrey Consulting came to ReBusiness late in 2008 in need of a business system – an automated assistant to keep track of their inbound, in-progress, and outbound property valuations.
Folio: Tinybeans.com logo
Working remotely with a client based in Sydney, the brief was to fully develop his business from his initial mockup, to a fully formed web application.
Advice: Crossing the digital divide: 5 steps to filing with style
The ‘digital divide’ is said to delineate ‘Generation X’ from ‘Generation Y’ – those who grew up with personal computers vs those who grew up before them. While the definitions of the range of ages of these two generations differs depending on who you talk to, I would suggest that it’s not so much age-based, but confidence-based.
That said, let me pose a few typical computer filing situations, and show you how to ‘file with style’ in the virtual world, and feel more confident with your own digital information.