SoKy Local Business or "SoKybiz"

This is exceptionally interesting to me! I've liked the evolution of MSN spaces and we all know I love Microsoft, and now with my recent status as a MS Partner, I'm thinking this will be very exciting to work on. I knew the big boys were coming after MySpace, but this looks incredibly exciting.

I may start a whole new section on this Windows Live development... very interesting indeed!

Windows Live Spaces is coming!

Hey Spaces fans,

 

Windows Live Spaces is arriving soon! Not only will your Space adopt the cool new Windows Live look & feel, but you will also be able to add new and exciting functionality to your space.  With the addition of the Friends Module, you can create a place to hang out with your friends. 

 

The Friends Explorer, which will be integrated with and accessible through Windows Live Messenger, will enable you and your friends to explore others and create new friendships.

 

You’ll notice some changes we’ve made to the header, including the replacement of the current text ad links with banner ads across the top.  Of course, as always, if you prefer to see no ads at all in your space, remember you always have the option to switch them off as a subscriber. 

 

In addition, your title and tagline will no longer be limited to the Spaces header.  Instead, you can choose to display the title and tagline of your space as a module and have it appear wherever you want it to in your space.  Removing the title from the header means you have more freedom and control over things like your space title and navigation to stuff in your space. Instead of always being stuck at the top, you can place them wherever you want.

 

The introduction of breadcrumbing and an optional new navigation module will enable you and your visitors to easily navigate through your space.

 

We are also going to offer many new ways to express yourself and customize your space.    You’ll be able to add mini-applications called Windows Live Gadgets developed by the community for the community.   Can’t find headlines, games, or other gadgets that reflect YOUR personality?   Build your own gadget or bribe a techie friend to do it for you!

 

Of course with all this great stuff, we also have to make some changes to our URL structure.  As Greg Phipps blogged about last month, your URL will be changing one final time with the switchover to Windows Live Spaces.  Don’t worry though, we are working hard to make this as seamless as possible for you and the visitors to your space.

 

Here’s a glimpse of what the new Windows Live Spaces will look like:

 

 

* Note text & UI  may change.

 

 

Thanks for making Spaces your home. We’re working hard to get this created for you and we hope you’re as excited as we are!

As always, we look forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks,
The Spaces Team

This was posted by SoKy : 5:12 AM  0 comments links to this post

Technical note: I'm still experimenting with the daily news cover which comes from www.newseum.org. It would appear that at some point in the night, the prior day's image is removed from their server as they wait for the new one to be sent. Once I confirm this, I will write a script that will solve the broken image problem

What I would like to do is store the image on this site, then check for the new one. Once the new one is there, it will replace the current one. While I'm at it, I might as well change the caption to reflect it is yesterday's front page until the new one for today is posted.

I love these little programming challenges.

This was posted by SoKy : 8:20 AM  0 comments links to this post

How to Track Ad Results
By Roy Williams
3 strategies for determining if you're spending your advertising dollars wisely.

You can't always track the effectiveness of your advertising dollars. No matter how powerful and persuasive your ad, most of the people you're paying to reach won't currently need what you're selling. But if your ad makes a deep enough impression on them, they'll remember you when they need you later.

With that said, keep in mind that I didn't say ad results can never be tracked. When you want to hold your ad dollars accountable, there are basically three ad-tracking strategies to choose from:

Complete Article >>

This was posted by SoKy : 6:14 AM  0 comments links to this post

In a little more than a week, on July 4th 2006, I will be revealing my "secret project." I've talked to a few people about it but for the most part kept it to myself. Well, the time has come to reveal SoKy.net.

Many people assumed that SoKy.net was the name of my web development company, and well, it is. My vision however goes far beyond simple website creation, hosting, marketing and managing, it's much more.

If you've read my articles over the years you'll know that I am a strong advocate of community involvement. I'm a loyal member of my community and try to promote events and businesses within my local area. SoKy.net is going to be all about community! It will be the place to learn about the local area, find out what's going on, make buying decisions with local area businesses and more.

Okay, I talk too much.

I may fall off the blog radar for the next 10 days while I finish some internal functions and routines. July 4th will be the kick off however we seek to release new features and modules each week thereafter. So get ready my southern Kentucky friends... here comes SoKy.net.

This was posted by SoKy : 2:11 AM  0 comments links to this post

The two advertisements were from Dow Chemical and Liberty Mutual. Dow's Human Element commercial and Liberty Mutual's "do something nice" commercial (my title). More below.

I keep the news on in my office all day mostly to fill the air with noise but also to keep up with the headlines. I have a keen interest in advertising which can be somewhat distracting at times. I watch advertisements all day long to formulate opinions, make critical observations and as a consumer, make purchasing decisions. To have two touchy feely commercial reach me is quite odd, but they did.

Dow Chemical commercial can be seen (Windows Media Direct) or go to the DowTv website. Outstanding commercial highlighting the "Human Element" of life. I really liked it and for a 60 second commercial, the video is feature movie quality for style and perspective.

Liberty Mutual Group, according to the Boston Herald, "the campaign will carry the "Responsibility: What's Your Policy?" The commercial plays off a pay-it-forward theme by showing people witnessing little acts of kindness and perpetuating the politeness." Having invested "more than $38 million." I don't have a link to the video, but you can read the article at the Boston Herald website.

How does this affect small business in Bowling Green and/or south central KY? It could direct our thoughts to the kinds of ads that do get attention, it could indicate that the huge companies that can afford the mony to invest in market research are finding that the American public is responding to a kinder and gentler message. It could inspire us to highlight the good stuff we do for our community OR, inspire us to start doing some good stuff for our community.

These ads may not fill the formula of affective television advertising, but then how often does something different get your attention? These two ads rose to the top today after soaking in hours and hours of ads, the caused me to think, to consider, and then to write here on Soky.Biz.

This was posted by SoKy : 6:00 AM  0 comments links to this post

Tuesday 20 Jun, 2006 6:30 am

Well things are starting to pick up for my web development company. As most of you know, I've put SoKy.net on the back burner for several reasons but mostly to concentrate of "other interests." Between existing clients and working to help other people's businesses, my own has been woefully neglected. With the news of the loss of a key revenue source just last week, I've rekindled the fires at SoKy.net and it is beginning to heat up.

I've got a good bit of work to do today so I will keep this brief.

Since last Wednesday, I've had a several new website inquiries, one major association reopen negotiations and received the data I've been wanting for 1.5 years. To make it better, I've deployed one site and have another ready to go this week as well as two key meetings that could result in hundreds of new website clients. I worked on the data for three days straight and was able to take it from a mashup of unformatted strings in an Excel spreadsheet to a SQL database with lookup tables and added GIS information.

My point? Sometimes you have put things in the blender to make a perfect Margarita. While it's not the most comfortable way to get motivated, it sure does work.

For Father's Day I received a framed print from Carrie and the boys. It is what I was thinking but they had no idea I had just written a blog entry at Soky.biz about getting a sail for my vessel so I'm not pushed around by the currents. I thought it profound.

C  H  A  L  L  E  N  G  E
To achieve the impossible, we must attempt the impossible.

I've accepted the challenge and will share the voyage with you. My 15 minutes of blogging is done. (grin)

This was posted by SoKy : 6:58 AM  0 comments links to this post

Having the resources, time and freedom to take life as it comes has been something I've written about in the past. This week has been a test of that resolve. I've had so many things happen this week that I don't know which end is up. I've received new business, revived older business, completed projects and lost a major client who represented the majority of my income.

Oh wait, it's only Thursday.

My point is that I have spent years trying to position my business and my life so that I have freedom and have made the preparations so when weeks like this come up, I can overcome each obstacle or accept each challenge as they arrive. It's all about planning, being prepared, and accepting life for what it is.

Well what is that? Life, (to me) is a free flowing sequence of events that will push you around if you let it, but can be tamed if you are aware. Just like a rudder on a ship, good planning can help guide you to use the currents of life to your advantage. Like an ore, preparation can help you catch the eddy's in the flow to rest, or allow for a change to look back on the most recent rapids.

Currently, I'm on the rapids and my ores are in the water and my rudder fully extended. If I only had a sail and the knowledge to use it I might be able to fly. Hey wait, now there's another point.

Rudder and ores may not be enough! Maybe I need a sail but without the knowledge to use the sail, maybe I need to learn, to grow. Interesting. Where do I turn to increase my tools, repair my boat or make modifications to improve my seamanship? Interesting.

Well, I've qualified to be a registered Microsoft Partner and am working to become certified. I've contacted another business with whom I had discussed a partnership in the past. I've dusted of some other web applications I've had on hold and made plans to implement them. With these new parts and equipment on my vessel, I hope to improve my ability to go with the flow and also drive through the currents that would lead to less than optimum opportunities.

Yes, upgrade the boat to a 12 cylinder high powered Cigarette that can not only guide me through the currents of life, but take me upstream if that's what I want. To allow me the freedom and power to go with the flow when I want, but also go back up the river and capture business that I may have overlooked, missed, neglected or otherwise ignored.

I should have thought of this before! I've always said, "go with the flow" as a way of taking life as it comes and making the best of it. Well I'm through with that! I'm going to position myself to make the flow work for me, navigate this flow as I see fit and use this flow to the benefit of myself, my business and my community.

WOW - that will work!

Sorry folks, a little personal and a little philosophical today. It's been a rough week and I wanted to post something. That's what was rolling around in my head. You're welcome to it. (grin)

This was posted by SoKy : 9:10 AM  0 comments links to this post

I am proud to announce that Master Clean has a new website! With the help of my new creative director, Soky.Net has produced and deployed www.mastercleanfloors.com

This was posted by SoKy : 9:00 AM  0 comments links to this post

Good morning campers

For the rest of the day (Sunday 11 Jun, 2006 10:06 am) I will be displaying all posts on the main page. I'm doing this for a few reasons but mostly I am reindexing my own articles. With 120+ articles, it will take a very long time to load the entire page. If you're on dial up, it likely never will completely load. I will change it back to 10 posts on the home page this evening.

Please pardon my dust.

Yahoo Instant messenger:  sokywebmaster
 -- Yahoo Profile : http://360.yahoo.com/sokywebmaster 

Company Homepage :http://www.SoKy.net

 Small Business & Marketing Blog : http://www.soky.biz  (popular)

Personal Blog : http://blog.davidfrancis.org

Personal Homepage :http://www.davidfrancis.org

This was posted by SoKy : 10:10 AM  0 comments links to this post

Now I'm the last person in the world to give advice on dressing for business. My wardrobe selection snafu list is longer than my memory, perhaps mercifully so. I've used the excuses like, "I'm a travel agency owner so I want to dress the part." Ignorantly assuming that my black logo t-shirt, cargo shorts and flip flops were acceptable in that context. I could cite many "justifiable reasons" for dressing uncomfortably casual at business events like ribbon cuttings, dinners and after hours. Even as recently as yesterday, I attended the ribbon cutting for Hayse shoes in my new polo shirt with the SoKy.net logo embroidered on it with cargo shorts and my fancy flip-flops. (leather.)

In my afternoon scan of the news today, I was slapped in the face with a brutal reality; all the excuses in the world will not forgive the public perception of my professionalism. That's the bottom line.

So what earth shattering revelation had to come to pass to wake me up from my ignorant bliss? It was a story about a billionaire who visited Washington DC to talk to some of the nations lawmakers about a very important issue. It didn't matter that he was incredibly rich; it didn't matter that he had as much influence as money in his industry; it didn't matter that he had something significant to talk about; it didn't matter that he had a very unique insight to the issue currently facing law makers. What mattered was that he came into what some consider the center of the world like an amateur and he was treated as such.

The story? By way of MyWay.com, it is found at marketwatch.com.

Google guy stumbles in D.C.
By Frank Barnako
Last Update: 2:41 PM ET Jun 7, 2006

WASHINGTON (MW) -- Sergey Brin came to Washington this week, dressed like an amateur. Some lawmakers treated him like one, too.

Wearing blue jeans, silver mesh sneakers and a black T-shirt and jacket, according to the Washington Post, the co-founder of Google Inc. (GOOG: news) found out that while he may be a multi-billionaire, he's nobody to some on Capitol Hill. Four Senators passed on meeting with him to discuss Net Neutrality, the newspaper reported. He did talk with four others including Sens. McCain, Smith (R.-Ore.), Dorgan and Obama.

Brin took the rebuffs in stride, saying his visit was kind of spontaneous. "It wasn't very well organized I apologize. It was a last minute trip." Although he did show up in this button-down town dressed more like an airplane maintenance man for, than the owner of, Boeing 767, he shouldn't take all the responsibility for the failure of the slap-dash fly-in.

>> Whole Story here

I am most comfortable casual! Even in my own office at the moment, if I were any more casual I would be asleep. What if someone stopped in? Not likely to happen but it could. Would my appearance affect my ability to capture new business? Would my appearance have an adverse effect on how my responses are received? Would my casual appearance prevent an impromptu opportunity from presenting itself again? I'm thinking yes... you decide.

So thank you Mr. Brin, I'm sorry you were shunned by lawmakers and I'm even more sorry that of all the press your wardrobe ended up the topic instead of the important Net Neutrality topic. If it is any comfort, this "older" non-billionaire businessman has learned from your experience, and it reminded me of my own awkward appearance moments.

I've studied, learned and forgotten the importance of proper dress and appearance in business settings. This reminder will get me back to the store and chose comfortable but dressier cloths so I will be taken more seriously. That said, I subscribe to GQ magazine and I'm a long way from becoming Mr. GQ... if ever. I still don't see the benefit of spending $500 on shirts and $600 for shoes. Even if I had Sergey's money, I doubt I will ever want to fit in with models of GQ. Call me crazy, but sensible clothing that is affordable is what is needed, spending $50,000 on a new wardrobe is simply a waste of money in my opinion.

This was posted by SoKy : 5:46 PM  0 comments links to this post

I attended the ribbon cutting for Hayse Shoes this afternoon. You might wonder how a business that was established more than 40 years ago can have a ribbon cutting, the answer is simple. Ribbon cuttings are for new and established business to promote their business and can be used for new offices, branch offices, redecorated or remodeled office and more. They are designed to let the community and fellow Chamber Partners learn about significant changes to your business.

In the case of Hayse Shoes, they purchased and moved to a new location on Three Springs road right off Scottsville Rd in Bowling Green. The left their location in the Greenwood Shopping Center where they had been an anchor store for more than 15 years. I've talked with Jeff Hayse and know some of his motivations for doing so, but purely from an investment standpoint, Mr. Hayse is now able to have some of that money he was spending on rent to apply to real estate equity. Personally, I think it was a great move.

I've uploaded some photos at my Flickr Site so Mr. Hayse, friends and family may have copies. I hope you enjoy and I wish you luck.

This was posted by SoKy : 3:18 PM  0 comments links to this post

Some of my  regular readers may wonder why I've posted so much about the Saturday's accident involving Cornelius Martin, Brooks Mitchell, Lloyd Ferguson and Bill Leachman. The fact is, these men are key business leaders in our south central Kentucky community. In that this is a local area business blog and these fine men have influenced countless businesses in our community, I felt it appropriate to link to the stories.

Though we have endured a tragic loss, I think that the positive effects of Cornelius Martin & Brooks Mitchell will be felt for a very long time. They have changed the face of Bowling Green in many ways and their efforts will leave a permanent mark on our community. Though we have lost these great men, they continue to be a part of our local business community through their positive influence during their lives.

I hope the best for their families, their employees and their friends. As we celebrate the lives of these men of honor, we should remember the pain of those who called them friend, husband and father.

This was posted by SoKy : 9:11 AM  0 comments links to this post

Accident shocks community
Saturday motorcycle mishap claimed two lives; funerals set; third victim remains in hospital
ROBYN L. MINOR, The Daily News, rminor@bgdailynews.com/783-3249
Published: June 5, 2006

Funeral arrangements have been finalized for Cornelius Martin and Brooks Mitchell, two prominent Bowling Green businessmen killed in an accident Saturday in Logan County.

Their friend and fellow Harley-Davidson rider, Bill Leachman, was undergoing a third surgery this morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

Bowling Green attorney Steve Thornton is trying to cope with the loss of two friends – Martin was his best friend.

“I just feel so sorry for both of the families,” said Thornton, his voice quivering.

Thornton normally rides next to Martin, part of an informal group of riders that sometimes numbers as many as 20 people.

“We were best friends ... and I think he thought that as well,” Thornton said.


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This was posted by SoKy : 6:39 PM  0 comments links to this post

A community loss
Martin, Mitchell killed, Leachman injured in accident
ROBYN L. MINOR, The Daily News, rminor@bgdailynews.com/783-3249
Published: June 4, 2006
 

Bowling Green and Kentucky are mourning the loss of two prominent businessmen killed Saturday in a motorcycle accident.

Cornelius Martin and Brooks Mitchell were killed at around 10:30 a.m. when an oncoming truck slammed into their motorcycles on Ky. 79 in Logan County. Two others in the group, Lloyd Ferguson and Bill Leachman, survived. The driver of the truck was charged with first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, driving under the influence, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.


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This was posted by SoKy : 6:39 PM  0 comments links to this post

Cornelius A. Martin, car dealer, regent, dies
Published: June 5, 2006

Cornelius A. Martin, 57, of Bowling Green died at 10:45 a.m. June 3, 2006, in Russellville.

The Greenville native was president and CEO of Martin Management Group. He attended a one-room school in the first and second grades in Greenville. His childhood and early teenage years were spent working on the family farm in Greenville, which he owned with his brothers and sisters. The farm has since been incorporated under the name Martin Acres and he served as vice president of the corporation.

After graduation from Muhlenberg Central High School in Greenville, he moved to the Dayton, Ohio, area, where he began working in the automobile business while attending Wright State University. After his career in the automobile business advanced, he entered and graduated from the General Motors Dealer Academy at the General Motors Institute in Flint, Mich.


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This was posted by SoKy : 6:29 PM  0 comments links to this post

Indiana woman charged in fatal accident
ROBYN L. MINOR, The Daily News
Published: June 4, 2006

An Indiana woman was charged with second-degree manslaughter and drunk driving after an accident Saturday that killed two prominent Bowling Green businessmen.

Cornelius Martin, 57, and Brooks Mitchell, 51, were killed and their friend Bill Leachman, 61, was seriously injured about 10:30 a.m. when the motorcyclists were struck by an oncoming truck attempting to pass another vehicle on Ky. 79 in Logan County.

A fourth rider, Lloyd Ferguson, was not injured.

The driver of the truck, identified as Mickey Mosher of Warsaw, Ind., was traveling north when she crossed into the southbound lane and hit the motorcycles, according to a report from Logan County Sheriff Wallace Whittaker.


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This was posted by SoKy : 6:23 PM  0 comments links to this post

A community loss
Martin, Mitchell killed, Leachman injured in accident
By ROBYN L. MINOR, The Daily News, rminor [atsign] bgdailynews.com/783-3249

CORNELIUS MARTIN Chairman, WKU Board of Regents

Saturday, June 3, 2006 11:46 PM CDT

Bowling Green and Kentucky are mourning the loss of two prominent businessmen killed Saturday in a motorcycle accident.

Cornelius Martin and Brooks Mitchell were killed at around 10:30 a.m. when an oncoming truck slammed into their motorcycles on Ky. 79 in Logan County. Two others in the group, Lloyd Ferguson and Bill Leachman, survived. The driver of the truck was charged with first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, driving under the influence, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

“It is such a shock” were the first words uttered from many who knew the two men - Martin, the owner of numerous auto dealerships and Harley-Davidson franchises around the country, and Mitchell, a banker.

View the story @ The Daily News (Link works till noon tomorrow.)

Downtown advocate fondly remembered
By JIM GAINES, The Daily News, jgaines [atsign] bgdailynews.com/783-3242

BROOKS MITCHELL DRA board chairman

Saturday, June 3, 2006 11:46 PM CDT

Brooks Mitchell was due to step down from his two-year stint as chairman of the Downtown Redevelopment Authority board at the end of this month, and had already given his farewell speech to the group's full membership at their May meeting.

He's to be replaced by attorney Regina Jackson, who said Saturday she was already wondering how to fill his shoes there, but counted on having his advice.

The first batch of that came in his touching and inspiring address, telling DRA members that it took awhile to understand the group's importance and role, but soon after that knowledge was in hand, it would be time for them to move on, as he was doing.

“I think we left that meeting feeling that, while we were prepared to move on without him, it would certainly be a significant loss with his departure - not knowing it would be this kind of departure,” Jackson said.
 

View the story @ The Daily News (Link works till noon tomorrow.)

This was posted by SoKy : 8:34 AM  0 comments links to this post

The title of this post comes from a recent article I read from the online version of the New York Times (here). The article is interesting in and of itself because it addresses the potential demise of the ever popular MySpace (Link) website. It is further interest to me because if you've read my blog in the past, you know that I'm a branding aficionado and have a keen interest in the theories, practices and methods of effective branding. So this all will tie together now right? Well, I'll do my best.

MySpace: If you've spent anytime online, reading the newspaper, watching broadcast news or even near a radio, then you have heard about MySpace. In a nutshell, it is a website where people, mostly younger people, can sign up for free and post personal information about themselves and share it with each other. What makes it so popular is the ways you can find people in your local area, with similar interests or that you want to be friends with and add them to your own "friends" group. Once added, you can send messages, blogs, comments, pictures etc. to that specific group. Young adults are loving it as it provides a virtual 3rd space to socialize and meet new people.

I recently posted my opinions about how MySpace can be used for small business on SmallBusinessTrends.com where I expressed my thoughts that MySpace can be used effectively. It was accurately pointed out that I am at an unfair advantage because of my understanding of the internet or as Anita said, "I suspect most don’t have the same patience you do to learn how to wade through a site that big." Flattered, but corrected at the same time.

In my "research" I also found that there are some severe technical issues, format barriers and imposed limitations at the site. I've found that user helps or descriptions of various features are either not helpful or non-existent. They experience outages frequently and yes, there is a good amount of "riff raff" slithering around looking for you to visit their porn web cam sites or other less than scrupulous offers. I discovered that Anita was right in that customization and networking on MySpace takes a great amount of time, effort and the learning curve is exorbitant.

I have been watching the headlines regarding MySpace looking for indications of its improvement, changes in business models or anything that might indicate an expansion from what was a popular hobby (which sold for millions of dollars), to a safe and effective "social networking" application. I've seen no indication of improvement and even the official announcements from its founders remain unprofessional at best. "Yes we know there is a problem and we are working on it." Or my favorite, "Don't believe what that are saying, I'm not dead."

I could write several more paragraphs here about what is needed to improve MySpace, how to improve it functionally (including the scripts), and ways to capture more revenue from it. I will refrain for a number of reasons. (grin)

Dan Mitchell or his editor chose the title: "MySpace No Longer Their Space?" And the subtitle, "BRANDS, for teenagers, are fleeting things." Which brings me to my next point, branding, or perhaps better said would be commitment to the brand.

While the article cites MySpace is becoming too mainstream, rumors about it's demise, technical difficulties and potential predators as some of the possible causes for the downturn in popularity, I think the perception that MySpace is losing ground in the teen online popularity contest is overall marketing. To understand how I can say this, you should first understand that my concept of marketing goes much deeper that simple graphics, tag lines and advertising, marketing is public relations, customer service, product innovation, as well as the afore mentioned.

If you use my marketing spotlight, we can look at MySpace and see that they have not introduced any really cool new features in a year. They have done little to solve some of the chronic technical difficulties. They continue to communicate in an unprofessional way to its members. Have not countered the bad press about predators or promoted new features to highlight safety. They are resting on their past success and the hope that the youth will continue to invite friends to join. They don't appear to have looked at expanding markets. The list is long, but my point is, they are resting on their laurels or so it appears to me.

In my opinion, they should look at the features members are using most and expand on them. Give their members a reason to invite their friends BACK to MySpace or to at least visit their profile. Example? Photo posting subscription feature. Allow friends to receive a bulletin or email when one of their friends posts a new picture. This will not only add the new feature, but bring more and more people back to look at the pictures and... yes the advertising. Many more notification or subscription features could be implemented.

So what could be the problem? I have no way of knowing for sure but I'm thinking the founders are on vacation and the new owners have no idea what needs to be done. Frankly, the new owners know what needs to be done in a news context, they simply need to apply some of those rules and ideas to MySpace and start treating it like the profit center it can be.

In context for small business, we should look at our businesses all the time. With MySpace, they do have a fickle audience with high expectations and short attention spans. What are some of the psychographic features of your target customer/market? Are they highly educated professionals with little time but lots of resources? Or are they blue collar factory workers who have limited resources and need escape? Seriously, looking at what motivates your target customer is almost as important as knowing who they are.

If changes aren't made at MySpace, someone will happily come in and gobble up that market. Think of it, they at 14-25 year olds who will be spending money for a very long time. Creating brand loyalty now will pay off for 100 years. The same can be said for our small businesses, if we don't continue to innovate, communicate and service our customers, someone will happily take them away from us. What are we doing to maintain the loyalty of our existing customers as well as use those efforts to bring in new ones? Questions, I always have questions.

I think I've hit all the keywords and tied it all together. I hope it at least provided food for thought. Here are some more relevant links that were offered on the New York Times online article.

Related

This was posted by SoKy : 2:15 PM  2 comments links to this post

As you can imagine, I'm a gadget guy. I love cool electronics though I have resisted the Blackberry/Palm as well as MP3 players thus far. No, the gadgets I like are those that help my small business. With all that I need to do throughout the day, I try to find tools that make my job easier.

A few items I can't live without are my computer (ya think?), my office phone and my cell phone. It is in these areas that I find products and services that make my job easier and make me more productive overall.

A perfect example is my phone system. When exploring my telecommunications needs in my new office, I realized that I wasn't going to be making a large amount of long distance calls; did not need multiple lines (because it's just me right now); nor did I need the advanced features of an office phone system. Could I have used them? Sure, but sometimes the bells and whistle distract from productivity and yes, cash flow.

Enter in my local telephone company, BellSouth. I had experience with their business service because of setting up the phone system at my travel agency recently. I had many more concerns over there such as multiple lines, (6 lines, 7 numbers), multiple extensions, internal voicemail ect. For my new small (micro) office however, I really only needed two lines, (one voice and one fax) and since I decided to go with cable for my broadband, I didn't worry about DSL service.

BellSouth offers plans for business called "Complete Choice® for Business." At the travel agency I used it and now in my scaled down office I use it to. It gives me great flexibility in that I can add more lines and features as necessary. Without getting into all of the features which you can learn about yourself, there are a few that were important to me.

Interesting side note: I was greatly concerned about transferring my phone number. I was using line six at the travel agency since that was used for the DSL connection and could not be part of the phone system we purchased. When ordering my new service with BellSouth (completely by email by the way), I asked if they could make that number my primary number and replace line six without interruption in service. This was significant in that the loss of line six would mean the loss of DSL which would mean the loss of critical data for the travel agency, which would mean the loss of my head. My point is, they assured me no less than 3 times that they could make this happen without a hitch, I held my breath when I approved the change and didn't breath until the transfer complete. Like BellSouth promised, it went off without a hitch! Back to my point...

Items that were essential to me

• Caller ID (Name and number & CID call waiting)
• Call Waiting
• Central Switch Voicemail
• Packaged long distance and low overage.

Really, those are the only things that I felt I needed. I got a whole lot more. Caller ID is just one of those things I've grown used to and the fact is, if I'm busy and don't recognize the number, I'll gladly let it go to voicemail. (As a rule, I don't do this but when trying to do database or scripting, sometimes I can't afford the distraction.) CID also helps cull out some of the telemarketing calls. Someday I'll write about that but it would seem when you register a new business line... your new number is sold to many people. It's a revenue stream for the telco and I can't fault them for it, but I don't have to answer the "out of area, unknown number" calls either.

CID call waiting was an added bonus and it allows me to see who is calling when I'm on the phone. I had to buy another phone to see it but I'll get into that in a minute.

Central Switch Voicemail. (My own term, they simply call it "voice mail service from BellSouth") This was a service that I wanted so if (when) I'm traveling or away from the office, I can check my voice mail. Yes, I know most modern answering machines do that. But it also takes messages when I'm on the phone as well as allows me to take the phone off the hook if I want to focus on programming or napping or whatever. Another really interesting feature is the notification service. I haven't tried it yet but I can set up the system to call my cell phone when there is a message waiting. SWEET!

Packaged long distance was something I wanted too. I've grown accustomed to it with my cell phone service so I got it for the office too. I'll monitor the bill and see if I am getting my money's worth. Another tip for business, monitor the small stuff! There are hundreds of dollars to be saved by watching where it is being spent.

So I get this cool service all set up, now I have to pick out some hardware (a phone), Choosing a phone for one line for business is more complicated than I thought. It would appear there are few full featured phones for an office environment with only one line. It makes sense really but I did find it surprising.

I chose a 2 line phone, AT&T 992. It is basically the same as the phones I chose for the travel agency with the exception of voice mail and multi station operation. It's a sleek phone with all the features one would want. Well, I have a list of features I could add, but this will do for now (grin).

Some highlighted features would be,

• Being able to turn off line two indicator
• Caller id history that allows me to dial or store the information
• Speaker phone that really works
• A headset jack and button to switch from other modes.
• Auto redial, speed dial, mute volume etc. some really good features.

One feature that I really didn't expect was voice mail indication. As it would appear (and tested), even though this phone doesn't have voicemail, it will indicate when there is an unheard message at BellSouth. No kidding. Not sure how it works but the "new call" light will come on when someone calls and stay on until you view the call history. If the caller leaves a message however, that indicator light will flash. That was a most welcomed surprise. AT&T calls it the COMV feature and I really like it.

The phone cost about $55.00 at Office Depot and since I have an account, they delivered it for free. The phone service from BellSouth cost nothing to get going and I received $100 for signing up though I did have to agree to a one year agreement.

Now, before David Doran of ISTT runs me over in his truck for writing about analog phones and traditional phone service, (he is a friend and probably the best vendor of VOIP hardware, software and service in the country) please remember that I am talking about a very small one man operation who has an extremely low call volume. Would I have liked the fully supported VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system, cool analytical software and state of the art digital phones? Uh.. yes. Was it cost effective to consider it? Eh... no.

Granted, I am at an unfair advantage than the average phone service subscriber. I've spent countless hours studying, learning and even installing phone systems at my own home and offices. I put together the entire system at the travel agency from specifications, service agreements and even wired the office myself. I'm no professional and have no interest in being a system installer, but I will say that phone service and systems do get my creative juices flowing.

If you have a question, let me know. I'll be putting an email link at the top left this week. To many people complaining that there isn't one and I've figured out a way to keep the spam harvesting robots at bay.

Links on this page:

• http://www.bellsouth.com/
• http://www.insightbb.com/
• http://telephones.att.com/
• AT&T 992 Phone Link
• http://www.officedepot.com/
• http://www.isttechnology.com/

This was posted by SoKy : 11:09 AM  0 comments links to this post

Dell to add up to 1,000 jobs in Nashville

Friday June 2, 11:47 AM EDT


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Computer maker Dell Inc. (DELL) said on Friday that it plans to add up to 1,000 employees in Nashville, Tennessee, over the next several quarters as it expands its customer service operations.

Kevin Rollins, Dell's chief executive, said the decision was based on the company's growth in the Americas region and the quality of the Nashville area's workforce.


©2005 Reuters Limited.

This was posted by SoKy : 10:30 AM  0 comments links to this post