The Virtual Wire

An interesting take on widely-used tech buzzwords

An interesting read ... 

The tech industry's most baffling buzzwords: A brief guide | The Industry Standard

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This guide lists eight buzzwords you'll quickly recognize.  And, you may have wondered as I did, exactly what they were intended to convey. 

You'll find included in the list (but not in this order): Web 3.0, cloud computing, disruptive, paradigm shift, seamless, solution, and prosumer (that one was new to me).

If you've ever wondered about the use of any of these buzzwords, this guide might bring you up-to-speed a bit. 

Does that compute?

One sunny, Saturday afternoon--when I should have been out enjoying the weather, but wasn't--E showed me a very dated article from Canadian Living. The title, "Make sure you compute", said it all ... well, it did at the time. I think I can update things a bit, as the article was dated October, 1991!

"Computer skills are now a workplace necessity." Imagine that. The heady 1980's, ushering in the era of personal computers, had just passed. In the early 1990's workplaces were in the throes of furnishing themselves with computers, or upgrading what they had, and investing in the latest and greatest software. The single most in-demand software program was (drum roll please): WordPerfect. In the early 1990's I was making a living from WordPerfect, having mastered many of its intricacies. Microsoft Word was running a close second--and oh, how a lot of marketing would soon change that--as was Excel to the then very popular Lotus 1-2-3. Around that time, I was doing nation-wide seminars on the two programs just mentioned.

Today, in my virtual assistance practice, I rely very heavily indeed on technology. I sometimes take or make telephone calls with a Bluetooth enabled headset. I use collaborative software to help manage my, my client's, and sometimes aspects of my community's files and projects; on that note, I've already said in the past that I love Groove. By the time you read this I will have learned about yet another new collaborative tool: Central Desktop (thanks Kathy). Periodically, I use tools like FileZilla (an excellent, and free, FTP client) or LogMeIn to access my PC remotely.

So I know I "compute", and that ties back into the Canadian Living article.

The question the article ended up on concerned the life cycle of one's computer skills. Though I'd argue the connection they made with WordPerfect when they said "Good programs don't die..." (not that it isn't a good program, but it has petered away to much of the world), I agree with their advice about training. If you don't specialize in one piece of software, or one suite, it's always wise to keep abreast of "future trends". On that note, yes, I'm looking ahead to the new version of Windows and of Office; both of which will be publicly available by this time next year.

Choosing an online e-mail marketing provider

To date, for clients in my virtual assistance practice, I have used three online marketing/list services: 1ShoppingCart, Constant Contact, and iContact. I have also had a passing glance or brief exposure to AWeber and Volusion (shopping cart software). To a certain extent, I know my way around Constant Contact, and iContact (this does not make me an expert), but frankly, admit to struggling a bit with 1ShoppingCart.

Each e-mail marketing/shopping cart product just listed—and there are more than those!—has its own unique feature set, strengths, and weaknesses. As I said, I’m not an expert, but to my knowledge no one product “does it all”.

I’ve done a lot of investigation into 1ShoppingCart, and traded my share of support e-mails with them (which I think they’re very good at). My research and limited experiences tell me, for example, that 1ShoppingCart is more difficult to use, but is perhaps the best product for e-commerce, and is very good with autoresponders and e-mail marketing. If you don’t need the e-commerce component, AWeber probably comes out the winner, and is reportedly easier to use. Constant Contact does not have a ‘native’ shopping cart built into it (they have a shopping cart interface called ShopSite™), but they have recently added online survey capability. I used Constant Contact for a client when I first started my VA practice, to create and distribute newsletters and 'e-vites'. iContact is easy to use, in my opinion, comes with hundreds of templates, and is a less expensive than Constant Contact. Unlike Constant Contact, iContact’s survey feature comes with the base price. AWeber also has autoresponders (something that iContact and 1ShoppingCart have, but that Constant Contact lacks).

Regardless of where you’re approaching this from, I highly suggest that you do two things before you make a decision on which solution or system is right for you.

First, do your “due diligence”. Read through the features of each product offering to find out if they have what you need (or perhaps answer the needs you never knew you had). Second, if possible, get advice from someone who currently uses one or more of these products; I think the VA community is a great starting place for that!

Stand by for Microsoft Office 2010

Did you know that Microsoft’s code name for Office 2007 was [is] Office 12? Now you do. Can you guess the code name for the next version of Microsoft Office? No, sorry, corporations (like Microsoft) continue to avoid the number 13 like the plague: Enter Office 14 (Microsoft Office 2010 as it will be called).

For those of you getting used to the Ribbon interface, well, good news … it will still be there, and based on some early screen captures (this one shows Excel), it looks pretty much the same.

So when the new version of Office is released (the commercial release of their common productivity titles is rumored to be in early 2010), in what ways will it be different than Microsoft Office 2007? For starters, Microsoft is not allowing public beta testing; curious. But besides that, one of the biggest changes has to do with the fact that it will be the first ever Office suite engineered for 64-bit computer systems. Perhaps looking at what’s happening now on the Internet, Microsoft will also release a web-based version of Office. Think of cloud computing and Web 2.0, and that last factoid will make sense.

When Microsoft did a complete redesign on its user interface for their Office 2007 line of products (what we know as the Ribbon), they approached it conceptually, and it was meant to mimic the process you and I follow when creating and editing documents. Their concept for various Office 2010 titles, according to Chris Capossela, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Information Worker Product Management Group, includes a “response to a shift in how people and businesses use technology today. The line between home and work has blurred, so people want more choice and flexibility in how, where and when they work.”

On that note, I’d like to give credit to all savvy virtual assistants, who have been living through and thriving on this “blurred” line. Perhaps the new version of Office will catch up to where we've been, and how we've been working for years!

Confounded Conficker!

So the latest (publicized) virus—a ‘worm’ this time around—has come and gone. Were you affected by it? I know of at least one person who was (via one of my students). Did you take precautions leading up to April 1st?

I took the advice of one of my virtual assistance colleagues and downloaded a free Conficker Removal Tool (thanks to Enigma Software Group USA LLC). After running a full scan in Norton Internet Security, then another full scan with Webroot AntiVirus with AntiSpyware, then checking for and installing new Windows updates from Microsoft Windows Update (there were no critical updates), we ran the Conficker Removal Tool software. Phew! A ton of extra work and baby-sitting; and for what?

I’ve said in other posts that I sometimes spend a lot of time ensuring software updates are done. The most important updates for me are Microsoft Windows Service Packs, and those for anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. There are numerous other updates, and all take valuable time. But seeing as, IMHO, most software vendors are quite generous with updates, I do most of them most of the time.

The “for what” point has to do with computer horror stories of all kinds. In addition to being caught last year with serious virus/spyware issues on our desktop, I’ve seen family  members, friends, colleagues, and my students bite the bullet hard when they neglected to keep their anti-virus or anti-spyware software subscriptions up to date, or when they didn’t bother doing the (sometimes daily) updates to definition files. In all cases, it cost people time, money, and sometimes lost data.

Conficker won’t be the last bit of bad business to skewer computer users. So on that bitter, but realistic note I urge you to be vigilant in keeping up your subscriptions and yes, those daily updates!

On someone's front page

Say it on one of the 'big three' social networking sites, and à la the Outer Limits, watch the focus of your readers change from a "soft blur" to "crystal clarity". Anything there you wouldn't want the world to see?

Before the onset of widespread social networking, being published on the Internet seemed a novel little thrill. It was easy enough to get free web hosting--after all, GeoCities has been around in one form or another for some long time--but it was not so easy to gain people's attention. It was not a case of publish it and they will come. Yes, you could tell your friends and family about your site, but Web 2.0 wasn't around then, nor all the nifty little gadgets that go with it. Many such gadgets make our posts available to mass readership.

I can't say I was an early adopter of social networking, and even in the past few years, I've found myself putting a lot of work into my very traditional website. Today, there's much ado about blog-style sites, and certainly companies like TypePad make it easy for us.

What's also easy for us today is to get press. I don't mean traditional press, like the media (though that can happen). I mean that as one amasses followers, one has increasing numbers of people reading our sometimes personal, sometimes business 'front page'. That carries quite a bit of responsibility with it; most of which rests on the writer, but some of which rests with the readership that buys into, believes, or simply likes what we write.

I treat the mechanisms and intricacies and people involved in social networking with respect. I hope that if I land on your front page today, taking time to read my article was worth the stop for you.

Social networking the twitter way

Doesn’t it feel like a lot to learn?  Do you even understand tweeting, twittering, hanging with your “tweeple”, or the various other great phrases that have grown out of the Twittersphere?  So this great new way of building your business online, of networking with fellow business owners, or simply making new business friends can totally be baffling, and the thing is not everyone agrees on how effective Twitter is or isn’t. 

So to help you on your way, here are a few good blog articles that I came across about this whole new medium called Twitter.  See here and here, and also here is a great commoncraft video that was shared by our AssistU trainer in a Social Networking class that I recently took.

Tip: for great introductions to all things social networking plus more, see CommonCraft

Part of the problem also, is knowing who to connect to.  Well here is the definitive small business list of people who consistently support, empower and provide great info for small businesses on Twitter, and of course, our very own Stacy Brice, made the list as well.  See it here.

And finally see what Piddy Diddy has to say about twitter.  It is a light-hearted approach to what we can all get out of it, and it shows primarily that he has understands that he needs to be, at least in part, tweeting authentically, i.e. he needs to do some of it, and not just pass it onto someone else to completely control for him.

Smartphone, questionable operator

After letting my existing mobile plan, and cell phone, peter down to nothingness (there were only a few days left on the plan), I upgraded to a Smartphone. I’m still wondering if I need this kind of device, but I justified the upgrade in this way: I had been keeping the majority of my data—things like to do’s, appointments, and notes—in a PDA, while using my phone, well, just as a phone. Not elegant, but simple. I’m now hoping I have created both an elegant and simple solution.

This may be my first foray into a Smartphone and 3G network, but I remembered some earlier lessons about syncing, and just learned some new ones about pairing.

I stuck with Palm, and now have a Palm® Centro™, but problems continue to exist in syncing a Smartphone with Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2007, as they did when I tried syncing my old PDA (a Palm T|X) with my Windows Vista® machine. In fact, I went through an almost hour-long Live Chat session with a technical support person at Palm. In the end, I uninstalled and re-installed the Palm Desktop software, and uninstalled and re-installed Outlook. The sync did work after that, as the tech guy said it would, but only after I ignored the online suggestions to keep Outlook closed during a synch.

The Centro is supposed to, according to the nice sales folks at Palm, pair with just about any Bluetooth® headset. Sure. Any, except the one I had. My Centro would not talk to (let alone recognize) my existing Jabra® headset. It was a ‘marriage’ not meant to be! In the end, I purchased a Motorola© headset and the pairing worked right off the top; except, I can no longer voice dial directly from the headset. Sigh.

In getting to know my new Centro, I thought that purchasing a case of some kind would be a great idea (after all, one needs to protect one’s investment). Too bad the exact case I wanted wasn’t available in Canada yet. Being a savvy shopper, I hopped over to eBay® (at E’s suggestion) and found one.

So I’m re-training myself, yet again, to be a smarter operator. Next thing you know, I’ll be able to actually answer an incoming call before it goes to voicemail.

In support of ... you

"I'm making this up as I go along." Sound familiar?

As much as I've been around the block once (okay, twice), there are still many things for me to learn. I need to give myself credit, and say yes, I know a lot. But I don't know it all. That being said, when one of my virtual assistance clients needs me to stretch, I'll do my best to stretch. I'll do it for them, knowing that I'll reap the benefits too. Same goes when I'm called--especially when I'm needed--by a colleague, or friend, or family member. I'll light a fire under my own butt if I need to, but I'll do it for them. In supporting others, I support me. Guess I'm selfish?

My newest client is a wonderful, dynamic woman who always has multiple projects on the go, and who accepts new challenges with confidence and curiosity. I greatly admire her, and in fact anyone who can do that. But seeing as we're partnered now, and regardless of my ignorance of many aspects of her in-flux career, I need to redouble my efforts to support her.

Recently, supporting my new client has meant I've had to venture into the Mac world. Being a career-long PC guy, this has presented some small challenges. But I'm good with them. I'm learning a little bit about Entourage and some other Mac goodies, and it's a healthy thing for me. Also recently, a long-time client re-appeared on the grid with some challenging work by way of connecting 1ShoppingCart, Constant Contact, PayPal and TypePad. A whole lot of little--but technically challenging--pieces had to be sewn together. This particular client and I don't spend a lot of hours together, but nevertheless, I wanted to take some stress off her. She was struggling with the minutia of so many different systems. My knowledge of HTML helped me get her through this piece of work, but not without some 'hard time' spent in online chats and online communities. I admit I wanted to throw the towel in, right in the heat of figuring all this out. But I didn't. I tried to keep my client first and foremost in my mind. Supporting her in this small way felt good, and she appreciated it.

For me, the flip side of supporting others, professionally and personally, has resulted in one unbelievable but wonderful thing: others are there for me too.

Facelift for Facebook business pages

Yesterday, Advertising Age featured an article on the potential redesign of Facebook business pages.  There seemed to be lots of chatter emerging from that post. Here is another related post.

While it might be too soon to plan, it's not a bad idea to focus on developing the habit of not only actively updating your status, but providing consistent, relevant material that your audience finds compelling. 

Perhaps this is the real challenge whether Facebook gets a face lift or continues "status quo".  Are we as marketers, brand managers, and social media consultants, opening the dialog or engaging the "fans" in a conversation, or are we just advertising?

Lots of brands are doing a fabulous job at it, providing lessons for us all.

It seems to me that the expectation of "fans" is more than getting information.  Should Facebook go with the new design as outlined, it will make for a great conversation with the brands -- and that's what people want -- the conversation and connection.

If you provide social media support for your clients, you'll want to note and prepare for key changes to the setup.  Also, think in advance about the applications that will be appropriate for your clients that work within the scope of the new layout.

One thing is certain, the only constant in life is change!