GTD Software Tools for PC & Mac (alphabetical order)
- 5PM is a web-based project management tool with an intuitive web-interface. Though it packs a lot of features, it's very easy to use.
- Accomplice is a free Windows application that helps you get things done, and even lets you sync some of your activities with other people across a secured internet connection.
- Actiontastic - is a Quicksilver-friendly, iCal/PDA-syncing action contextifying machine.
- aTask - is a easy to use next action, project- and timemanagement tool. Runs on Windows.
- Bill Kratz's Setting up Outlook for GTD - not technically software, but his Contacts-As-Projects approach is unique and useful.
- BillsTrust - turns every bill into a 2 minute action, even your handwritten ones. They automatically pay by the due day, all you need to do is fax or scan it to them.
- Bontq - web based task tracker system for project management.
- Checkvist - online collaborative outliner and task list manager with group work support, notifications, and extensive use of natural keyboard shortcuts.
- ConceptDraw Mindmap - This "is an extremely powerful, flexible office tool, which handles the basic task it sets itself and a fair few more besides" (from PcPlus rewiew). Runs on both Mac OS X and Windows.
- A speed up mac os x software.
- donForget - Managing day-to-day tasks can be fun, with this simple to use list and tasks manager. It includes a dashboard to evaluate your work and rewards every step of the productivity way with a Badge system much like Foursquare.
- EasyTask Manager - Easy Task is a To-Do / Task Manager list that supports the GTD (“Getting Things Done”) method. Runs on Windows or Mac.
- eProductivity for Lotus Notes - For Lotus Notes users, eProductivity is the ultimate GTD implementation tool for Lotus Notes. used by David Allen and many others, it makes getting things done in Lotus Notes easy. Runs on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
- FunkyTools - A free, full-featured, online application witten in Silverlight. Allows easy entry and management of tasks.
- FusionDesk - is elegant and flexible task management tool that allows you to easily do GTD and track your work time. It has both a paid and a free version.
- Get It Done - GTD task manager software - Simple but powerful Web 2.0, iPhone, and Android task manager software runs online on Windows and Mac
- GTDify - Getting Things Done! - GTDify is a simple web-based application to help you implement David Allen’s Getting Things Done™ methodology.
- Getting Things Done add-in for Outlook - Produced in parternship with the David Allen Co.
- Ghost Action - A to do list manager for GTD with synchronization of actions, contexts and projects to iCal. Mac only.
- GoalEnforcer - A visual goal mapping software, it can implement complex goal plans as well as simple to do lists. The new hyperfocus zone is a good match for GDT "Next Action."
- GoalsOnTrack - A full-featured goal tracking and time management web application for reaching personal and professional goals.
- GTD for Lotus Notes - Free template for Lotus Notes
- GTD on wikidPad - A quick set-up guide for extracting contexted Next Actions from projects, using the windows (or Linux with Wine) desktop wikidPad.(Self-link)
- GTDGmail - Plugin for firefox to use GMail as a GTD tool easily
- GTD-PHP - PHP/MySQL for web site hosted GTD system
- Gtd on Rails - Simple web-based GTD Tool designed for personal use.
- GTD Tree - Windows application for GTD.
- iGTD - Application for implementing GTD under Mac OS X. Allows task recurrence, file attachments, and tagging. Optionally add new tasks or open file attachments through an integrated, systemwide menu bar Also supports "Quicksilver":http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/.
- iKog - Simple text to do list system. Supports GTD contexts. Cross-platform - Python 2.4+.
- Information Management Tool @ Getting Things Done is ideal for fans of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. Get all tools needed to create your own structure of a logical and trusted system outside of your head, merge individual to-do lists and project plans into a strategic plan, organize your project data to keep everything in one place and under control.
- Instant Boss - Time management & productivity boosting tool based on a concept from 43folders. Implements the (10+2)*5 concept of timing work/break cycles where you work in 10 minute bursts followed by 2 minute breaks, repeating this 5 times for a total of 1 hour. Provides audio & visual alerts for when you should be working and when it is ok to take a break. The work and break time lengths and number of cycles can be adjusted to suit your needs. Freeware/Donationware. Windows only.
- Jello Dashboard - The best Outlook GTD plugin - and it is free.
- Joe's Goals - A free Web 2.0 daily goal tracker to monitor your consistency.
- kGTD - an OmniOutliner-based GTD environment with tight iCal integration and support for contexts, tickler files, review lists and a bunch more.
- Macro for good recurring tasks in Outlook 2003
- mailxel - personal mail client and mail archive using the GTD approach
- Manymoon - Free and simple task management application that includes ability to share tasks with others!
- Midnight Inbox - Application for GTD implementing the five processing stages, with the main types of electronic document: projects, email messages, files, contexts and tasks. Claims that 'clean lines and elegant typography make it the best in its class for keeping lists and notes'. MacOSX 10.4
- MindManager - Visual "mind mapping" software for Mac and Windows. Used by David Allen and employees of Davidco as an efficient way to capture ideas and tasks, visually organize lists, conduct creative brainstorming, plan and manage products. See ResultsManager by www.gyronix.com for more examples of how to apply mind mapping to GTD.
- MonkeeBiz - A simple to-do list service with daily email reminders, automatic task scheduling, and Twitter integration.
- MonkeyGTD - A GTD system based on TiddlyWiki (TiddlyWiki is a personal wiki that works offline).
- MyInfo - Personal-reference information manager for Windows. Excellent as a general-reference filing system for electronic documents.
- MyLife Organized - New hierarchical to-do list outliner with GTD roots. True NextActions and Contexts. Collaboration using FTP and LAN sync. Sync with PocketPC edition and Outlook. Import/Export from MindManager. Flash USB drive compatible. Lightweight yet powerful tool.
- Next Action - A todo-list tracking tool written as a single page application in Javascript, saved on your hard drive/USB key.
- NextActionCards - Preprinted task cards on business card stock, to use to capture tasks and task info while out and about, and then later enter into computer or PDA program
- Nexty - Nexty is a easy to use GTD tool created in PHP. It can be installed in a local server or in a online web server. The core idea behind this software is simplicity. I wanted to make a GTD tool that is the most easy to use.
- Nirvanahq.com - Nirvana is a beautifully designed, lighting fast web app that makes organizing your life a breeze - freeing your mind to do it's best creative thinking. Safari, Chrome, Firefox, iPhone, Android.
- Nozbe - Online Getting Things Done productivity system featuring quick web2.0 interface.
- OpenNTF Productivity Extensions for Notes - Template for Lotus Notes
- Penzu - A free online diary and personal journal with extra privacy features.
- Pimki - A wiki based PIM with contextual todo's. Written in Ruby and release as open source.
- Planner mode for the editor emacs. Not specifically designed for GTD, but fits the system very well.
- Propel'r - a soon-to-be-released web-based GTD project management application that lets you do collaborative GTD.
- pyGTD - text based todo system written in Python. Works on Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Qlockwork - easy-to-use time-tracking software integrated with Outlook - automatically writes all your activities into an Outlook calendar, and generates reports showing where time was spent. Works on Windows.
- Ready-Set-Do!- A set of applescripts that comprehensively integrates all of one's files and programs into David Allen's GTD workflow. Has some nice Quicktime movie tutorials and a Sync iCal ToDos plug-in. Mac-only.
- Remember the Milk - Very clean and powerful todo list and task manager with a lot of nifty features.
- ResultsManager - Implements GTD for MindManager mind mapping software. Creates dashboards to sort Next Actions by context, by project, etc. Pro version syncs with Outlook.
- Simple GTD - Simple GTD is a completely free web-based tool which help you in organizing your stuff and will assist you to applying "GTD Principles" in your daily life.
- Siphon - Siphon follows the 'Ideas anywhere' thought, allowing you to enter ideas either from a Windows client, a PocketPC client, or the website itself.
- TaskBin - a group task management tool for getting things done and sharing tasks. An online to do list for effective group management and team management. "Learn More":http://taskbin.com/todolist/tasks_sign_up
- TaskFreak! TaskFreak! is a simple but efficient web based task manager written in PHP. GTD compliant.
- TaskPad - Intuitive task manager with full synchronization for iPhone, iPod, iPad and easy to use web site. No monthly fees.
- Taskpaper+ A simple, uncluttered task/todo manager, based on the Taskpaper concept. All your precious data is stored in plain text files, using a very logical wiki-like syntax. Tasks can be quickly added, deleted, archived, filtered, searched and tagged. Very faster, very focused. Browser-based, includes tiny, portable, local server.
- Tasktoy - free & lean GTD-centered web-based todo & project tracking. Mobile access, can be fed via email.
- TaskTiger - A task and time management software. Supports automated activity tracking, multiple filters, task due reminders etc. Take a visual tour or read the wiki for the full feature list.
- TaskWriter - free & simple GTD-centered web-based application.
- tedium - Web-based todo manager with customisable tag- or date-related views
- Things - Things combines powerful features with simplicity, based on the GTD methodology. Mac/iPhone.
- Thinking Rock - Free Java software based on the GTD methodology. Very simple to set-up and use. Windows/Mac/Linux.
- Tinderbox - The tool for notes is a perfect tool for capturing everything and revealing it in a GTD centric way. Customizable to fit any workflow, simple or complex GTD templates. More Discussion and Links
- The GTD toolbox - Software developers team present new project in GTD software, and review advantages and disadvantages of other systems and software.
- Todoist - A simple web-based todo list manager to help you get organized.
- ToDoList - a simple todo list which works with Vista.
- Toodledo- Full featured todo list manager.
- Tracks - A web-based GTD application written in Ruby and released under the GPL. Check out some Screenshots
- tracks.tra.in - Another free hosted version of Tracks.
- Trog Bar - Automatically recommends/prioritizes tasks in a GTD-friendly Windows sidebar. Processes email like tasks. Direct Outlook integration.
- Tudumo - Windows GTD - tag your actions - very simple looking but awesome filtering.
- tweeto - Browser based todo list manager that works both online and offline.
- uOrganized - simple, but powerful and friendly application to organize your tasks and your notes using a calendar, structured in folders and sub-folders, 9 types of alarm actions including Free SMS and Email notification, Computer Shutdown and many more
- Viira Outlook GTD Suite - The first integrated BlackBerry-Outlook GTD system. Offers an inbox, projects, contexts, day tasks, next actions and more. Seamless wireless sync between Outlook and BlackBerry. Free trial available.
- uTodo - FREE and fast GTD software with due dates, tags, categories, easy filters. Fully keyboard enabled.
- Vitalist - Online GTD.
- wikiGTD - This GTD-related MediaWiki extension creates custom tags for you to insert dynamic Next Action lists, Projects, and Contexts. This software is actively being developed; the current version (0.3.0 as of May 2005) is suitable for web developers and power users.
- What's Next - cross-platform application focusing on simplicity and a streamlined user experience. Quicksilver-like matching of projects, context and action names.
- ZenList- A free hosted version of Tracks! (note: This is discontinued from Nov 2006)
- Zoot- An unstructured database implementation with a powerful text engine, outlook integration and a host of features. The Zoot Forum has several ideas on implementing GTD on Zoot.
- Doit.im - Doit.im is built on the Adobe AIR platform,supports cross-platform usage,can work well in OS of Windows, Linux and Mac.Doit.im is a powerful, clear and easy yet free task management tool.
- Mac-How - Everything about Macintosh OS
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Tools for Getting Things Done - Getting Things Done Wiki
Friday, September 24, 2010
iDEAL
iDEAL is an Internet payment method in The Netherlands, based on online banking. Introduced in 2005, this payment method allows customers to buy securely on the Internet using direct online transfers from their bank account. iDEAL processed 4,5 million transfers in 2006, 15 million transfers in 2007, 28 million transfers in 2008 and 45.4 million in 2009[1]. iDEAL is owned by the Dutch organization Currence, which also owns PIN and Chipknip.
The participating banks in iDEAL are: ABN AMRO, ASN Bank, Fortis, Friesland Bank, ING Bank, Rabobank, Royal Bank of Scotland and SNS Bank[2]. Together these are serving the vast majority of the Dutch online banking market.
via en.wikipedia.org
Giropay
Giropay is an Internet payment System in Germany, based on online banking. Introduced in February 2006, this payment method allows customers to buy securely on the Internet using direct online transfers from their bank account. The system is similar to the Dutch iDEAL payment system, the Interac Online service in Canada and Secure Vault Payments[1] in the United States. giropay is owned by giropay GmbH.
via en.wikipedia.org
Friday, September 3, 2010
Three Walks of Speed
Web Hosting Companies like SoftLayer and their competitors usually fit into one of these three categories:
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Nokia is discontinuing the Ovi Files service
Nokia is discontinuing the Ovi Files service, effective October 1, 2010.
We apologize for the inconvenience.Please make sure to uninstall the Ovi Files Connector installed on your personal computer. To do this, execute the standard Windows or Macintosh uninstall procedure that came with your computer. You will not lose any files as a result of this service discontinuation. Ovi Files simply creates an 'online mirror' of the files saved on your Windows PC or Mac, so your original files will remain intact. The files on your computer are always treated as the master version, even if some are selected as 'Anytime Files.'You will still be able to share content between your phone and PC using another Nokia product, Nokia Ovi Suite. With Nokia Ovi Suite installed on your PC, you can do the following: sync your contacts and messages; transfer videos, photos, and music; back up your Nokia and update your device software. Please note that this is not a direct substitute for Ovi Files as Nokia Ovi Suite requires a wired connection between your PC and mobile device. For more information visit www.ovi.com/suite.
Top 10 Reasons to Use Social Media for Business
1- Brand Recognition: Using social media allows your company to reach the highest number of potential customers possible. Getting your name out there is incredibly important - studies have suggested that customers need to hear a company's name at least seven times before they will gain the trust and respect needed to become a customer.2- Brand Monitoring: Having a social media presence allows you to better understand what current and potential customers are saying about your product or services. Through active social media monitoring, you have the opportunity to address negative comments and correct false or inaccurate information about your brand.3- Be Forward-Thinking: Your target audience is becoming savvier when it comes to the using social media sites in their daily lives. If you want to appear relevant and in-step with the latest advances in technology, your potential customers will want to see you on these sites as well.4- Find New Customers Through Friends: You shouldn't neglect your personal social media accounts as potential avenues to promote the activities of your business. Posting regular updates relating to your business and activities can remind your friends of what your company does and either to use your services or refer one of their friends.5- Find New Customers Through a Company Profile: Your company profile is a great opportunity for you to post regular updates on your activities, but also about important news and trends in your industry. This will catch the attention of new customers interested in your industry and increase your reputation as an expert in the field. It's critical to post regularly if you want to increase your followers or fans and convert them to potential leads.6- Generate Site Traffic: By updating regularly on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn with posts that link back to your site, you can create additional traffic to your site. Social media bookmarking tools like Digg, Stumbleupon and Slashdot can also generate additional traffic to your site if you create frequent articles and blog posts.7- Links for SEO: Many social media bookmarking sites use NOFOLLOW tags that limit the outbound link value of posts made on their sites. There are still many leading social media sites that allow DOFOLLOW tags including Slashdot, Digg, Furl, Mixx and FriendFeed. However, you can see benefits from posting to social media bookmarking sites that use NOFOLLOW tags if people read your posts and link back to your Website.8- Increased Search Engine Rankings: Social media profiles frequently rank highly with major search engines. Using brand names and keywords in your profiles can help you to generate traffic for your social media sites and company homepage.9- Integrated Social Media Results in Search Engines: Search engines like Google and Microsoft Bing are increasingly interested in indexing and ranking posts and other information from social media sites. Videos from popular Internet sites like YouTube can also be optimized for indexing by the major search engines.10- Niche Marketing: Social media allows you to reach very specific subsets of individuals based on their personal preferences and interests. You can create social media strategies based on reaching individual interests or even create unique social media profiles to target these audiences.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Preparing an Online Questionnaire - How to Conduct an Online Survey
Review the basic objectives of the study. What are you trying to discover? What actions do you want to take as a result of the survey? This helps you double check the validity of the data collection mechanism. Online Surveys are just one way of collecting and quantifying perspectives.
Visualize all of the relevant information items you would like to have. What will the output report look like? What charts and graphs will be prepared? What information do you need to be assured that action is warranted?
Rank each topic in items 1 and 2 according to the value of the topic. List the most important topics first. Revisit items 1 and 2 again to make sure the objectives, topics and information you need are appropriate. Remember, you can't solve the problem if you ask the wrong questions.
How easy or difficult is it for the respondent to provide information on each topic? If it is difficult, is there another way to obtain the information by asking another question? This is probably the most important step. Online Surveys have to be Precise, Clear and Concise. Due to the nature of the "Web" and the fickleness associated, if your questions are too complicated and are not easy to understand, you will have a high "drop out" rate.
Create a sequence for the topics that is unbiased. Make sure that the questions asked first do not bias the results of the next questions. Sometimes providing too much information, or disclosing purpose of the study can create bias. Once you have a sequence of topics, you can have a basic layout of a survey. It is always prudent to add an "Introductory" text to explain the project and what is required off the respondent. It is also professional to have an ending "Thank You" text as well as information about where to find the results of the survey, when they are published.
Determine the type of question that is best suited to answer the question and provide enough robustness to meet analysis requirements. This means do you use open-ended text questions, dichotomous, multiple choice, rank order, scaled, or constant sum (ratio scale) questions. There is a fine line you need to walk here - Generally tougher analysis requirements will lead to more complicated questionnaire design. However there are a couple of tools available to make life easier: -
- Page Breaks - Avoid having a huge scrolling survey. Introduce page breaks as necessary. Please also refrain from just having one question per page. This increases the time to complete the survey as well as increases the chances for "drop outs".
- Skip Login - Use Page Skip Logic to make your surveys "Smart". Avoid using text like, "If you answered No to Q1 then Answer Q4" - this causes respondent frustration and increases the "drop out" rate. Design the survey using the Page Logic so that the correct questions are automatically routed based on previous responses.
Write the questions. You may need to write several questions for each topic, selecting the best one. You might also be better off dividing the survey into multiple sections.
Sequence the questions so that they are unbiased.
Repeat all of the steps above to find any major holes. Are the questions really answered? Have someone review it for you.
Time the length of the survey. A survey should take less than five minutes. At three to four questions per minute, you are limited to about 15 questions. One open end text question counts for three multiple choice questions. Most online software tools will record the time taken for the respondents to answer questions.
Pretest the survey to 20 or more people. Obtain their feedback... in detail. What were they unsure about? Did they have questions? Did they have trouble understanding what you wanted? Did they take a point of view not covered in your answers or question?
- An easy way to do this is to create another survey, with a few "open ended" essay questions along with your main project. Let's call this the "feedback survey".
- Email the "Project" survey to your test group and then email the "feedback" survey also after that.
- In that way, you can have your test group send you comments regarding the functionality as well as usability of your "Project" survey by using you "feedback survey"!
Revise your online questionnaire incorporating the feedback that you got.
Send the Survey out to all your respondents!
via esurveyspro.com
Customer Satisfaction Surveys: Nuts and Bolts
Here are general recommendations:
- Keep it simple. Your customers want to respond to your survey, but you should make it as easy as possible for them. How you invite them to participate, the way you ask questions and what design template you use will affect participation rates. In many regards, the simpler the better. Also, write your questions clearly so that people who are not native speakers of your language can understand the questions.
- Keep it short. Choose the length of your survey based on the type of product or service you sell, how much they spent for your product or how often they use the product or contact your company. Generally speaking, about 20 to 30 questions are appropriate for an image-based survey and no more than ten are appropriate for a transactional survey (more on what these two types of surveys are in the next section). Any survey over 40 questions will have a high abandonment rate.
- Keep your implied promises. If your goal is to identify what your organization can change to improve satisfaction levels, you need to be willing to respond to survey results. Your customers will view the survey as a mechanism by which they can affect change. If they don't see any improvements, they will become disillusioned and will view the company negatively. This means you need to concentrate on measuring concrete factors over which you have control, such as response time, delivery policies, support professionalism, and order accuracy. Avoid generalized questions such as "Do you think XYZ is a good company?" One respondent may think "good" refers to skill, while the next may think it means morally good. In both cases, you can't learn enough from this type of question to make any concrete changes.
via esurveyspro.com
DEVELOPING AN ACTION PLAN THAT RECTIFIES WEAKNESSES & BUILDS ON THE STRENGTHS
A five-step process can be used to make these longer-term improvements.
Step 1: Spot the gap
- Look at the customer satisfaction data to see where there are low absolute scores and low scores relative to the competition
- Pay particular attention to those issues that are important to customers
- Assume the scores are correct unless there is irrefutable evidence to the contrary – and remember, perceptions are reality
Step 2: Challenge and redefine the segmentation
- How do satisfaction scores vary across different types of customer?
- Are segments correctly defined in the light of the customer satisfaction findings?
- How could a change in segmentation direct the offer more effectively and so achieve higher levels of satisfaction?
Step 3: Challenge and redefine the customer value propositions
- Are customer satisfaction scores low because the customer value proposition (CVP) is not being communicated effectively to the market?
- Are customer satisfaction scores low because the CVP is not being effectively implemented?
- Is the CVP right for the segment? How could a change in CVP achieve a higher customer satisfaction index (CSI)?
Step 4: Create an action plan
- Describe the problem
- Think through the issues that need to be addressed and list them out
- Identify the root cause of the problems
- Identify any barriers that could stop the improvement taking place
Set measurable targets- Allocated resources (usually money and people)
- Assign people and time scales to the tasks
- Measure and review progress
Step 5: Measure and review
- How has the customer satisfaction index (CSI) moved?
- Is the movement significant/real?
- Has the action recommended in the plan, taken place? Has it been enough? Has it had enough time to work?
- Revisit the steps – spot the gap, challenge the segmentation and CVP, more action
Many of the issues that affect customer satisfaction span functional boundaries and so organisations must establish cross-functional teams to develop and implement action plans. One of the best ways of achieving this involvement by different groups of employees is to involve them in the whole process.
Customer Satisfaction Surveys | B2B International Business-to-Business Market Research Consultants
In customer satisfaction research we seek the views of respondents on a variety of issues that will show how the company is performing and how it can improve. This understanding is obtained at a high level (“how satisfied are you the ABC Ltd overall?”) and at a very specific level (“how satisfied are you with the clarity of invoices?”).
High level issues are included in most customer satisfaction surveys and they could be captured by questions such as:
- What is your overall satisfaction with ABC Ltd?
- How likely or unlikely are you to buy from ABC Ltd again?
- How likely or unlikely would you be to recommend ABC Ltd to a friend or colleague?
It is at the more specific level of questioning that things become more difficult. Some issues are of obvious importance and every supplier is expected to perform to a minimum acceptable level on them. These are the hygiene factors. If a company fails on any of these issues they would quickly lose market share or go out of business. An airline must offer safety but the level of in-flight service is a variable. These variables such as in-flight service are often the issues that differentiate companies and create the satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Working out what questions to ask at a detailed level means seeing the world from the customers’ points of view. What do they consider important? These factors or attributes will differ from company to company and there could be a long list.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
200+ Internet Marketing Gurus on Twitter
The twitter train is pulling up, are you on board yet? Twitter is one of the most revolutionary messaging systems to come out in my opinion since AOL Instant Messenger back in 1997. It allows groups of users to simultaneously engage in conversations all at the same time, similar to being in a “chat room” in AOL. As a marketer this can be a golden tool if utilized properly for personal reputation management reasons.
Many underground conversations go on within Twitter that never make it to the blogosphere or news sites. It can be a dynamite location for link bait ideas, breaking stories, and general topics you might not think about on a daily basis. You might even find yourself obtaining clientèle through it. I really could go on and on with what you could do with Twitter.
Now with that said, it is worth pointing out that one of the more frustrating things with Twitter is that there isn’t much organization within the social profiles themselves. Aside from the visible friends list, it is hard to capture who is within your industry, and who might be twittering about relevant things that you want to follow.
Top Internet Marketing Gurus to Follow on Twitter
Do you Twitter? Are you visible? If your answer is yes, continue reading.
As you know by now, Twitter is one of the most revolutionary messaging systems of the moment. You’ve probably already heard about some amazing Twitter stories.
So if you Twitter, follow people who knows what they are talking about. Here’s a list of 55 top Internet marketing gurus you should follow:
Friday, July 23, 2010
How To Develop A Facebook Page That Attracts Millions of Fans
Over the past few years Facebook has witnessed a dramatic rise in new user adoption and with that rise has come the opportunity for brands to interact directly with existing customers and engage new ones. At the end of 2007, Facebook announced the launch of Facebook Pages and last week they launched a revised edition which includes a number of significant upgrades. This week, those pages will be going live for all. There are numerous ways for brands to leverage Facebook but the overall branded experience is becoming increasingly integrated into a single offering as the new Pages product highlights. So what are the primary benefits and changes for the new branded pages?
Pages Are Profiles for Brands
One of the primary reasons for launching Facebook Pages was that many companies were using user profiles for their companies, in turn violating Facebook’s terms of service. While I’m sure there were many other reasons for launching Pages, the easiest way to understand them is through viewing them as “Profiles for Brands”. This means brand pages can essentially do everything that users can do.Pages Have Access to Users’ Feeds
This is probably the single most important feature within the new Facebook Pages product. Many in the press have described this as Twitter for Facebook. It’s an accurate description but for those that don’t understand what Twitter is, this makes things more confusing. Essentially when Facebook users become a “fan” of your branded page, they will be notified of your status updates anytime you update the status on your brand page, via the primary news feed on the homepage.The News Feed is Now Real Time
This is actually an update to the site homepage but it will have a significant impact. Previously Facebook cached the homepage for at least 15 minutes in addition to automatically filtering all feed stories. This means that any feed story which made it to the news feed previously would stay there for a fairly long period of time. The news feed has since been redesigned to stream stories instead displaying the automatically filtered stories as “Highlights” on the right hand side of the page.Pages Can Integrate Multiple Applications
Earlier this week I posted the example of a robust branded Facebook page which integrates an application into the experience. Pages could previously integrate basic applications but now there is space to integrate applications that are just as robust as those with standalone canvas pages. Not sure of what “canvas pages” are? A canvas page is the space in Facebook below the Facebook header and to the left of Facebook’s sidebar ads. Essentially you can now post applications which take up the full width of the page. I’ve gone ahead and posted a photo of the canvas area in the photo below.
via allfacebook.com
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
En gözde şirketler, en büyük şirketler ve öğrenciler
Realta – En Gözde Şirketler 2010 anketi sonuçlarına göz attığımızda ilk sırada yer alan firmaların çok da değişiklik göstermediğini görüyoruz. İlk beş firma, Turkcell, Turk Hava Yolları, Unilever, Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, Turkiye İş Bankası olarak sıralanmış. Diğer taraftan, Forbes Türkiye dergisi de Haziran sayısında Türkiye’nin En Büyük Şirketleri araştırmasını yayınladı. Bu iki araştırmayı karşılıklı değerlendirdiğimizde ilk sıralarda yer alan firmaların ve sektörlerin yakınlığı dikkat çekiyor. En Gözde Sektörler sıralamasında; Bankacılık, Hızlı Tüketim, Bilgi Teknolojileri, Otomotiv, Gıda, Telekom şeklinde sıralanıyor.Türkiye’nin en büyük şirketleri de Garanti Bankası, İş Bankası, Akbank, Koç Holding, Sabancı Holding, Yapı Kredi Bankası, Halk Bankası, Türk Telekom, Turkcell, Vakıflar Bankası şeklinde olduğuna göre iki araştırma adeta birbiriyle örtüşüyor.
via blog.erakbas.com
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
22 Educational Social Media Diagrams
Everyone learns differently. Social media marketing has a lot of moving parts and processes which make it hard to get up to speed. This challenge is only compounded by the ever-changing nature of the market, in which new applications and opportunities arise daily.
Reading tons of blog articles, while important, takes a lot of time. Sometimes it is easier to see concepts visually to get a basic understanding and then do further research on the topics that are most relevant to your business. In today's post we collected some great visualizations of social media concepts including monitoring and content distribution.
via blog.hubspot.com
Saturday, May 22, 2010
About 9rules
Our Mission, Our Values, Our Brand
9rules is a place where members and readers can connect, build relationships, and learn new things. 9rules started in 2003 with a set of 9 rules:
- Love what you do.
- Never stop learning.
- Form works with function.
- Simple is beautiful.
- Work hard, play hard.
- You get what you pay for.
- When you talk, we listen.
- Must constantly improve.
- Respect your inspiration.
via 9rules.com
PR Pros Use Twitter to Reinvigorate Brands, Engage in Conversation | PBS
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts operates luxury properties in countries all over the world, from the U.S. and Canada to Asia the Middle East and Africa. Aside from traditional promotions, one of the ways it connects with current, past and future guests is via its main Twitter account. Several accounts are also maintained by individual properties.
"We push out news and information; we think that's valuable," Mike Taylor, Fairmont's public relations manager, told the Hotel Marketing Strategies blog. "We include package and rate offers. We don't see Twitter primarily as a distribution tool. But if we have something that's a great deal we're going to let people know about it."
In terms of results, it has seen hotel occupancy rates rise after tweeting "online only" discounts, and it's been able to reach out and promote its brand.
"Twitter has introduced us to people we otherwise wouldn't have a relationship with," he said. "So it's sort of that global neighborhood concept where these people wouldn't have reached out to us or vice versa if we were not participating."
Other Twitter PR success stories include Comcast, Dell, JetBlue and Shaquille O'Neil. They have all reinvigorated their brands using the service. All are near becoming social media case study cliches.
Some in the hospitality industry take it one step further: The Roger Smith Hotel, for example, is connected to every corner of the social web. But its innovative use of Twitter is where it really shines. The New York City boutique hotel attracts travelers based on its regular -- and charming -- use of Twitter.
"I really found the genuine ability to connect with people valuable," Brian Simpson, the hotel's director of social hospitality, told Techipedia, "and we have continued to use this as just one of many pieces of the funnel hopefully driving people to be more involved with us outside of just booking a room."
These successes are well documented. However, many businesses, organizations and individuals have trouble converting the case studies of others into success for themselves. As it turns out, public relations thought-leaders suggest it's less about the tool itself and more about learning to adapt and adjust to the new medium.
via pbs.org
Saturday, May 1, 2010
NPS, CEM and Brand «
From the perspective of experience = brand however, it is worth taking a look at the 10 lessons these CEM pioneers taught us. Good food for thought.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Corporate Ethics and Governance
AMD's Worldwide Standards of Business Conduct
AMD's Worldwide Standards of Business Conduct (WWSBC) support our commitment to high ethical standards and compliance with laws, regulations, and company policies. These standards apply to all AMD directors and employees worldwide and are one of the key components of the company's compliance and ethics program. They reiterate our values and outline guidelines on a broad range of workplace, business practice, and conflicts of interest principles such as employment and labor practices, privacy, employee safety and health, business and accounting practices, political activities and contributions, insider trading, antitrust laws, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The WWSBC are currently available in eight languages: English, Japanese, German, Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. All employees worldwide receive copies of and training on the WWSBC.
via amd.com
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Blue Ocean Strategy
About Blue Ocean Strategy
中文 | Deutch | English | Español |Francais | Italiano | 한국어
Companies have long engaged in head-to-head competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. They have fought for competitive advantage, battled over market share, and struggled for differentiation.
Yet in today’s overcrowded industries, competing head-on results in nothing but a bloody “red ocean” of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool. In a book that challenges everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne contend that while most companies compete within such red oceans, this strategy is increasingly unlikely to create profitable growth in the future.
Based on a study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than a hundred years and thirty industries, Kim and Mauborgne argue that tomorrow’s leading companies will succeed not by battling competitors, but by creating “blue oceans” of uncontested market space ripe for growth. Such strategic moves—termed “value innovation”—create powerful leaps in value for both the firm and its buyers, rendering rivals obsolete and unleashing new demand.
Can Data Centers benefit from Supply Chain Management concepts? - Green (low carbon) Data Center Blog
Land is not an expense, it is an investment. So, land should be looked evaluated on its ROI, not it's overall cost, including land improvements.
Which then led me to think why is it data centers don't use more supply chain management concepts which would address issues like land cost in the overall solution and most likely save you much more than the cost of the land?
Supply Chain Management is defined as.
Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers (Harland, 1996).[1] Supply Chain Management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption (supply chain).
Another definition is provided by the APICS Dictionary when it defines SCM as the "design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand, and measuring performance globally."
via greenm3.com
Special Report: The World’s Largest Data Centers « Data Center Knowledge
The mega-data center has become a staple of our global technology infrastructure, serving as the backbone of the digital economy. The growth of the Internet is driving an enormous appetite for network capacity and data storage, creating a new class of data centers that can scale along with the Internet.
So who has the world’s largest data center? We’ve seen a lot of huge data centers in our travels, and have identified 10 that we believe are the largest found anywhere. These data fortresses range between 400,000 and 1.1 million square feet.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The E-Bomb: The New Threat
The ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) effect was first observed during the early testing of high-altitude air burst nuclear weapons — a rather radical way of creating an E-bomb. The threat of the E-bomb increased in 1994 when Gen. Loborev, Director of the Central Institute of Physics and Technology in Moscow, distributed a landmark paper at the EUROEM Conference in Bordeaux, France. In this paper, Dr. A. B. Prishchepenko, the Russian inventor of a family of compact, explosive-driven RF munitions, described how RF munitions might be used against a variety of targets including communications systems. The concepts “went public” in articles in Russian naval journals and in other professional journals and magazines.
On June 17, 1997, the US Joint Economic Committee (JEC) held a hearing called Economic Espionage, Technology Transfers and National Security, in which it heard about a new class of weapons — radio frequency weapons (RF) — and the impact of these new weapons on the civilian and military electronic infrastructure of the United States. This was followed up by a further hearing in February 25, 1998. In June 2000, James O’Bryon, deputy director of Live Fire Test & Evaluation at the US Department of Defense, flew to a conference in Scotland to address the issue. “What we’re trying to do is look at what people might use if they wanted to do something damaging,” he said. The UK magazine, New Scientist published a popularist article on the subject on 1 July 2000.
The Tec
via web.archive.org
Monday, March 29, 2010
CPM vs. CPC vs. CPA
Cost-Per-Thousand
CPM pricing was actively promoted by the big portals such as Yahoo and AOL. It was a great revenue generator for them that had the added bonus of being largely risk free. That is, the advertiser did all the creative work and made the payments while the only thing the portals had to do was display the ad as often as they could until the advertiser's budget was exhausted. It's this one-sided nature of the CPM model that has pushed advertisers to seek an alternative that can offer them some sort of guarantee of performance.Cost-Per-Action
CPA then seems to offer the best guarantee for advertisers. After all, with such a set up, the advertiser only pays when the prospect has performed a specific action such as registering or requesting information. And just to be explicit, the upside of this is that an ad can be displayed and clicked on many, many times with no cost to the advertiser. The problem here is that now all the risk has been shifted to the publisher since they now must give up their ad inventory and hope that the advertiser's message is compelling enough to result in "actions".Cost-Per-Click
CPC sits in the middle of the online pricing spectrum. It involves risk from the advertiser's side in that they pay for every click on their ad. This forces them to make sure that the ad is relevant to what is being offered so that a click has a good chance of turning in to an action. At the same time, the publisher takes on the responsibility of displaying the ad in appropriate places so that it will receive clicks. No clicks, no revenue. It's a very simple formula for both sides.
via allthingssem.com
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sales Forecasting
Sales forecasting, an Introduction:
Forecasts are the raw material of planning. For most businesses, the sales forecast is the first step. It can be the basis for developing plans to run the business and plan future strategy. If sales can be reasonably anticipated, costs and inventory can be controlled, and customer service enhanced. Sales estimates provide this help.
Even if much of the content in this paper is familiar, a review will probably provide additional information that is helpful in learning about forecasting strategy and tactics. In recent years sales forecasting has become an important business endeavor. It is essential that company personnel and small business owners understand forecasting methodology.
Forecasts can be classified in several ways: by purpose, as either operational or strategic; by type, as quantitative (statistical) or qualitative (judgment); or by method, that is, by forecasting technique.
via zeromillion.com
How to Conduct Market Research
Work Out What Information You Need Before You Start
Market research is no different from any other research project. To be successful, your research project needs a clear scope and that includes a problem statement.
What question are you looking for an answer to?
In the case of a new product or a new business, the question or questions are generally:
- Who will buy the product,
- Why will they buy it, and
- How much are they prepared to pay?
Before you start knocking on doors and showing people your product, take some time to really think about what it is that you want to ask of the market and design your research project accordingly.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Self-Hosted Versus Hosted Exchange by The Web Hosting News
Traits of Self-Hosted Exchange Server
- Large initial investment - You will have to purchase the hardware, software, acquire IT engineers and resources, and properly train all of the staff that will be managing your Exchange server. You may also experience a significant amount of time from when you make the initial investment to when the server goes live and becomes functional, especially if your staff is not completely training on how to handle the server.
- Ongoing expenses - The responsibility of maintaining and upgrading the Exchange server is yours, and after a while it can prove to be a surprisingly expensive server to maintain and run.
- Complete freedom over the customization and performance of your exchange server - Where managed servers have to deal with specific limitations placed upon them by their providers, running your own server will allow you to have total control over yours. You will be able to add, remove, and customize features as you see fit.
This will allow you to offer enhanced mobility services, VoIP, internet faxing, Outlook Web Access.
- Large personnel commitment – Take a moment to analyze the size of your company. How many staff members are you willing to dedicate solely to your Exchange server? Large companies may already have a large IT department that it can use to assign resources to the Exchange server with, but if your business doesn’t, you will have to bring on the staff to do it.
It is not that a self-hosted Exchange solution is always a poor choice or a bad option, as it certainly can fit the bill if a business has the resources to allocate to it. The reality is that you will have greater control and freedom when hosting the server yourself, but you will also have to dedicate more time and resources to it.
Traits of a Hosted Exchange Server
- Low start up investment - You may have to pay a small startup fee, but compared to the large investment required to purchase the server, software, and hire the appropriate staff, it is a drop in the bucket. As well, Hosted Exchanges are often set up in a matter of minutes once you’ve paid your startup fee, giving you access to your new toys quicker.
- Financial predictability - You will generally be given a monthly, quarterly, or yearly price. This makes budgeting a much easier task as there are fewer variables to consider and less guesswork involved. On that level, it’s nice to know exactly what your financial obligations are.
- Completely managed server - Just as the advantages of a managed web host include the fact that you don’t have to maintain the server or the software, a Hosted Exchange server generally comes with maintenance included. This absolves you from the responsibilities of monitoring security, uptime, server resource usage, and software upgrades.
- No outside commitments - You will not have to worry about staff allocation or the hiring of additional staff with a Hosted Exchange server. The company that owns the server takes care of all of the support obligations, including staff training and certification.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of hosting solution. If you prefer the control and knowledge knowing that you and you alone handle the processes and maintenance of your server, the additional expenses and requirements shouldn’t be much of an issue. However, if you prefer for something to ”just work” and don’t want to have to deal with the hassle of maintaining it or making the large initial purchase, you are going to want to use an exchange server that is provided by an external company.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
5 Great Ways to Conquer Self Doubt
Celebrate your successes: When a situation in which you doubted yourself turns out better than you expected, don’t just nod and smile and move immediately on to the next thing. Take a moment and reward yourself for a positive outcome. Do something you enjoy like going to your favorite restaurant or eating a delectable dessert. Taking the time to cement positive emotions in your mind will hopefully make the doubt disappear more quickly next time.
via zenhabits.net
Ready to Drink Coffee - Zenith report
Zenith's Ready to Drink Coffee 2007 report provides full country market totals by volume and value, five year forecasts and company/brand profiles. The report provides a comprehensive market commentary that addresses: a broadening of target groups, product characteristics, health issues, functionality and RTD coffee, future developments and an assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
From Starbucks to Campina, Douwe Egberts, Emmi, Kraft and Nestl� � RTD coffee has seen increased focus, especially in West Europe. The resulting marketing boost and product launches are expected to help drive forward growth over the coming years.
Zenith's 2007 Ready to Drink Coffee report covers:
- Market context: global beverage volume shares by sector and segment, 2006
- Market context: soft drinks shares by volume and value, Japan, North America and West Europe, 2006
- RTD coffee volume sales by country: West Europe, North America, Japan, 2004-11
- RTD coffee value sales by country: West Europe, North America, Japan, 2004-06
- RTD coffee consumption per person by country: West Europe, North America, Japan, 2004-11
- Organic RTD coffee summary
- Fairtrade RTD coffee summary
- Analysis of caffeine content in popular beverages
- Examination of caffeine/coffee consumption benefits
- Regulation of caffeine content
- Functional RTD coffee innovations
- Full regional overviews addressing: product history, key indicators, companies/brands, distribution, trends, innovation and packaging
- Leading company/brand profiles
Monday, January 11, 2010
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